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On Friday, LOLHS finally 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 by cooling off in the dunk tank, climbing to the top, playing ping pong, challenging themselves to minute-to-win-it games, singing to Karaoke in the auditorium, relaxing on the track playing yard games, or flag football, 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.
Senior, India Bagwell, presents us with a gift - one that she thoughtfully planned and executed with great artistic talent and a meaningful message. Thank you, India for your gift that not only livens up the halls of LOLHS but also makes you pause and think. Listen to India describe what inspired her to create this piece.
Below is The Day's Senior Profile from this weekend highlighting one of our own... Claudia Mergy! Take a look at the article below  Lyme-Old Lyme senior expresses herself through art Published May 25. 2018 6:38PM | Updated May 25. 2018 8:21PM
By Kimberly Drelich Day staff writer [email protected] KimberlyDrelich Old Lyme — When Claudia Mergy was a young girl, she was constantly drawing. Her parents noticed and took her at age 8 to art classes at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. As she progressed through art classes within the close-knit community, she discovered she had a talent for art that she should pursue. At Lyme-Old Lyme High School, her art teacher, William Allik, helped her realize just how strong her passion for art is. "He just gave me the space I needed and the materials I needed, and he just said, 'Go, have at it,'" said Mergy, a senior at Lyme-Old Lyme High School who lives in Old Lyme. Throughout her high school years, her artistic talent developed from more photo-realistic work to paintings that showed her brushstrokes and thought process. Mergy, 18, plans to attend the University of California, Los Angeles, and major in fine arts after graduation. Mergy, who enjoys still-life painting, said art is an opportunity to express herself. The process of painting is time-consuming, she said. It includes setting up the still life, playing around with colors and lighting, figuring out a composition and then painting. But the final product — and the moment she realizes she has created something that people can connect with — is well worth the effort. "Just kind of doing something different and that people have never really seen before is really neat — to look at something and be like this doesn't look like anything anyone has ever put out there," she said. Her artwork has earned awards, including state and national recognition from the Scholastic Art Awards. "She’s always had a tremendous facility for both drawing and painting and a great sense of design," Allik said. "She composes things beautifully and apparently effortlessly." He also said she has a great dedication to her work and possesses a unique ability to work independently, which has been a huge part of her success. "She'll start things here and bring back finished masterpieces," he said. Along with painting, Mergy enjoys creative writing and has taken online creative writing courses through Johns Hopkins University. She also has explored singing and playing the guitar, fashion journalism and design, and crew. Fashion is another way to express herself, and she enjoys creating different looks. She said she tries to focus on the things she likes to do and being who she wants to be. "I think it’s good that everyone has their own sense of who they want to be and who they are," she said. "I think everyone needs to show a little bit of individualism, or else we’re all just kind of the same, walking around looking the exact same." "I think everyone has something in themselves that is different than anybody else, and I just think it's important for everyone to show that," she said. In the future, Mergy hopes to travel to Italy and France to study art to help improve her own work. She is exploring future careers and hopes to discover her path at UCLA but expects it will be something along the lines of art. "I want to be able to find something that I can do for a living and that I can look at and say this is fun, this is not work — and something that will make me a better person every time I go to work," she said. [email protected] Hattie Wilczewski, class of 2016 and currently a sophomore at Saint Michael's College, travelled to the Dominican Republic with the college this past March for a service-learning trip. Saint Michael's College partners with ADESJO (Association for the Development of San Jose de Ocoa) which helps sustain the rural way of life for thousands of families in the region who suffer from rural poverty. As a cooperative, ADESJO helps to create change, hope and social justice through infrastructure projects like hurricane-resistant homes, schools and aqueducts. They also foster adult literacy and healthcare and provide small loans to help women start small businesses. Check out the link (ADESJO) to find out more information of the cooperative. And read Hattie's description of her travels along with some heartfelt reflections from such an incredible journey below. Take a look! One of the first things that I remember learning about the trip in general was that the community (Los Corozos) does not have a lack of labor but does have a lack of resources. This is why fundraising was an essential aspect of the trip, because they have plenty of workers to build crucial structures (houses, schools, clinics, etc.) but a lack of money for the necessary resources. I struggled with this aspect of the trip for the first few days- were we really necessary down there? They have plenty of laborers to build the house, we mostly just got in the way of the construction and it was hard at first to make connections with people in the community. Now, this trip involved mainly three types of service. Service involving the head, heart, and hands. We learned about the local community and about the DR (head), we made connections with the community members (heart), and we did physical work to build the house (hands). Our main objective was to build the house and we did a lot of physical labor, the connections and learning came along with that when you’re working with people for 8 hours a day (even if we aren’t fluent in Spanish). We built this house using only simple tools and our own labor, first by hacking and shoveling out dirt for the foundation, then by hand mixing cement and using buckets to pour the cement into the foundation (this took about 4 days). Then, we started placing cement blocks to create the walls of the house. After a week of work, we had a few feet of the wall already placed, and it actually had started to look like a house! The first few days of labor were a little awkward between the group and the workers, especially because the majority of our group were girls. We all felt the machismo that was very prevalent and noticed that the construction workers would give us the easier, methodical tasks rather than the hacking or shoveling. It also proved difficult to connect with some of the workers because they were older men and the dynamic between us and them was a little awkward and uncomfortable at first. By the third day, however, we were doing the work alongside them and I think they built up some respect for us for doing the same work as them. It felt more and more as if we empowered each other and engaged in our shared humanity, as opposed to feeling the divide between them and us. It remained like this for the rest of the trip, we all just felt close to the community members and were able to engage in meaningful conversations and make some strong connections with the people down there. Something I tried to remain mindful about during the trip was avoiding romanticizing the community. It could be easy to only focus on that people are so close with each other, humble, kind, hard working. But then if you look a little deeper, you see that these people live in relative poverty, struggle with food security, live in a male-centered society, have low education, low levels of societal development. I believe it would be a mistake to flow in and out of this community without giving it proper thought, and that one should not ignore the not-so-glamorous parts of their culture. We went through a program called ADESJO that works for the development of San Jose de Ocoa. It is a fantastic organization that my school, Saint Michael's College, has been working with for many years now (I've attach the link to the website at the end if you'd like to take a look). Part of what ADESJO does is facilitate groups coming down and buying the necessary resources for construction as well as providing a cook for our meals and arranging a safe place to sleep. They do great work for the most part but you can probably notice the catch- they have to make sure that the service groups are sent to safe locations for obvious security reasons. This means that the poorest, most poverty ridden communities with highest rates of crime, drugs, and violence do not get help they desperately need. They appear to be stuck in a vicious cycle, unable to get outside intervention to break it. Obviously it would not be a good idea to send a service group into an unsafe neighborhood, but it also doesn't sit right with me that more isn't done for these extremely poor & crime-ridden communities. Some food for thought. Anyway, I decided that the profound purpose of the trip was much more than wiring money down to the DR for the construction of a house. It was about humanization. We were able to engage our minds and hearts in service and work to empower each other. At least we could touch the community with some laughter and kindness while we were there for a week. We could connect on the most basic, human level and I can’t help but believe that we left an impression on the community. If anything we are a fun memory for them to reminisce about, and perhaps they’ll look forward to future groups visiting. Personally, I got a lot out of the trip. I think that it added a layer of dimension and perspective to my life and even shifted my outlook. I hope to live my life guided by the experiences, values, and perspective I have gained on this trip. Rarely have I felt so empowered as I did when I got back from the DR. Chemistry classes have taken on the Plastic Pollution Problem and want to make us all aware of the issues that plastic causes. Students have created flyers to post around town and in school and hopefully, after reading them, you may want to post at home!  Middle School students will show support for the Lyme/Old Lyme Senior Class of 2018, as they hold our 10th annual “Flip-flop Friday, Because We Care” event.
During lunches next week, June 4th-8th donations may be made to support a senior attending their “Safe Grad” celebration. This is also to reinforce the Middle School curriculum that drugs and alcohol can destroy dreams. Each Middle School student can donate $1.00 and sign a flip-flop ticket with a senior’s picture on it. All donations will go to the Safe Grad celebration and the senior will receive their flip flop ticket before graduation. Students that contribute will take part in Flip Flop Friday, a special outdoor lunch activity with ice cream being served. Please encourage your child to participate in this special event next week. On Tuesday, May 22, The Shoreline Heads of English Teachers celebrated students who have demonstrated excellence in the field. Congratulations to Emma Sked who won third place in the SHED Writing Competition for her story, “Remember Who Loves You”. Nice work Emma! Megan Gravinho, class of 2021, recently competed at the State of CT USA Gymnastics Championships and came out on top! She earned gold in the All-Around and Uneven Bars. She also received silver medals on Vault, Balance Beam, and the Floor Exercise. She will also receive an All-Around state champion award this fall by the CT Chapter of USAG. Megan qualified for Regionals, a competition against all of New England and New York athletes. She peaked at Regionals as she scored her highest All-Around ever! She placed 3rd in the All-Around, 2nd on Balance Beam, and 4th on Bars. Congratulations Megan! Mr. Elliot and Mr. D'Aquila brought 2 teams to the state Geochallenge held this past week on the Central Connecticut State University Campus. We were well represented with our Blue and White Teams. The Blue team won a silver medal & the all novice White placed an impressive 7th of 50 teams. In addition, two advisors from other schools approached Mr. Elliott and complimented him on LOLHS student behavior. Way to go Wildcats! Blue team: Shannon Nosal, Gabriel Stephens-Zumbaum, Ryan McTigue, Sarah Kwon & Hannah Wisner
White Team: Kathryn & Juliette Atkinson, Reed Spitzer, Alex Williams & Connie Pan  On Thursday evening, 26 students were inducted into Lyme-Old Lyme High School's Spanish Honor Society. Our chapter is named "Los caminantes de Machado." This is the first Spanish Honor Society in LOLHS history! These students are recognized for their excellence in language learning and exploration of hispanic culture. They have worked tirelessly this year participating in and offering our school community several cultural activities. FELICITACIONES A TODOS! The very popular and much talked about Netflix show, 13 Reasons Why, is back with Season 2 and it is being released this weekend. The first season generated some serious conversations about mental health among our young people. Common Sense Media published an article describing what this season has in store and provides some guidance for parents and guardians with links to resources and supports as well conversation starters to help broach the subject. Take a look by clicking here or on the image below to access the complete article and website. It is strongly suggested that students watch this with an adult or parent so as to be able to process the material after viewing. If you have any concerns about your child’s well being, please contact our School Counseling Department who can help in finding the appropriate resources. Also know that community based Family Services are available 24/7 and can be reached by dialing 211.   This is an exiting week for LOLHS ... we have our annual Spring Spirit Week and on Friday... the much awaited Pep Rally followed by an All-School BBQ and our second annual Field Day! This year's field day will have events including flag football, four/nine square, caricature drawing, a big inflatable race to the top, a dunk tank, minute-to-win-it games, basketball, karaoke, ping pong, tug of war, a water balloon toss and yard games!... a great way to begin the long Memorial Day - HOMEWORK FREE weekend! Looking ahead, the weather should be perfect and we are going to share some good, old-fashioned FUN! Monday- Tie dye Tuesday- Saved by the bell
Thursday- Decades
LUNCH information ...
On Friday May 11, Emily Rivera received her official appointment to the United States Coast Guard Academy! Emily will also be playing soccer for the Academy. In the photo she can be seen signing the official contract. CONGRATULATIONS EMILY!   Congratulations to Shannon Nosal for her acceptance into Pfizer’s BT Scholar Program! The BT Scholar Program accepts five students each year from the shoreline schools. Since its inception three years ago, Old Lyme has had four students accepted into this program. While in the scholar program Shannon will be gaining exposure to career paths in Business Technology. If an intern successfully completes the two year BT Scholar Program they are given the opportunity to interview for Pfizer’s Student Summer Worker Program. Currently LOLHS has two former graduates starting the Student Summer Worker Program this summer. All of the LOLHS students who have interned at Pfizer say it is a wonderful experience and they have learned so much during their eight weeks. In the fall, Shannon will be attending Rochester Institute of Technology studying mechanical engineering. CONGRATULATIONS SHANNON!  Here is the link to access all the prom photos from the photographer!
LOLHS Prom 2018 wildteaphotography.pixieset.com Photo collection by Wild Tea Photography enter your email to access picture What a fun night! Take a look ... click on the image below to take you there! also for easy access for future visits, a link will be provided on the right margin  Although the weather was not the best, it was all sparkles, beautiful gowns, handsome suits, and big smiles on Saturday night at Water's Edge. Fun was had by all! Take a look at some of the pictures. Congratulations to the Prom King and Queen: John Manthous and Nancy Firgelewski! Congratulations to Joshua Liefeld for being selected as this month's Rotary Student of the Month for Business. Josh's interest in business spans from accounting, to finance, and computer programming learning three computer languages (Visual Basic, Java, and C+) here at the high school and one on his own. Josh has excelled in all of these areas and because of his vast interests it will be difficult to select between a major in business or computer programming. Josh has an inquisitive mind always challenging himself and others in and out of the classroom. Josh humbly leads by example consistently going above and beyond when put to a task. Well done Josh! By Spanish Honor Society Member - Shannon Nosal Marina Kelly spoke to the Spanish Honor Society on March 28, 2018. Marina is a 2016 graduate of American University. She studied Foreign Policy, Spanish, and Portuguese. She had a chance to study abroad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Later, she worked for the Brussels Embassy and travelled Europe. She is Guatemalan and throughout high school she visited Guatemala for community service projects. She believes that studying languages in college is vital for your future and allows you to have more opportunities than others. For example, her classmate studied Spanish and engineering and now he is able to travel to many Spanish speaking countries for the company he works for. She now lives in St. Paul, Minnesota and is getting her master’s degree at the University of Minnesota. She plans to work with the foreign service for the United States and hopes to be stationed in a Latin American country. She is also Shannon Nosal’s cousin.  |
Important Dates:December
9: All School Assembly: Kindness 10: Safe Grad Mtg @6:30 12: Winter Band Concert @ 7 16-20 Winter Spirit Week 18: Winter Carnival 18: Winter Chorus Concert @ 7 20: Holiday Assembly & 1/2 Day HOLIDAYBREAK HOMEWORK FREE 
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