The ConVal Summer Boost Program offers a special course in applied mathematics, Geometry in Construction.
In this co-taught class, students become proficient in both the geometry and construction trades competencies through hands-on activities. Examples include creating a set of stairs to teach rise and run, constructing balsa wood houses to learn about the importance of correctly following blueprints, ratios, and cost/waste analysis, and constructing a full-sized clubhouse or shed.
Students create formal geometric constructions with a variety of tools and methods, such as compass and straightedge, string, etc. Other skills that the class teaches include: copying a segment; copying an angle; bisecting a segment; bisecting an angle; constructing perpendicular lines, including the perpendicular bisector of a line segment; and constructing a line parallel to a given line through a point not on the line.
ConVal High School's Summer Boost Program began on July 6 with exciting opportunities for our students.
As an icebreaker activity and to get all participating students familiarized with ConVal Regional High School, there was a brief scavenger hunt exploring the campus.
In "A^2: Art & Algebra," students did mirror drawings to reinforce the concept of symmetry, while students in Geometry in Construction learned about the tools they would be using to create various projects this summer, such as a doghouse.
Students in Mr. Lambert's Physical Science class witnessed the chemical change that occurs when sodium mixes with water.
The Summer Boost Program at ConVal High School started off with a bang on Tuesday, July 6 — quite literally.
"The physical science teachers thought that exploding sodium in water on the first day of class would be a good 'hook' to get the students excited about class," said Brock Lambert who set up the experiment.
The first part of the course explores the basics of chemistry and chemical reactions. The sodium and water demonstration allowed for the introduction of these chemistry principles, such as the law of conservation of mass, reactants versus products, as well as endothermic and exothermic reactions.
The students learned that all atoms involved in the reaction were neither created nor destroyed, and energy was released in the form of heat and light.
On the last day of school, students in Carol Young's Biology Topics class released back into the wild two baby snapping turtles they had fostered since early May.
The turtles had hatched last fall and were raised over the winter with four of their siblings by John Benjamin, teacher naturalist at the Harris Center for Conservation Education. As the six turtles grew, they needed more space, so "Toothless" and "Jerry" came to ConVal.
The students constructed a habitat for them out of a kiddie pool, rocks, silk plants, and a UV light. Every day, they fed them mealworms, sardines, and live minnows.
By mid-June the turtles had grown large enough to be released back into the wild. Together with John Benjamin, the students, class aides, and Principal Heather McKillop set out to find suitable release spaces in the greater ConVal environment.
Now Toothless, Jerry, and their siblings are fulfilling their role as top predators in the ConVal wetland and helping to keep this ecosystem healthy for the many other wildlife species that rely on it.
As part of their work with the Explore Virtual Learning Committee, several high school teachers and staff recently had the opportunity to field test demonstration units of the Oculus Quest 2 Virtual Reality headsets provided by Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Rizzo Saunders and District Systems Director Mark Schaub.
"The capabilities of these VR headsets have come a long way in recent years," said Schaub. "Just a few years ago, units were quite expensive, required external tracking cameras to define the VR space, and had to be hardwired to a computer. The latest units are much more capable than their predecessor models, have outward-facing tracking cameras built-in, are completely self-contained and very intuitive to use."
Mathematics teacher Lance Flamino, Social Studies teacher Greg Leonard, librarians Rachael Bowman and Ashley Jones, and technology integrator Helfried Zrzavy took turns exploring the demo units by going through the setup procedure and trying out the handheld controls in a variety of simulations.
The Oculus Quest 2 is already prepared to connect to a well-developed ecosystem of immersive educational applications in areas as diverse as:
Social Studies (MasterWorks: Journey Through History, Discover Egypt: King Tut's Tomb, Pompeii VR, The Great Wall: Mysteries of China, American Experience, Anne Frank House VR, etc.)
Science (Human Anatomy VR, Brain VR, Heart Tour, Plant Cell, Chemistry VR, Exciting Physics VR, Solar System, International Space Station Tour VR, etc.)
Environmental Studies (David Attenborough's Great Barrier Reef, David Attenborough's First Life, Antarctic Ocean, Sea Level Rise Explorer, etc.)
Art (Meeting Rembrandt: Master of Reality, Mocove Arts, Museo Soumaya VR, Art Gate, Art Plunge, etc.), and
World Languages (Mondly, Dynamic Spanish Trips - Long Weekend in Spain, etc.)
There is even an app — Virtual Speech — that is designed to help students overcome public speaking hesitancy and improve their verbal communication skills through practice in realistic VR scenarios. Training rooms include public speaking, sales pitches, networking, business storytelling, and more.
Over the next several months, this new technology will be vetted more thoroughly to explore how VR could fit into existing strategies for engaging instruction, what use modalities will have to be developed, what evidence would need to be gathered to drive student outcomes, and what technical and pedagogical supports would be required to integrate VR successfully into student learning.
Congratulations to this year’s Envirothon team for placing 2nd overall in the annual state competition which was held virtually from May 21-27.
Students competed against area schools in four subjects:
Forestry
Wildlife
Aquatics
Soils
Team members also researched and presented to a panel of judges on climate and water-related issues impacting the ConVal region.
Despite not meeting for a full year due to COVID-19, the team still managed to be a formidable opponent. Practices ramped back up in March of 2021, and the team persistently worked to learn and grow over the course of two months.
Team coach and Earth Science teacher Andria Johnson was particularly impressed with the team’s progress in such a short time. “I am so proud of the accomplishments of this team," said Johnson. "I am a new coach and this is essentially a new team, and to have come so far so fast is just amazing. 2nd place overall is fantastic, and I cannot wait to see what this team can do next season!”
This was the 29th consecutive year that ConVal has participated in the Envirothon competition. The Envirothon team is always looking for new members, and team meetings will begin again next September. Contact Andria Johnson (ajohnson@conval.edu) to learn more and join the team.
While COVID-19 pandemic provided a serious obstacle to rehearsals and the staging of the musical "Bright Star," the ConVal drama department persevered and found an innovative solution that allowed for the live-streaming of the musical's concert version in the Lucy Hurlin Theatre.
Inspired by a true story and featuring the Tony®-nominated score by comedian and virtuoso banjo-player Steve Martin in cooperation with singer-songwriter Edie Brickell, "Bright Star" tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and 1940s.
When literary editor Alice Murphy meets a young soldier just home from the war, he awakens her longing for the child she once lost. Haunted by their unique connection, Alice sets out on a journey to understand her past — and what she finds has the power to transform both of their lives. With beautiful melodies and powerfully moving characters, the story unfolds as a rich tapestry of deep emotion.
The cast or characters (in order of appearance) were:
Older Alice (Abby Theberge)
Middle Alice (Hadi Lancaric)
Younger Alice (Alissa Cutting)
Billy Cane (Owen Hannah)
Daddy Cane (Amy Braby
Daryl (Gabe Young)
Lucy (Liasiah Torres)
Younger Jimmy Ray (Rowan Davidson)
Daddy Murphy (Beau Olesky)
Mama Murphy (Grace Phillips)
Mayor Dobbs (Caroline Stultz)
Stanford (Haley Serafine)
Margo (Abbey Shumway)
Middle Jimmy Ray (Zach Cassidy)
Older Jimmy Ray (Dan Sleeper)
Townsfolk (Esther Janis, Adeline Mackensen, and Kaitlyn Stone)
For the complete program, please click here. The performance stream went live on Sunday at 7:00 pm and was very well received by the audience.
After a year and a half of social distancing and remote learning, ConVal seniors got to enjoy an in-person senior prom on the athletic fields last night.
While the prom theme was "Tropical Night," the weather was thankfully not as hot as earlier in the week and made for a great evening.
With the sun sinking low on the horizon, there were yard games to play, such as cornhole, ladder ball, a giant jenga game, and a life-sized connect 4. Students enjoyed a photo booth and dancing to the live music performed by the band Northern Stone, featuring our own Mr. Lambert and Mr. Wozmak. There were appetizers catered by Cynthia Ingraham and cold treats from the Kona ice cream truck.
The evening concluded with a giant bonfire, followed by a spectacular fireworks display provided by Atlas Fireworks.
Thank you to all who made this special event possible!
The ConVal Summer Boost Program offers a special course in applied mathematics, Geometry in Construction.
In this co-taught class, students become proficient in both the geometry and construction trades competencies through hands-on activities. Examples include creating a set of stairs to teach rise and run, constructing balsa wood houses to learn about the importance of correctly following blueprints, ratios, and cost/waste analysis, and constructing a full-sized clubhouse or shed.
Students create formal geometric constructions with a variety of tools and methods, such as compass and straightedge, string, etc. Other skills that the class teaches include: copying a segment; copying an angle; bisecting a segment; bisecting an angle; constructing perpendicular lines, including the perpendicular bisector of a line segment; and constructing a line parallel to a given line through a point not on the line.
On the last day of school, students in Carol Young’s Biology Topics class released back into the wild two baby snapping turtles they had fostered since early May.
The turtles had hatched last fall and were raised over the winter with four of their siblings by John Benjamin,
As part of their work with the Explore Virtual Learning Committee, several high school teachers and staff recently had the opportunity to field test demonstration units of the Oculus Quest 2 Virtual Reality headsets provided by Superintendent Dr.
While COVID-19 pandemic provided a serious obstacle to rehearsals and the staging of the musical “Bright Star,” the ConVal drama department persevered and found an innovative solution that allowed for the live-streaming of the musical’s concert version in the Lucy Hurlin Theatre.
After a year and a half of social distancing and remote learning, ConVal seniors got to enjoy an in-person senior prom on the athletic fields last night.