​On Thursday, March 23rd, the Lyme-Old Lyme Mock Trial team won the Connecticut State Championships.  The competition was held at the CT Supreme Court and was judged by Associate Justice Steven Ecker, Associate Justice Joan Alexander, and Appellate Court Judge Hope Seeley. Mock Trial is organized through Civics First, a non-profit organization. According to their website, this year more than 600 students from schools across Connecticut participated in Mock Trials. Forty-six schools with 57 teams competed in state and federal courtrooms with dozens of volunteers from the CT Bar Association who served as judges. It is rare for a public, non-Fairfield County school to win the State, no less one the size of LOLHS.
 
The LOLHS Defense team took on the Plaintiff from Fairfield-Ludlowe HS in a case about voter suppression, “Swift v. Smythe.”  William Barry ‘23 delivered the opening statement in support of the defendant, Sam Smythe, played by Simon Karpinski ‘25. Witnesses included Alexis Grasdock ‘24 and Ada LaConti ‘25.  When Delaney Nelson ’24 delivered her closing argument, the court was silent as she persuaded the room as to why her client was not guilty. Recognized as the best attorney in the State of CT was Rhyleigh Russell ‘23 who began her involvement on the mock trial team as a freshman, serving first as the time keeper before advancing to attorney.  We applaud her dedication to the team and her tremendous growth.  This is a well deserved honor! Next up, coaches Sarah Hylas and Emily Kelly will take the team to Little Rock Arkansas to compete at the HS Mock Trial National Competition in May.  The team will have approximately six weeks to put together a whole new case.  

This past week students in our 10-1 English classes created digital books as a way to share a synopsis, review and analysis of their Independent Reading selections.  With the support of their English teacher and the Library Media Specialist, students wrote, recorded, & published their book reviews and podcasts in a web application, Book Creator. The end result is a digital library of reviews and podcasts that will provide all students at LOLHS with recommendations for their next read. Take a look at LOLHS Reads by clicking on the image below... maybe you’ll find your next read. 

Students prepare to perform for English class as they make Shakespeare come alive and act out scenes of Hamlet.

​Tracy MacKinstry owner of MacKinstry Financial & Investments spoke to the Investment classes about planning for their financial future. Some of  the topics Tracy discussed were starting to save and invest early. Numerous ways to do this were explained including the Roth IRA, 401K, and 403B accounts.
​

Attorney Yona Gregory, owner of The Law Office of Yona Gregory, spoke to the Business Department's Entrepreneurship class about what it takes to start a business.  She told the students about her career moves and how and why she decided to open her own business. Having worked in various retail businesses in the past and then starting her own restaurant at one point helped her learn about ownership and sales and helped her make her decision to go into law and to start her own legal practice.  Attorney Gregory also explained the process a new business goes through when starting up and how it included figuring out finances, deciding on a billing process that led to having flat-fee offerings, finding others to join her practice, and getting the word out. She said that her goals included helping her clients through the legal process and being available when they needed her, including through online services. She also answered questions, such as the advantages and disadvantages of owning a business, what she enjoyed about her work, and what the hours were like.  Students later commented that she was very informative, and they thoroughly enjoyed having her speak to them. 

LOLHS Chemistry Teachers submitted their students' work to the US Crystal Growing Competition earlier this year. There were 166 crystals sent in from schools nationwide.  Mr. Lillie and Mrs. Walter both had students whose crystals placed in the top 10.  One group was even in the top three so they will receive a  cash prize as well.  Three of the LOLHS groups tied for second place. A grand total of 5 teams from LOLHS got in the top 10 - our best year yet!​

In case you were unaware, the Month of March is the Month of Giving! This was brought to my attention by a student, Morgan Standish, who has been supporting the Make-a-Wish Foundation and wanted to bring awareness to our LOLHS community. So on Wednesday, March 29, go Jersey Mike's! Here is why....

"Make-A-Wish Connecticut is joining forces with Jersey Mike’s Subs in the state for the 13th Annual March “Month of Giving” campaign to fund local charities.
During the month of March, customers can make donations to Make-A-Wish Connecticut at 32 participating Jersey Mike’s restaurants, through the Jersey Mike’s mobile app, or onsite.
The campaign culminates with the nationwide event, Day of Giving, on Wednesday, March 29, when participating local Jersey Mike’s restaurants will give 100% of the day’s sales – not just profit – to Make-A-Wish Connecticut. Since Month of Giving began in 2011, Jersey Mike’s has raised more than $67 million for local charities.

The Shack in East Lyme March 28
And then Texas Roadhouse April 30
 Meeting 5:30 April 19 at the High School 

​Ed Kerrigan spoke to the Personal Finance classes about auto insurance. Some of the topics he discussed were driving infractions and how they impact premiums, deductions, what do if you are in an accident, and the different types of policy coverage. Ed also discussed the importance of renters insurance.

Local author Beatriz Williams visited Ms. Carbone's and Ms. Baklik's 11th grade classes last week to facilitate a writer's workshop. The classes are writing "Counter-Narratives," a creative writing project in which students develop short fiction pieces from the point of view of a minor character from one of the literary works they have read earlier in high school. Eric McDowell of the Michigan Quarterly Review says counter-narratives, "...not only use important stories to assert the dignity of misrepresented characters and invite our empathy, but they also ask us to think critically about how stories wield their power." In this way, students will give voices to characters on the margins of familiar stories like The Scarlet Letter, The Great Gatsby, Of Mice and Men, and To Kill a Mockingbird.
 
In representing their own fictional characters, Beatriz Williams encouraged students to consider, "What is your character's burden?" She prompted students with more probing questions: What is hurting them? What are they missing? What is most important to them, maybe without even realizing it? Williams offered skillful guidance and helped students workshop their characters' development, brainstorming everything from the character's childhood to their greatest fear. She advised them to create a plot, "fiendishly designed to test that character's weakness." Williams' energy and enthusiasm as well as her expert advice led to fruitful discourse and exploration. After the workshop, students left the room with a new sense of purpose and direction. Their teachers are looking forward to the results!

While students study the New Deal in Modern World History (MUSH), students analyzed murals that reflect the time period and then created their own.  Below students in Mr. D'Aquila's class take a "gallery walk" to view each mural gathering pertinent information for the class.

On Friday, the Lyme-Old Lyme mock trial team traveled to Middletown to participate in the Elite Eight of the statewide mock trial competition.  The field started with over 70 teams competing in December and after several trials, LOLHS battled their way to the top 8 playoff position.  The team began the morning with LOLHS's plaintiff versus the defense of Hall High School of West Hartford.  Our plaintiff put up a good fight against Hall's defense and they pulled out a win.
 
The win in the morning allowed LOLHS to move forward to the Final Four.  In the afternoon, the LOLHS defense was matched against the plaintiff from Ridgefield High School, a very tough opponent.  In fact, the LOLHS defense had lost to Ridgefield by mere points in the previous round.  With extensive preparation and team work, the defense pulled out a remarkable win against an admirable opponent.
 
This officially makes LOLHS one of the top two mock trial teams in the state!  Next stop-the state championship at the Connecticut Supreme Court in Hartford on March 23rd!  The LOLHS defense will take on Fairfield-Ludlowe's plaintiff in what is sure to be an exciting trial.
 
Coach Sarah Hylas and Coach Emily Kelly are thrilled with the progress this very new and young team has made over the course of six months.  Their efforts and dedication should be commended.

The Visual Arts Department of Lyme-Old Lyme High School is proud to announce outstanding results from this year’s Future Choices Art Show, sponsored by the Shoreline Arts Alliance.
Junior Grace Phaneuf won Best in Show for her drawing, “Blank Pages,” also earning the Earl Grenville Killeen Founders Award for Mr. Allik as teacher of the Best in Show recipient. Other first place winners included Senior Kennedy McCormick in Printmaking for her etching “Dubious One” and Senior Abby Patana in Digital Art for “Liability.” Senior Lea Wilson earned third place in Painting for her triptych, “Burnt Out,” while Sophomore Aven Kellert took both second place for a self-portrait and an honorable mention, both in the competitive Drawing category. Other honorable mentions included Junior Sarah Colangelo in painting, Sophomore Gloria Conley in sculpture and Freshman Sydney St. Pierre in ceramics.
Other LOLHS students with works juried into the show included Livie Bass, Henry Boller, Sophia Cheung, Grace Colwell, Adam Damiano, Willa Hoerauf, Sedona Holland, Maggie Thuma and Nick Turtoro. The exhibit runs from March 10 to April 2 at Sill house Gallery, Lyme Academy of Fine Arts with gallery hours Wednesday and Thursday 3:00 PM-6:00 PM and Saturday and Sunday 11:00 AM-4:00 PM.
Students who reside or attend school in the 24-town Shoreline region are eligible to submit up to three works per category for this juried competition. Award-winners earn cash prizes and scholarships to be announced at an awards ceremony on Saturday March 25th from 9:00 AM-12:00 PM. Congratulations to all who participated!