The Mock Trial team competed in Middletown Superior Court on December 14th and 21st in the Civics First CT State Mock Trial Competition. The Defense Team, led by senior William Barry and junior Delaney Nelson, defeated Ellington High School. The Plaintiff Team, led by senior Rhyleigh Russell, defeated Valley Regional High School. The team now advances to the State Quarter Finals in February where they will face off against the top schools in the state. Mock Trial is a simulation of a civil court case presented by competing teams. Students collaborate with real attorneys (thank you Captain Karpinski of the U.S. Coast Guard!) and are scored by real judges and attorneys. The team has been working for four months to prepare their case. The work paid off! Congratulations team. WAY TO GO WILDCATS!By: Juanjo Vazquez During unit 3, Influences of Beauty and Art, students studied and analyzed different sources and different points of view on whether graffiti is a form of art or vandalism. Students were asked for homework to think about their favorite Spanish word and to create graffiti. Students had to present in Spanish to the class in a circle the meaning of the graffiti and why they chose that word. It was interesting to find how the words were connected with past sensory experiences; for example, students described smells, sounds, feelings,etc. By: Louisa Warlitz This week's Spanish Honor Society bulletin board focuses on the struggles of indigenous peoples around the world. Indigenous people are classified primarily as people who have strong cultural ties to their surrounding region and identify indigenous people. They have their own distinct practices, languages as well as social, economic and political beliefs. Indigenous people have a common goal to maintain their ancestral environments which often clashes with modern corporations and governments. They are marginalized and discriminated against and must navigate through this in order to survive. Private governments as well as governments have forced Natives off of their land, many times through brutal and violent means when the native tribes try to fight back. These tribes are then forced into industrial societies and risk the entirety of their culture becoming extinct; plagued by disease, poverty, and discrimination. However, modern society has also made steps in the right direction to protect indigenous people; for example, under international law, states are not permitted to relocate tribes without their rightful consent and compensation to follow. Although this does not always happen. This week we focused on three case studies from around the world. The first was about forced sterilization of Peruvian women, who were sterilized without their consent in order to help with overpopulation in Peru. The second case study took place in Kenya in Africa, where the Sengwer people were being forced off of their land for decades. They soon gathered together to form a petition to rally against the government and to finally gain protection; their petition ended up gaining 270,000 signatures. The final case study took place in Bolivia in which the government wanted to build hydroelectric dams, regarded as a national priority by the president, Luis Arce. However, the dams would cause massive flooding in certain areas as well as leave almost a dozen tribes along the Beni River Basin in danger of immense resource restriction. Through this week’s research, we learned much more about certain struggles of the people in Peru, Bolivia and Kenya for example. However, this is still only a fraction of the problems indigenous tribes face when compared to the rest of the world making it imperative that we continue to educate ourselves about how discrimination and violence affects Native people. Students studied the physics behind air bags and crumple zones in cars as part of a unit on Momentum. They built an egg drop device, attempting to increase the time in stopping the egg’s collision with the ground, similar to they way safety devices in cars add time to stop the vehicle. Increasing the time decreases the force. Students embedded force sensors in their device to measure the effectiveness of their design, making modifications as needed to result in the safest device for their golden cargo. Their devices were dropped from heights of 12 feet and 18 feet, and only the strongest survived. Devices were ranked by the smallest, fastest and most lightweight to determine the most eggcellent design Mrs Hylas' history classes re-created WWI trench warfare in an experiential exercise. They fortified their trenches, chose commanders, and sat in the trench while watching and listening to first person archival footage & accounts of WWI trench life. They discussed the impact these conditions would have on soldiers and morale. While there is a tall desk/chair tower, no soldiers were lost in the recreation of the Maginot Line. There has been a festive vibe in the halls of LOLHS this week. Students and staff have been following the Student Leader dress code whether in fuzzy socks, flannel, PJs, or festive sweaters. On Wednesday, Student Leaders planned some holiday fun with homerooms teaming up to play Pin the Nose on the Snow Man, or holiday themed games like Kahoot, Pictionary, and Heads Up. And finally today, we come together with our annual Holiday Assembly. The Band and Chorus sent us off with a wonderful Concert and to top it off, a festive holiday class competition of Family Feud planned by the Students Leaders.
By Monique Lavoie It has been a busy month for Amnesty! These last two weeks we have focused on natural disasters all around the world. Amnesty included earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes. We covered places all around the world including India, China, and the United States. Amnesty focused on bringing awareness to the mass destruction these natural events cause and how many people's lives are changed by these events. Amnesty chose this topic for the next month to bring awareness about how important it is to spread the disaster relief and how relief funds can beneficial towards natural disasters. All of the information can be found on this month's bulletin board in the Commons! Amnesty's Guest Speaker:Before Thanksgiving, Amnesty got the chance to listen to Mary Garnder, a former US ambassador, describe her experience in her field. Mary Gardner talked about how much she was able to travel and the job assignments she has worked on in her many years as an ambassador. She also covered the many important people she was able to meet as US ambassador. She also talked about the cultural differences she experienced around the world and the diversity she faced as a woman. Amnesty and Model UN topped the presentation with snacks and drinks after the presentation!
Project: Letter of LoveBy: Lucas DaSilva This week in Spanish Honors Society we finished our Letters of Love project. For this project we collaborated with Amnesty International and Mrs Traver’s class and wrote letters to children in hospitals to let them know that we care for them and are supporting them. This project was very important because it helped out members of our society going through tough times and helped give them some hope and positivity in their lives. In Spanish Honors Society our members enjoy helping the community with fun projects like this and enjoy giving back to others and the Letters of Love project gave us the perfect opportunity to do this. We are very grateful that we were able to help brighten up these children’s day with our letters. December's Bulletin Board: Famous Spanish Artists Throughout History By: Arber Hoxha
This past month the Spanish Honor Society bulletin board focused on famous Spanish artists throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. The bulletin board included many artists from different Spanish speaking countries like Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Francisco De Goya, and Juan Gris. Artists have extensive power using their creative power to spread a cause or inspire change whether it be in a localized setting or even international setting. This bulletin board aimed to focus on the impact these artists had on their country and beyond. Some artists who had large impacts on their country included Juan Gris who questioned the perspectives and limitations of art during his time period and inspired future generations of artists through his art style. Other examples of artists that had a significant impact on their own country include Pablo Picasso. Picasso’s art style of cubism not only influenced many artists in Spain but also many up-and-coming artists around the world. Other important artists include Francisco De Goya who used his art to capture the most contemporary historical upheavals from his time. Francisco De Goya is considered to be one of the most influential Spanish artists of the eighteenth century. Many of these artists used their creativity and unique art styles to create positive impacts on their country of origin with some going as far as having international influence. This holiday season, the LOLHS French Honor Society and French Club invited members to try their hands at baking their best version of the traditional “bûche de noël” or Christmas yule log cake Ava Cummins, Ella Halsey, and Isabelle O’Connor took on the challenge, and members had the opportunity to taste the cakes after school on December 12, 2022. They were all both beautiful and delicious! Ava Cummins’ won for the best tasting bûche, Ella Halsey won for the best looking bûche, and Isabelle O’Connor won the people’s choice award. Thanks to all who baked and tasted! Congratulations to Izzy Reynolds for being selected as the Social Studies Rotary Student for the month of December. Izzy was selected by the LOLHS Social Studies department as the candidate for the Student of the Month as " Izzy shows great leadership ability in both classes and clubs. She has challenged herself this year by taking and excelling in two AP courses: U.S. History and Psychology. She stays focused in class all while working well in groups and interacting respectfully with peers. Izzy has shown herself to be a natural leader who willingly steps into that role without hesitation. In clubs such as Student Leaders or Yearbook, she takes initiative and shows determination to tackle problems and find solutions. She responsibly keeps club members on track and assists them in accomplishing their goals. For all these reasons, the Social Studies Department finds Izzy Reynolds a positive role model and an example of excellence." WELL DONE IZZY!Cold and flu season has arrived here at LOLHS. These illnesses spread through respiratory droplets caused by coughing or sneezing. It usually spreads from person to person, though occasionally a person may become infected by touching something with the virus on it and then touching their nose or mouth. It is important for us all to practice illness prevention strategies which are listed below.
Please notify your child’s school nurse and keep them home from school if they are exhibiting any of the following symptoms:
Feel free to contact the nurses in the health office if you have any questions. If students need to be out of school for more than two days, it is advised for them to contact their teachers and communicate their situation. Teachers will work with them on make-up academic work plans. Melissa Seckla, School Nurse Email: [email protected] Phone: 860-434-1651 x1004 On Wednesday evening, the Environmental / Community Service Club gave a wonderful presentation to the BOE led by the co-advisors Heather Fried and Megan Winski. Students shared the various projects that they have worked on in our community that has a great impact. Their motto is 'BE THE CHANGE' and they demonstrated how their efforts have had a noticeable affect our our town and immediate environment. The slide show below depicts their various projects with great photos of them in action! WAY TO GO WILDCATS!By: Delaney Nelson and Sabina Jungkeit
Despite Christmas approaching, the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving were very busy for the Spanish Honor Society. In a partnership with the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, members of the club brought in canned goods to donate to the Church’s Food Pantry. The Food Pantry operates on a weekly basis, distributing canned goods, as well as fresh produce and other grocery items to members of the community across several towns. However, the week leading up to Thanksgiving, there is typically an increase in demand as many families prepare to celebrate. Overall, the Spanish Honor Society’s were greatly appreciated, filling up the donation bin, and helping the Church to meet the Thanksgiving demand. The LOLHS Chapter of the National Honor Society and the LYSB are having a Toy Drive for local families in need starting Friday, December 2 and ending Friday, December 16. Please choose a berry, or have your child choose a berry, from the Giving Wreath! Please return the unwrapped present specified on the back of the berry to Lucy Trost or Martha Giegel by December 16.
Your help is very needed and appreciated this holiday season!
One of our district goals this year is to support and promote the TREX challenge to increase the amount of plastic waste collected by 10%. To reach this goal, each of our schools has a plastic waste collection box near the entrance of the building. Many of the materials used to pack gift deliveries, holiday food, and other items can be recycled by Trex. Please bring your clean plastic in to school and deposit it in the Trex boxes so we can beat last year’s record breaking collection. For a full list/description of what can and cannot be included, visit https://nextrex.com/view/educate. I hope you will all join in this collection that not only supports our schools, but helps save the environment for the future generations that we teach.
Students presented on regional absolute monarchs of the 17th & 18th centuries with a focus on the tactics absolutes used to consolidate their power. As you can see, we had a visit from the Sun King, Louis XIV of France, Peter the Great from Russia, & Frederick I from Prussia. On Friday, representatives from the Student Advisory Council and the Athletic Leadership Council attended the annual CAS Leadership Conference. This is the first in-person Leadership Conference offered since Covid. Students enjoyed a busy day workshops and networking!
On Friday, December 2nd the Model UN Club visited the United Nations building for a tour. We were able to see where many committees met and learned so much. We also were able to meet diplomat Alex Hardin and talk with him about his role at the UN. It was an awesome day to experience NYC and all it has to offer. |
Important Dates: February
12: Academic Review 11: Band Concert @7 12: 8th Gr. Parent Night @ 6:30 13: PAB Mtg @ 6:30 14: 1/2 day PD 14- 22: February Break HOMEWORK FREE! Pre-Order your Sandwich HERE
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February 2025
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