On Tuesday, Mr. Fletcher’s Algebra 2 students practiced simplifying expressions and exponent rules.
Their warm-up problems featured complex formulas with many variables and exponents. Following the exponent rules, they streamlined these expressions into less complicated ones.
Not only does understanding exponent properties help students to solve various algebraic problems, exponents are also used in a practical manner in everyday life when calculating square feet, for example.
Exponent rules are also used in the world of computers and technology when describing megabytes, gigabytes, and terabytes.
On Sunday, October 24, members of the ConVal Class of 2024, joined by Class Advisors Jen Kiley and Jim Wickham, students from other classes, and Principal Heather McKillop collected 40 bags of litter along a two-mile portion of Route 202, stretching from the ConVal jug handle north towards Hancock.
Several passing cars recognized the students' efforts to give back to their community with friendly honks. The cleanup was one of four litter collection dates that the Class of 2024 had committed to through the NH Department of Transportation's Adopt-A-Highway program in April (see also this web post).
As Jim Wickham noted after the event: "It was a great day working with these students. They gave back to their community in an invaluable way. They made a challenging job enjoyable as they approached it with a fun attitude — music, snacks, and friendly chatter."
Last week, students in Mr. Bowman’s AP U.S. History (APUSH) classes debated whether or not a portion of US Route 202 in Pelham, Massachusetts, should be named after Daniel Shays.
An officer in the Continental Army from 1775-1780, Shays fought in several American Revolutionary battles. He then served the town of Pelham by holding various town offices while eking out a living on his farm.
After the Revolution, America found itself in massive debt, causing state governments to raise taxes and demand that citizens pay them in hard currency. Many farmers had little cash, so their properties were seized, and some were imprisoned. Led by Shays and other dissidents from 1786-1787, rural citizens petitioned the state legislature, protested outside courthouses, and eventually stormed the federal armory in Springfield, MA. This later became known as Shays Rebellion.
The rebels were eventually defeated, but their actions made it clear that the first written constitution of the United States, known as the Articles of Confederation, was not working. This led to the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, where George Washington was elected as our nation's first president, the Constitution of the United States was written, and a strong federal government was established.
APUSH students who debated in favor of naming the highway after Shays argued that he deserved the honor because he spoke out against government corruption. Opposing APUSH students argued that he does not deserve the honor because his motives were selfish.
It has been 20 months, 88 weeks, 613 days, 14,706 hours, 882,386 minutes, 52,943,216 seconds since the last in-person audience in the Lucy Hurlin Theatre. ConVal Theatre Arts was thrilled to welcome a live audience to their opening night performance of "Infinite Black Suitcase" by EM Lewis.
In thirteen vignettes, Lewis leads us through an insightful and endearing examination of a single day in the lives of three Oregonian families as they attempt to deal with the trauma of death and dying as humanly and lovingly as possible.
The play is particularly poignant this year, ConVal Theatre director Liz Moore noted. "It has been a … … … There aren’t enough appropriate words in the English language to describe the experience of last two years and the infinite variety of ways in which they have re-shaped each of us. It has been a time of incredible change, growth, and struggle."
"While a play about grief and community will always be a challenge, it seemed even more fitting for our current times and for these students that I have the enviable privilege to create it with. The fact that so many of them came out for this production with such enthusiasm and commitment for telling these stories speaks volumes of their talent, dedication, and desire to connect and communicate."
The following students appear in a variety of roles throughout the play (in alphabetical order): Zach Cassidy, Katherine Craig, Alissa Cutting, Rowan Davidson, Max DePoyster, Nick DiNino, Jessica Hench, Esther Janis, Lili Juarez, Hadi Lancaric, Addie Mackensen, Rhiannon Moore, Charlotte Murphy, Beau Olesky, Mia Schwabe, Charlie Savage, Haley Serafine, Dan Sleeper, Kaitlyn Stone, Annelise Strong, Caroline Stultz, Liasiah Torres, Ryan Whitney, Alex Williams, and Gabe Young.
The play's production crew includes Haley Serafine (Stage Manager), Jennifer Hopkins (Lighting Designer), Kai Flynn (Sound Operator), and Makila Sesito (Mic Operator).
Performances continue this weekend.
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Susie Spikol of the Harris Center for Conservation Education in Hancock presented a TASC Talk on "Lab Girls," an afterschool program that is designed to help middle school girls stay engaged with the sciences.
The program brings women mentors with careers in science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) into the classroom to share their stories and their science with Great Brook and South Meadow School girls.
Each week, members of the Lab Girls meet a different role model and then have a chance to experiment with the tools of her trade.
ConVal High School students with an interest in science have a community service opportunity to help the middle school girls navigate the hands-on experiments and additionally benefit from guest speakers during the TASK Talk series at ConVal.
Members of the ConVal Class of 2022 assembled in the dropoff loop in front of the school to take the senior picture for the 2022 ConVal Yearbook.
The ConVal Yearbook covers all classes — from freshmen to seniors — and will be an especially memorable edition this year.
To find out what the different options are to order your family's copy or how to place a recognition ad in the Yearbook, go to the Jostens ConVal Yearbook website or contact Yearbook advisor Karrie Mitschmyer (kmitschmyer@conval.edu).
Students in the Aesthetics and Ideas class, which is co-taught by Jason Lambert and Ben Putnam, welcomed a guest speaker from the MacDowell artist’s residency program on Thursday. Jodie Mack is an English-born American experimental filmmaker and animator who currently teaches animation at Dartmouth College.
In her wide-ranging presentation to the students, she addressed topics ranging from the concept of Taylorism in early animation production to the architecture of medieval churches as first, quasi-filmic experiences. Students also learned about the importance of film perforations, known as sprocket holes, in the production and projection of traditional, film-based movies as well as the tension between representative and abstract art.
Mack is fascinated by the concept of "stroboscopia," the relationship between a series of still images and the illusion of motion that is being created through the physical phenomenon known as the persistence of vision. Central to her work is also the original meaning of the word "animation — not related to cartoons or Pixar movies, but in the sense of 'bringing to life' inanimate objects and concepts," Mack noted.
Mack talked about her non-traditional, meandering educational pathway by sharing that she attended two community colleges before enrolling in a bachelor's degree program at the University of Florida. She went on to earn her MFA in film, video, and new media at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. "If there is anything that you should remember from my presentation," she said, "it is that you are going to be OK, you are going to figure it out."
Besides sharing her personal background as an immigrant and her family history, Mack connected with students by showing several of her animated films, including Curses (a music video), A Joy, and portions of her MFA thesis project Yard Work Is Hard Work.
The final activity of this truly unique TASC Talk opportunity was the taking of a series of pictures with students that she will animate and share with the class in the coming weeks.
Students in Ms. Moran's and Mr. Stetzer's Biology classes had a special learning opportunity this week. In partnership with the Harris Center for Conservation Education, they got to engage in an actual applied science community project involving woodland salamanders.
The Harris Center maintains a series of study plots as part of the Salamander Population & Adaptation Research Collaboration Network (SPARCnet), a regional research effort aimed at understanding the effects of climate change on woodland salamanders. Each plot consists of 50 small wooden “coverboards” that appeal to woodland amphibians — especially red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) — as sources of shelter.
With the help of student scientists, the Center surveys the plots for salamanders each spring and fall. By keeping track of the salamanders found under each board, scientists can begin to get a sense for the abundance and distribution of red-backed salamanders and compare local findings with more than 30 other SPARCnet sites from Virginia to Ontario.
As naturalist John Benjamin of the Harris Center noted in the introductory presentation in the Lucy Hurlin Theatre, the red-backed salamanders are an important indicator species for the impacts of human land use, associated reductions and degredations in salamander habitat, as well as overall climate change.
Perhaps the most astounding fact of the Harris Center presentation: In a typical year, the mass of surveyed redbacked salamanders exceeds the mass of all other vertebrate animals in the same plot of land combined!
The ConVal "Void" — the area behind the link, between the gymnasium and the math and science classrooms on the south side of the school — serves as the staging area for the solar panel installation project that is set to begin in the coming weeks.
Equipment and materials have already been dropped off, including a job trailer, dumpsters, roof fencing, the solar panels, as well as inverters and piping for the project.
ReVision Energy, which maintains offices in Maine and New Hampshire, is in charge of the project.
On Tuesday, Mr. Fletcher’s Algebra 2 students practiced simplifying expressions and exponent rules.
Their warm-up problems featured complex formulas with many variables and exponents. Following the exponent rules, they streamlined these expressions into less complicated ones.
Not only does understanding exponent properties help students to solve various algebraic problems, exponents are also used in a practical manner in everyday life when calculating square feet, for example.
Exponent rules are also used in the world of computers and technology when describing megabytes, gigabytes, and terabytes.
On Sunday, October 24, members of the ConVal Class of 2024, joined by Class Advisors Jen Kiley and Jim Wickham, students from other classes, and Principal Heather McKillop collected 40 bags of litter along a two-mile portion of Route 202,
Last week, students in Mr. Bowman’s AP U.S. History (APUSH) classes debated whether or not a portion of US Route 202 in Pelham, Massachusetts, should be named after Daniel Shays.
It has been 20 months, 88 weeks, 613 days, 14,706 hours, 882,386 minutes, 52,943,216 seconds since the last in-person audience in the Lucy Hurlin Theatre. ConVal Theatre Arts was thrilled to welcome a live audience to their opening night performance of “Infinite Black Suitcase”
Susie Spikol of the Harris Center for Conservation Education in Hancock presented a TASC Talk on “Lab Girls,” an afterschool program that is designed to help middle school girls stay engaged with the sciences.
Students in the Aesthetics and Ideas class, which is co-taught by Jason Lambert and Ben Putnam, welcomed a guest speaker from the MacDowell artist’s residency program on Thursday. Jodie Mack is an English-born American experimental filmmaker and animator who currently teaches animation at Dartmouth College.
Students in Ms. Moran’s and Mr. Stetzer’s Biology classes had a special learning opportunity this week. In partnership with the Harris Center for Conservation Education, they got to engage in an actual applied science community project involving woodland salamanders.
The ConVal “Void” — the area behind the link, between the gymnasium and the math and science classrooms on the south side of the school — serves as the staging area for the solar panel installation project that is set to begin in the coming weeks.