We believe it is vital for students and patrons to discover multiple facets of literacy and to reinforce learning over the summer months. To help foster a love of reading and promote a culture of curiosity, all students and patrons are encouraged to read, explore, and learn!

So, this summer grab a Bingo card and take an adventure; get curious about new genres, new modes of learning, and new kinds of experiences. This year our collaborative learning theme is A Universe of Stories!
 
Students (and adults) are encouraged to play Read.Explore.Learn Bingo during the summer months. The districts curricular expectations can be found on the second page of our informational flyer which is located on the homepage of our website. Read.Explore.Learn. Bingo cards are available on our website and public libraries. 

Visit our website http://readexplorelearn.region18.org/or your public library for more information. And, follow our district social media accounts to stay in touch over the summer.

Thursday morning started with a wonderful Senior Breakfast provided to them by their  parents. It was a time of thoughtful contemplation as they signed yearbooks and enjoyed a delicious meal together just before graduation practice. 

So, with that, we would like to give the class of 2019 one last good bye!
WELL DONE WILDCATS 
CONGRATULATIONS to the
CLASS OF 2019! 

The last week of school, as students finished their semester with their final exams, we were able, with the partnership of the Tim Buckley Project, Project Paws   we were able to provide our stressed out students with a little tranquility and Pet Therapy. Monday through Thursday from 9:15 - 10:15, we welcomed in several dogs and... A THERAPY DUCK, Elway! Students were able to spend some time with animals and de-stress. It was truly magical ... take a look at the pictures, they speak for themselves.

​On Monday, June 3rd, Old Lyme Players inducted six new members into the International Thespian Society. In addition to the induction, eleven graduating Thespians were celebrated, scenes were expertly performed by the Musical Performance Class, and thirteen OLPies were presented to actors and technicians. 
                  Congratulations Old Lyme Players! 

Local professional Frank DiNardi and student Jackson Goulding shared their expertise at our Drone Presentation last week.  Students from the MS and HS learned how drones impact our daily lives in addition to being able to fly several different types of drones.  Feedback from the event was positive and we hope to build on this next year!

With exams starting this week for underclassmen, we have teamed up the Tim Buckley Project, Project Paws and have arranged to have Pet Partner therapy dogs visit the school during the exam break (from 9:30 - 10 am) Monday through Thursday. We will have the team located in the Library for students to access.
To find out more information about Project Paws and the Tim Buckley Project, please access this link: https://timbuckleyproject.org/

This past week we celebrated senior accomplishments at the award ceremony on Tuesday evening and then on Thursday they enjoyed a wonderful senior banquet marking the "the beginning of the end". Before receiving their yearbooks, students watched a slideshow produced by Britney DeRoehn which included photos of practically every student in the class. 

Read the article published in The Day last week

​

Published May 24. 2019 5:55PM | Updated May 24. 2019 10:39PM
By Mary Biekert (/apps/pbcs.dll/personalia?ID=m.biekert) Day staff writer

Old Lyme — Growing up in South Lyme, 18-year-old Lyme-Old Lyme High School senior Hannah Morrison said she
went through childhood trying to fulfill what she explained as a societal pressure to know exactly what she would do in life.
“People were always asking me 'What do you want to be, what do you want to do with your life?'” she said. “I would say, 'I like art' and they’d say, ‘Oh you’ll be an artist.’ Or I’d say ‘Oh, I love animals’ and they’d say ‘Vet!’” But during that time, Morrison said the pressure to set herself on an exact career path scared her.
“It was like, I had to choose one part of me and let everything else go,” she said. “I always felt that I had so many different aspects of my personality that were important to me. Choosing to pursue just one thing felt like shutting of other parts to myself.” So in high school, Morrison decided she would dedicate her life to exploring the varying and disparate parts of her personality — traversing through everything that makes Hannah uniquely Hannah, she said. Creating a TED Talk titled, “Why One Hannah Wasn’t Enough,” as a final project for her communications class, Morrison said the talk's theme of not having “to have just one passion that de?nes all of who you are,” has carried her through her teenage years. Besides being an accomplished student — her class salutatorian, to be exact — Morrison is well-versed in many subjects ranging from calculus to art, chemistry to Spanish. She is active in a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including wind ensemble and concert choir. She co-founded her high school’s math tutoring center, and she’s competed in the Yale Physics Olympics.
As a budding actress, she’s performed in the school’s annual musicals, taking a lead role this year. And as a singer and dancer, Morrison is the dance captain to her school’s Show Choir — “a group sort of like ‘Glee’ where we both sing and
dance,” she explains — creating choreography and teaching her fellow classmates the steps in person, or through videos she created. As a musician, Morrison also plays alto sax in the school’s wind ensemble, as well as its jazz band. Starting her own business to raise money for college at the age of 15, Morrison runs a hot dog stand, known as the Deep River Dog House, in the summer. And though Morrison said she hasn’t necessarily made or saved more money running the stand compared to say, lifeguarding, or working at the local ice cream shop, it’s been the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of managing a business — such as balancing budgets, hiring employees and thinking about
supply and demand — that’s been her biggest takeaway. “She does everything that interests her and she does it all very well,” said Morrison’s choral teacher, Kristine Pekar. “She is incredibly well-rounded. And when she commits to something, she is all-in.” "National Merit Scholar. Outstanding performer. Entrepreneur. Salutatorian. She is unique in that she excels in so many areas," Principal James Wygonik said in an email. This fall, Morrison will attend Oxford College of Emory University, outside of Atlanta, Ga., where she plans to study
psychology — a subject Morrison says “that can be integrated with anything.”
Rather than see life as a straight line with a direct mission to be just one thing, Morrison, wise beyond her years, said she wants to pursue a career that allows her flexibility and the ability to truly help people, all while being able to pursue passions such as acting and art. Morrison said her way of thinking and doing wouldn’t have been possible, however, if it weren’t for both her supportive parents and her caring teachers at Lyme-Old Lyme High School. Because of her high school’s small size, Morrison said that students are, in particular, supported and encouraged to partake in all activities and interests that appeal to them, even if it's, say, both sports and theater. "There is a lot of personal connection here where they are there to help you make it all work," she said. "?ey want you to have that passion and they want you to have that interest." But it’s also been her teachers’ wise words that have shaped her viewpoint on life, as well. Morrison's theater and music teachers, in particular, have been pivotal to her growth, both inspiring her to be unafraid, as well as bringing a certain joie de vivre into everything she does. ​“A big part of music, I’ve learned, is expressing something to the audience and making the audience feel something,” Morrison said. “Music is a way to communicate, and if you’re not allowing yourself to feel what you’re playing, you’re not communicating anything.” “So, it’s feeling what you’re doing. And it’s applying that idea to the rest of life, too,” she continued. “You shouldn’t be just going through life to go through the motions. It shouldn’t be just, ‘I have to go to college and I have to pick a job.’" “I want to be feeling something and I want to care about what I’m doing,” Morrison said. “I want to do something impactful and I want to do something meaningful.”
​m.biekert@theday.com (mailto:m.biekert@theday.com)

by Christine Corah​
LOLHS Unified Field Day on Thursday, May 30th. Unified Wildcats were joined by the Old Saybrook, Cromwell, Hale Ray, Westbrook, and Haddam-Killingworth Unified teams. Together, all athletes, partners, coaches, and paras participated in a variety of backyard games: golf, wiffle ball, bowling, relay races, corn hole, bocce, football, soccer, and ring toss! After two hours of activity, the teams enjoyed a BBQ together in the Commons before heading home with full bellies!
 
Thank you for allowing me to become part of the LOLHS Community and the Unified Team. I cannot think of a position more rewarding! 

The Business Department is proud to announce that the following students have successfully demonstrated proficiency in Personal Finance by achieving a passing score on the nationally standardized Financial Literacy Certification Test. Subjects mastered include money, budgeting, banking, credit, insurance, investing, retirement planning, and financial planning and management. The students are officially, nationally Certified Financially Literate!
Brendan O’Brien earned the status of W!SE Scholar. A W!SE Scholar is a student scored above a 95% on the test. Brendan is now eligible to apply for the W!SE Ambassador Award.
          Congratulations to all on their outstanding                          achievements... Way to go WILDCATS!

Ryan McTigue was selected as the Outstanding Shoreline Junior in Mathematics. He was honored at a breakfast at Valley Regional High School on Wednesday May 28th.
                        Congratulations Ryan!

​In case you are interested in taking courses for  enrichment and/or in the event that you need to make up credit in a course you struggled in this year, take a look!
Summer School runs from July 2nd through August 2nd and meets on Tuesdays through Fridays during two blocks of classes: Block A: 8:30am to 10:15am and Block B: 10:25 am to 12:10 pm.
Additionally, the LOLHS Math Department is offering opportunities to review the essential skills of Algebra 1 to prepare students for success in either Geometry or Algebra 2. Information about these two review sessions is explained in the summer letters for Alg. 2 and Geometry students which are attached in this email.
To register for any of these courses, use the attached registration form(s) and submit the required materials to the LOLHS Main Office, Attention: Brett Eckhart, Summer School Coordinator, by Friday, June 28th. 
If you have any questions about Summer School, please contact Brett Eckhart at 860-434-1651 ext.1202 or eckhartb@region18.org. 

Below find the following documents:

• Summer School Brochure
• Registration for Algebra
• Registration for Geometry

Congratulations to ​Anna Sather and Casey Blue who were awarded the CIAC
Scholar Athlete Award. This award goes to "two high school seniors whose academic and athletic careers have been exemplary, whose personal standards and achievements are a model to others, and who possess high levels of integrity, self-discipline and courage."
                      Nice Work Anna and Casey!

On Thursday, LOLHS participated in the long awaited Pep Rally, followed by a school wide BBQ prepared by our amazing kitchen staff; and culminated in a great Field day! No matter where you were, students and faculty were having fun, whether it was playing flag football, ping pong, or basketball, challenging themselves to trivia or singing to Karaoke in the auditorium, relaxing on the track playing yard games, frisbee, 4-square... the choices were seemingly endless. As for food after the BBQ... cotton candy, popcorn, ice cream sandwiches, lemonade... all the necessary parts to a wonderful, fun packed, carnival-like field day! It was a really great way to welcome in summer, enjoy each other's company outside of the classroom, and relax just a bit before we begin to  wrap up the end of the year and prepare for exams.
Special thanks goes to LOLHS Student Leaders and Mr. Zubek for planning this event with such detail. Well Done WIldcats!

LOLHS has started a new tradition to enhance our school culture.  Members of the senior, junior and sophomore classes stayed after school from 7-9:30 to enjoy pizza while creating posters to decorating the gymnasium. Themes included "Senior Memes", "Welcome to the Jungle" (Juniors) and "Super Sophomores". The energy and creativity of our students are always amazing. Next year we are hoping the freshmen class will join in on the fun. ​

O​n Tuesday evening, Spanish Scholars were inducted into Lyme-Old Lyme High School's chapter of the National Spanish Honor Society "Los caminantes de Machado."

These students are recognized for their excellence in language learning and exploration of hispanic culture. They have worked tirelessly this year impacting our local, national and international communities. The slide show below was presented at the induction and includes all of their work for this year.
             FELICITACIONES A TODOS!

By Mr. Elliott
A team of 5 students from Fairfield Warde High School of Fairfield won the 28th annual Connecticut High School Geography Challenge at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain on Wednesday, May 22.  The Connecticut High School Geography Challenge is an annual statewide interscholastic academic team competition hosted by Central Connecticut State University and its Department of Geography.  The theme of this year’s highly competitive event was “Global Health and Disease”. Eighteen high school teams from around Connecticut competed in events focused on this year’s theme of “Global Health and Disease”.  In the morning students scoured the CCSU campus in a modified orienteering event, read traditional maps and online GIS information in the map reading activity, and hunted for a gang of spies in a virtual scavenger hunt problem-solving activity.   In the afternoon all teams competed in a geography quiz bowl.  These events all had thematic “Global Health and Disease”-related questions for students to solve and answer.

Two teams of five students each from Lyme—Old Lyme High School finished second and fourth, and Housatonic Valley Regional High School’s team from Falls Village came in third.  The second place Lyme—Old Lyme High School team was composed of students Juliette Atkinson, Kathryn Atkinson, Rachael Larson, Ryan McTigue, and Connie Pan.  The fourth place Lyme—Old Lyme High School team students were Tess Allan, Eleanor Dushin, William Larson, Nikolai Stephens-Zumbaum, and Alex Williams.  Only 12 points separated the top four teams.
              WAY TO GO WILDCATS!