On Wednesday, October 2, LOLHS' 3rd annual Wildcat Wellness will take place. Students and staff will put down the books and spend the afternoon  learning strategies and  techniques to balance their lives. We have 34 community members who have offered their time and expertise. Take a look at the workshop list - It is quite impressive!

Walking through the halls of LOLHS this week, you could definitely feel the wildcat pride and spirit. The week culminated in Friday's pep rally, the homecoming game on Saturday and the Homecoming dance on Saturday Night.
Fun was had by all! 

Representatives from Student Advisory Counsel, Student Leaders and Spectrum had the opportunity to build their leadership skills on Tuesday morning. We spent the morning outside working together - problem solving, building communication skills and... bonding! It was a great morning. A special  thanks goes to our Prevention Coordinator, Heather Congdon, who arranged for this event.

On Saturday morning while the football team was prepping for action at the homecoming game, members of the Junior and Senior classes were shining up local cars. Special thanks to all the community members who stopped by and let us wash your car. Your donations will help fund activities for both classes in their final years at LOLHS. We couldn't do it without you. 

Once again, Pep Rally Prep night was a hit. Students from all four classes came together to make posters and decorate the gym for Friday's Pep Rally. Four boxes of extra-large pizzas, several bags of chips, and a few gallons of ice tea later the gym looked awesome. 
Special Thanks to Mr. Fisler, Mrs. Todd, Ms. Rahr, and Mr. Cohen for taking time out of the evenings to chaperone. And of course, thanks to our class advisors, Ms. Macione (seniors), Mrs. Fried and Mrs. Trost (juniors), and Ms. Corah (sophomores) for helping get this event organized. 

Students in Mrs. Fried's AP Biology and Mrs. Kelley's AP Chemistry had a unique opportunity to visit the Department of Homeland Security  Science &Technology Directorate: Office of National Laboratories (ONL) Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC). Whew! It's a mouthful. Students participated in three presentations: The History of Plum Island and PIADC Mission by Mr.Golden, Public Affairs Officer, The Use of Laboratory Animals in Disease Research by Dr. Morgan, and Pathways to Becoming a Zoonotic Disease Researcher by Dr. Rodriguez. Following these great talks, students were taken on a tour of Plum Island with stops at the Plum Island lighthouse, the islands wetland habitat, grey seal haulout, and historic military bunkers. We will be working with school staff to bring in Dr. Morgan and Dr. Rodriguez to talk more about career opportunities in the animal disease research field. 
 
For more information check out their fact sheet: https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Plum%20Island%20Animal%20Disease%20Center-PIADC-061914_2.pdf
And for information on the ecological significance of Plum Island see the New York Natural Heritage Inventory publication here https://nynhp.org/files/PlumIsland_2016/Plum_Island_biodiversity_inventory_June2016.pdf
​

Dear LOLHS Parents,

The LOLHS Booster Club is launching its 2019-2020 Membership Drive. The Booster Club relies on its members, please consider joining! 
 
Please see the attached Membership Form for more information on donating and volunteering. All donations directly support the student athletes, scholarships for championship gear, supplementing the athletic banquets, and supporting needed purchases by the athletic department during the year. Previously, the Booster Club helped to buy a golf cart that helps athletes to be safely transported, a sound system, tents, replaced broken equipment. Your help makes a difference!
 
Also:
- We need your help at events during the year, consider helping at a Banquet or Basketball Concessions!!
- All Matching gifts programs accepted
 
- We have open chair positions and are in need of volunteers for each Committee, please join us at our next meeting Oct 10:
Membership
Banquet
Concessions
Sell Gear (available after school a few times a year?)
 
Please email [email protected] interest and for more information.
- Don't forget to add @lymeo on the Remind App to get important updates from LOLHS Athletics!!
 
Sincerely,
The 2019-2020 LOLHS Booster Committee
--
Wildcat Booster Club
President,  Naomi Marinelli
Vice President,  Kate Saunders
Treasurer,  Wen He
Secretary,  Jeanine Sullivan     

LOLHS has joined the TREX challenge for its third consecutive year!
We need to outweigh our competition to win an outdoor bench.

Help to remove plastics from our environment .. many types of plastics accepted and collected at the high school. It is weighed and sent to TREX for conversion.
For further information please contact Leslie O'Connor.

Bob Brubaker graduated in 1967 from was then just known as Old Lyme High School.  While in high school he ran a dairy farming business in Lyme and was famous among his friends as being the only one with his own checking account.  Principal Grover sometimes wondered whether Bob was attending high school as a side-line.  Bob remembered fondly many of his high school teachers particularly Fred Chappelle and Elias Hage.  He later graduated from University of Connecticut with a M.A. in Public Administration.
In his passing, Bob's family asked for all donations to go to Lyme-Old Lyme High School. We are so appreciative of this donation of $2,000 which will be using to purchase stand up desks for our high school.
We would like to extend our gratitude to the Bob family for this very generous donation.

Wednesday was, sadly,  Chef Claude's last day working at LOLHS. We are excited for Chef Claude as he found a wonderful opportunity at another school. I was honored to be asked to cook with him on his last day, Pesto Pasta with chicken and fresh tomatoes - a true favorite! 
It was a fun but sentimental afternoon with lots of hugs from students and well wishes. IT was a true wildcat farewell!
         Best Wishes Chef Claude... We will miss you!

​The EBMA is a non-profit organization within Electric Boat primarily focused on Management Development. One of our secondary goals is to foster community activities that promote the general welfare. In this area, the EBMA attempts to organize and execute programs which promote a better understanding and improve the relationships between our Association and the communities in our area.
In an effort to become more involved with the community, the EBMA membership has solicited volunteers for tutoring middle or high school students in the local area.
Over 80 EBMA members, including many engineers and management personnel, have committed to volunteering their time to help students living in their towns and surrounding areas. Students could benefit from working with an EBMA mentor/tutor, both academically and by having a career role model.
The EBMA worked with school administrators to develop the guidelines for this tutoring program:
- Tutors will arrange tutoring sessions with students in need when contacted by the student’s parent or guardian.
- Tutor sessions will take place preferably in the student’s home, in a location easily monitored by the parent or guardian.
- If tutoring takes place outside of the student’s home, a parent or guardian will remain in the area with the student for the duration of the tutoring session.
- EBMA tutors will charge no money for their time, nor will they accept any gift from the student’s family for the tutoring they will provide.
- Upon completion of a tutoring session, the EBMA tutor will complete a Tutor Session Summary Report and submit to the EBMA Tutoring Coordinator. A copy of this report will also be sent to the student’s parents and the student’s school representative.
Any parent interested in taking advantage of this program, please contact your school guidance office to obtain the current list of EBMA Tutor volunteers and the subjects and towns they are willing to support.
While Electric Boat Corporation and the EBMA are supportive of EBMA members participating in a Tutor Volunteer Community Outreach Program, Electric Boat Corporation and the EBMA assume no risk or liability for the individuals volunteering. The individuals volunteering assume all risk and liability.

,Student Leaders have planned a great week of festivities.  Small class competitions will include the entire school. Classes will earn participation points for dressing up and, during lunches, there will be mini class competitions (limbo, hula hoop, etc.). To top it off, on Friday we will celebrate our first Pep Rally of the year. To prepare for it, classes have arranged some class bonding time and will meet on Thursday evening to decorate their section of the gym. On Saturday, we will enjoy our first (and only) home football game at 1 pm! At 7 pm the festivities will culminate with our annual Homecoming dance. Tickets will be sold for $10.00 during lunches this week. If you forget, tickets can be purchased at the door for $15.00. 
Please notes: This dance is a school community event. It is an opportunity for  LOLHS students to enjoy each other and celebrate our Football team. Valley football players are also welcome. We will not be accepting out of town or students from other schools.

8​The girls JV placed second in the “Going to the Sun” invitational yesterday. Bella Hine won a medal for 8th place overall.

           GO WILDCATS!

Access this article posted by Channel 3 News on Thursday 9/19 by selecting the photo link below:

"Become a mentor! The Lyme-Old Lyme Mentor Program is in search of high school mentors! Originally created in 2014 with the intention of recruiting adult community members, the Mentor Program was built upon the principle that every child deserves a caring, positive role model. LOLHS student have been acting as mentors since 2016, and the experience has been incredibly rewarding for both the mentors and mentees. Mentors typically spend one hour per week with their middle school or elementary school mentee, and the pairs engage in a variety of activities which range from playing sports or board games to making slime and other crafts. The role of a mentor is simply to provide a middle/elementary school student with someone talk with and look up to; mentors are not expected to act as tutors, counselors, or otherwise. Mentoring is about establishing meaningful, supportive relationships with students who could benefit from such connections, and the positive influence mentors have really shows. After entering the mentor program, mentees often demonstrate more consistency in their school attendance, improvements in their grades, and just seem happier in general-- especially on days they are scheduled to meet with their mentors. What better way to service your community than by creating connections with students who could use a positive influence like you? To get involved, please send an email expressing you interest to the program's high school liaison, Arianna DelMastro ([email protected]), or middle school counselor Renee Molnar ([email protected]). Prospective mentors will participate in a brief interview as well as a quick, one-hour training session so as to allow both mentor and mentee the best possible experience with the program." 

​This annual event sponsored by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture features local farms and celebrates the diversity of fresh, local, and seasonal foods connecting farmers and producers of Connecticut Grown products to chefs and culinary professionals. A special side dish is prepared every day that comes with a meal and local apple cider, apples and maple kettle corn made in Old Lyme can be purchased as well. ​ Check out this week's menu!
This is also a special week for our Amazing Chef Claude as this will be the last week that he will be creating special meals for us. On Wednesday, September 18, I have the honor of working with Chef Claude to celebrate this special week. We will be preparing  "A Taste of Italy" Chicken Pesto over Penne Pasta.

Cross Country:
ON Tuesday at the Portland Highlander Cross Country Invitational,  Alyssa Spooner and Anne Colangelo both earned trophies.  Alyssa finished the 3rd top freshman and Anne was 6th top sophomore.  Honorable mentions to Harry Whitten and John Almy who finished 8th top freshman and sophomore respectably.  

Football:   
Valley/OL relies on stingy defense to beat Morgan in opener

If you are interested in joining the winter musical, please be aware of the early auditions. We understand how busy you all are and that some of you may have conflicts with the audition dates. PLEASE DON'T WORRY! NO ONE will be penalized for not being able to make the entire audition process. If there are any questions please direct them to Mr. Cheney via email (link)