Congratulations to the students in Courtney Smith's and Lance Levesque's classes who have achieved honors at the 2022 Scholastic Writing Awards.
The writings of the following students were recognized in these categories:
NOVEL WRITING
Silver Key
Jennifer Hopkins, "Wind, Thunder and Ice"
Honorable Mention
Jennifer Hopkins, "Moon, Earth and Sky"
SHORT STORY
Honorable Mention
Leah Krason, "Maiden Voyage"
FLASH FICTION
Honorable Mention
Arwyn Kelley, "Accidents Happen?"
WRITING PORTFOLIO
Honorable Mention
Sydney Rousseau
Every work which received a gold or silver key as well as any work which received honorable mention will be published in Middle High School Voices 2022, the anthology of award-winning writing by middle and highschool students in New Hampshire, which will be available to order by the beginning of May.
Since 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have recognized some of America’s most celebrated writers while they were teenagers, including Peter S. Beagle, Truman Capote, Stephen King, Joyce Maynard, Robert McCloskey, Joyce Carol Oates, and many more.
Congratulations to the students in Mary Goldwaithe's, Karrie Mitschmyer's, and Ben Putnam's art classes who have achieved honors at the 2022 Scholastic Arts Awards.
These ConVal students were recognized in the following categories:
CERAMICS AND GLASS
Gold Key
Ronia Foecking, “Dot Mug”
Thomas Sennett, “Jugular”
Ethan Weber, “Pattern Vase”
Honorable Mention
Garret Rousseau, “Flower Vase”
DRAWING AND ILLUSTRATION
Honorable Mention
Sophia Bohl, “Inktober 2021”
Kalyn Ross, “Space”
PAINTING
Silver Key
Anneliese Strong, “Psychological Landscape”
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Scholastic Art Awards ceremony will be held virtually once again this year, and will be shown via livestream on March 11 at 6 p.m. The work of the award recipients will be on display in the CTE atrium following the ceremony, and posted online.
Congratulations to the students in Mr. Levesque’s Digital Photography class who have achieved honors at the 2022 Scholastic Arts Awards.
Each year, Scholastic Arts submissions are juried by luminaries in the visual arts, some of whom are past award recipients. Panelists look for works that best exemplify originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision.
These are the students and their respective awards:
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Scholastic Arts Awards will be presented virtually again this year. The virtual exhibition of award-winning work and awards ceremony will live-stream on March 11th at 6 pm.
On November 18, the ConVal Chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS) inducted 19 new members in a ceremony in the Lucy Hurlin Theatre. ConVal’s NHS advisors Sara Longo and Amy Rushford as well as principal McKillop participated in the event.
The National Honor Society is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship, leadership, service, and character.
The following students were inducted: Maeghan Baribault, Morgan Bemont, Lydia Cleveland, Anthea Curtis, Brianna Decker, Annabelle DeLisle, Eliza Harris, Sophia Hatmaker, Gwyneth Inglis, Hayden Kaltsas, Fletcher Maggs, Alexander Olivo, Natalie Preble, Thalia Stafford, Ada Stephens, Kendall Sullivan, Avery Swasey, Inaya Vaidya, Elijah White, and Laramie Wilson.
Superintendent Kimberly Rizzo Saunders and Principal Heather McKillop are pleased to share that a ConVal Regional High School teacher will be recognized for outstanding contributions to the teaching and learning of German.
Cindi Hodgdon will receive the Outstanding German Educator Award, the highest honor given by the American Association of Teachers of German, a national organization, in a virtual ceremony on November 20.
“With their dedication to excellence in German language instruction, these award recipients promote the transatlantic friendship between the U.S. and German‐speaking countries and foster the much‐needed intercultural awareness so their students lead successful lives in a globalized world,” said Doug Philipp, president of the American Association of Teachers of German.
Hodgdon has received many honors during her teaching career, including being named World Language Teacher of the Year by the New Hampshire Association of World Languages.
“Cindi loves languages, and in sharing that love she opens the eyes of her students to the possibilities of the world around them,” Principal McKillop said.
“Cindi is a truly outstanding teacher. She has an infectious style, and her students develop a true love for German,” Superintendent Rizzo Saunders said. “From creating German immersion days to organizing workshops, she is an exemplar of excellence and deserving of this honor.”
On Friday, June 11, the ConVal High School graduation ceremony was held on the school’s Stadium Field.
In addition to teachers, school administrators, and staff, who wore their academic regalia in honor of the graduates, Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Rizzo Saunders and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Ann Forrest attended the event, representing the SAU leadership.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Ann Forrest, Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Rizzo Saunders, and High School Principal Heather McKillop
The official program of the Commencement Exercises can be accessed here.
After the traditional "Pomp and Circumstance" processional by Edward Elgar, the "Star-Spangled Banner" was sung by senior members of the chorus Brigham Boice, Aaliyah Colby, Ashton Laurent, Grace Phillips, and Abby Theberge.
Next, Class President Reid Wilson took the podium for welcome remarks.
"Going into this new part of our lives, where we will have energy and confidence, but little experience, I suggest to you: 'Minimum skill, maximum send'."
Heather McKillop delivered the Principal's Address to the Class of 2021 which reflected on the theme of "firsts" and how the class had shown strength, determination, and resilience during difficult times.
"As I’ve said to you all year long, we can do hard things. We can, we are, and we will."
Madilyn Cilley delivered the Valedictorian Speech in which she contemplated the lessons she learned while attending ConVal Regional High School, both in the classroom and for life.
"From Ms. Milne, I not only grew in my understanding of chemistry and biology, but I learned not to procrastinate because you might get appendicitis. I’m still working on applying that one to my life."
In her Salutatorian Speech, Aria Frehner painted a rich pastiche of ConVal High School by taking a mental tour of the building and pointing to the specific learning experiences she enjoyed in each of the classrooms, especially in the arts.
"ConVal’s art is ConVal’s joy. ConVal’s art is ConVal’s support."
Brigham Boice and Jason Bergeron delivered the Student Speech which compared the flu pandemic in 1918 to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021 and the historical parallels between the experiences of the Peterborough High School Class of 1918 and ConVal's Class of 2021.
"The Black Plague led to the Renaissance, the Influenza Pandemic led to the Roaring Twenties. These critical junctures show that, after times of turmoil, we can come into a greater age of learning and innovation."
The winner of the Faculty and Staff Award was announced in a laudatory speech by Liz Moore and Brian Moore. The award is given annually at commencement to that graduating senior who, in the collective opinion of the teaching faculty, best represents, in practice and intent, spirit, unselfishness, service, leadership, and accomplishment. This year's recipient was Abby Theberge who was applauded for "her ability to develop relationships through mutual caring which requires kindness and patience, tolerance, optimism, joy in the other's achievements, confidence in oneself, and the ability to give without undue thought of gain."
"You’ve contributed so much to the culture of ConVal. You’ve been a leader with honors through the performing arts and educational excellence."
Judy Heddy was the faculty speaker. Heddy drew on her 44 years of coaching and teaching experineces and spoke to the changes that she and her students witnessed during this time, especially the multiple, rapid transformations during the last year and a half.
"In the last 15 months, we adopted and adapted to a new educational environment with fully remote, to hybrid and then back into the building for many."
After the awarding of the diplomas by Principal Heather McKillop (see separate web post), David MacKay gave a humorous Farewell Speech to the Class of 2021.
"Chewing gum with a mask on will make you cry ... eating while unmuted on zoom is the most humbling experience on the planet, especially if your teacher has speaker view on."
For the recorded livestream of the event, please click here.
Thank you to the Class Advisors Gretchen Shippee and Kristin Ingram, to the Class Marshalls Fletcher Maggs and Elias Niemela, to the graduation advisors Deb Coyne and Judy Heddy, to the administrative assistants Lisa Pelkey, Leah Seymour, Brandi Litts, Laura Merzi, and to all others who made the 2021 Commencement Exercises such a memorable event.
ConVal Regional High School’s Commencement Exercises for the Class of 2021 took place on June 11. Please see the names of graduates and the photo gallery below.
The Class of 2021
Armon Adkins, Chloe Ahern, Sierra Aho, Emma Anderson, Nisse Anderson, Aiden Anthony, Owen Armstrong, Kyle Ball, Anna Bartsch, Isis Battaglia, Alanna Batty, Nicole Bell, Carter Bennett, Jason Bergeron, Henry Bernstein, Zachary Blohm, Ian Bohl, Brigham Boice, Michael Boisvert, Savanna Bolduc, Annastasia Bond, Zackery Boyd, Amy Braby, Adam Brace, Kaylee Calistro, Hailey Caron, Molly Cattigan, Ethan Charlonne, Angelina Charron, Anna Chisholm, Caden Cilley, Madilyn Cilley, Grace Cleary, Fiona Clough, Alessia Coburn, Aaliyah Colby, Anthony Cole, James Cole, Kenneth Conway, Steven Conway, James Cook, Malcolm Coppo, Gabriel Couto, Emerson Craven, Rosalie Cresta, Jared Crooker, Kayla Danforth, Austin Davis, Wyatt Davis, Burkley Davison, Logan Decker, Maxwell Derujinsky-Rizzo, Haven Deschenes, Jessica Dick, Ella Dishong, Emily Donovan, Julia Donovan, Zander Drew, Rowan Ducharme, Ethan Earle, Serena Edwards, Caleb Engaldo, Liberty Ewing, Thomas Fagiano, Sienna Ferry, Griffin Filaski, Tyler Finley, Zoe Forster, Aria Frehner, Rachel Fulton, Lauren Gapp, Ally Gaudette, Matthew Gilcreast, Ava Marie Goohs, Elizabeth Goss, Orion Gray, Kayla Groom, Devin Guy, Kyra Hall, Chloe Halliday, Benjamin Hamlin, Keegan Harris, Jonathan Hatmaker, Cole Heinselman, Hailie Herne, Elizabeth Holland, Perrine Holmberg, Elizabeth Hull, Sarah Hull, Brayden Hunt, Breanna Hutchinson, Tristan Hutchinson, Jaxen Ingalls, Jonas Ingram, Kylie Johnson, Anthony Kamieniecki, John Kazlauskas, Luca Kekuewa-Colon, Quinn Kelley, Wylie Kendall, Brandon Keough, Sage Kingsbury Evans, Jack Koester, August Kotula, Benjamin Kriebel, Malani Langa, Ayla Laro, Olivia Laskey-Rigrod, Evan Laurent, Tyler Lessard, Travis Levesque, Jacob Lussier, Casey Lustenberger, David MacKay, Sandra MacKay, Shevonne MacKeigan, Madison MacLaren, David Martin, John Martin, Emma Martino, James McGuiness, Aidan McLean, Isaiah Michaels, Alexander Mills, Jackson Mills, Evelyn Montgomery, Richard Morris, Sydney Morris, Gabrielle Oja, Avery Opland, Nicholas Patrick, Timothy Petrakos, Lillian Petroules, Matthew Pettine, Grace Phillips, Madelynn Plourde, Philip Pope, Brady Proctor, Ryan Putnam, Kaila Pywell, Elaina Quackenbush, Mary Riffle, Blair Robbins, Brian Ross, Madeline Rugg, Isaac Salisbury, Connor Sanborn, Jeremiah Schofield, William Sennett, Kaden Shattuck, Savannah Shay, Grace Shippee, Maxwell Shumway, Jacob Siegel, Evelyn Simmons, Cale Skillings, Austin Sloan, Anna Smith, Madalynn Smith, Pedro Soares, Emma Stacy, Lillian Stapelfeld, Edward Suchocki-Sulborski, Anna Taylor, Abigail Theberge, Jacob Tinkham, Abigail Towers, Emeline Tyler-Wall, Lorien Tyne, Megan Vasco, Daniel Veverka, Mary Visingard, Jonah Wheeler, Ella Whicker, Ryan Whitaker, Nathaniel Reid Wilson, Sierra Wing, and Lorien Wright.
Photo Gallery
Below is a photo gallery of students walking up to accept their diplomas; please feel free to download and share any of the pictures below.
Students, parents, faculty, staff, SAU administrators, and community members celebrated student learning and achievement with the Scholarships and Awards event at ConVal Regional High School on June 9, 2021.
Director of School Counseling Tim Cotreau and Principal Heather McKillop served as Masters of Ceremonies for the evening which was attended by ConVal Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Rizzo Saunders.
The evening began with Principal McKillop announcing Madelyn Cilley as the Class of 2021 Valedictorian and Aria Frehner as this year's Salutatorian.
Several dozen seniors were recognized for their accomplishments and received departmental awards, including the Region 14 Applied Technology Center (ATC). A special point of pride were the 77 seniors who earned the New Hampshire Scholars distinction despite the pandemic-related disruptions of the last 16 months.
There were recognitions by outside organizations, such as the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), the Grand Monadnock Rotary, and the Peterborough Kiwanis Club. Scholarships totaled nearly $100,000 this year.
Congratulations to the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors who are being recognized by teachers in various academic departments at ConVal Regional High School and the Region 14 Applied Technology Center (ATC).
In all, 60 recognitions are being awarded to 52 students. Special commendations go out to dual award winners Hazel Armstrong McEvoy, Molly Dishong, Leah Krason, Thalia Stafford, and Jaimini Viles. Eva McCollough and Sydney Rousseau are the recipients of three academic awards, respectively. Congratulations, all!
Please click on your students' names below to see the congratulatory videos by their teachers.
Due to a forecast of rain and thunderstorms over Peterborough in the afternoon of June 8, the ConVal Athletics Department had to shift to a virtual celebration for senior athletes, with video presentations for student athletes and families to view.
In this web post, Athletic Director John Reitnauer and Principal McKillop introduce the event that features speeches from each of the coaches of the three sports seasons at ConVal.
To access the celebration videos by the different coaches, please click on the links below before exploring the links to the recognitions and awards video section near the end of this web post.
Congratulations to the students in Courtney Smith's and Lance Levesque's classes who have achieved honors at the 2022 Scholastic Writing Awards.
The writings of the following students were recognized in these categories:
NOVEL WRITING
Silver Key
Jennifer Hopkins, "Wind, Thunder and Ice"
Honorable Mention
Jennifer Hopkins, "Moon, Earth and Sky"
SHORT STORY
Honorable Mention
Leah Krason, "Maiden Voyage"
FLASH FICTION
Honorable Mention
Arwyn Kelley, "Accidents Happen?"
WRITING PORTFOLIO
Honorable Mention
Sydney Rousseau
Every work which received a gold or silver key as well as any work which received honorable mention will be published in Middle High School Voices 2022, the anthology of award-winning writing by middle and highschool students in New Hampshire, which will be available to order by the beginning of May.
Since 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have recognized some of America’s most celebrated writers while they were teenagers, including Peter S. Beagle, Truman Capote, Stephen King, Joyce Maynard, Robert McCloskey, Joyce Carol Oates, and many more.
Congratulations to the students in Mary Goldwaithe’s, Karrie Mitschmyer’s, and Ben Putnam’s art classes who have achieved honors at the 2022 Scholastic Arts Awards.
These ConVal students were recognized in the following categories:
On November 18, the ConVal Chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS) inducted 19 new members in a ceremony in the Lucy Hurlin Theatre. ConVal’s NHS advisors Sara Longo and Amy Rushford as well as principal McKillop participated in the event.
Superintendent Kimberly Rizzo Saunders and Principal Heather McKillop are pleased to share that a ConVal Regional High School teacher will be recognized for outstanding contributions to the teaching and learning of German.
ConVal Regional High School’s Commencement Exercises for the Class of 2021 took place on June 11. Please see the names of graduates and the photo gallery below.
Students, parents, faculty, staff, SAU administrators, and community members celebrated student learning and achievement with the Scholarships and Awards event at ConVal Regional High School on June 9, 2021.
Director of School Counseling Tim Cotreau and Principal Heather McKillop served as Masters of Ceremonies for the evening which was attended by ConVal Superintendent Dr.
Congratulations to the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors who are being recognized by teachers in various academic departments at ConVal Regional High School and the Region 14 Applied Technology Center (ATC).
Due to a forecast of rain and thunderstorms over Peterborough in the afternoon of June 8, the ConVal Athletics Department had to shift to a virtual celebration for senior athletes,