Remember the Observer’s past story about turf being greened in February in one of Goodyear Nursery’s greenhouses? The turf was used in the annual Flower & Garden Show at the Connecticut Convention Center. This year a new crop has been added. Sixty-five rose plants were forced to blossom beautifully in the Suffield High School Agriscience greenhouse for the February 21-24 show. This was not only a convenience for a Suffield resident but a good educational opportunity for the Agriscience students.
Suffield Middle School will be transforming into a “school of hard knocks”, proudly presenting this year’s musical production, Annie, Jr. Based on the book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse, and lyrics by Martin Charnin, the classic tale of Annie follows a spirited, redheaded orphan on her action-packed and emotional voyage from the daily doldrums of her hard-knock life, a step away from the dazzling streets of New York, to the fairytale-come-true setting of a billionaire’s art-deco mansion. This household-name musical includes more than 30 colorful characters, many heartwarming and a few, not so much. Our ensemble of scrappy orphans, charming rogues, and bustling servants are sure to keep you laughing and entertained. Annie, played by the shining 8th-grader Brynna Tinnirella, is certain to capture your hearts with her emotion-filled performances of “Maybe” and “Tomorrow.” Meanwhile, Miss Hannigan, the breakout role of eighth-grade superstar Sophie Collins, will have everyone quite thankful that they don’t live under the same roof with this sometimes playful but always underhanded, orphanage director. Be sure to come join our charming cast on a fun-filled winter’s visit to 1930s New York City.
Suffield Public Schools is one of 373 school districts in the U.S. and Canada being honored by the College Board with placement on the 9th Annual AP® District Honor Roll. To be included on the 9th Annual Honor Roll, Suffield Public Schools had to, since 2016, increase the number of students participating in AP while also increasing or maintaining the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher. Reaching these goals shows that this district is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are ready for AP. National data from 2018 show that among American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students with a high degree of readiness for AP, only about half are participating. The first step to getting more of these students to participate is to give them access.
Entering its second year as a four-town Co-Op team, Wildcats Swimming is looking forward to a strong season under even stronger leadership. Suffield, Ellington, Windsor Locks and East Windsor are united under four young men in particular who push themselves and their teammates to come out on top with wins, broken records and the respect of other competitive teams. At the head of the Wildcats is Drew Martin-Ryan, one of Suffield’s own. Martin-Ryan, a Suffield High School junior and three-year member of Wildcats Swimming, was named 2018-2019 Captain at the end of his 2017-2018 sophomore season. He has demonstrated huge growth during his time on the team, both as an athlete and as a leader. Martin-Ryan has the respect of his teammates as well as his coaches, and everyone is proud to have him as the representative for Wildcats Swimming.
The Suffield Board of Education has begun the search for a new superintendent. The Board has engaged the services of the New England School Development Council (NESDEC) to facilitate the search process. The process is expected to take approximately 120 days, with the intent of a new superintendent assuming the role on or before July 1. Dr. Elizabeth Osga, a retired Connecticut Public School Superintendent, is serving as the NESDEC Search Consultant.
The search process will have three phases:
• The initial phase will include a call for candidates and the development of an ideal candidate profile. A link to this survey was sent to all stakeholders via our electronic communication system the morning of Tuesday, January 22.
The FIRST Robotics organization spread the word on Saturday, January 5, defining this year’s top-level game and distributing kits with certain key parts that the robots will need. Aces High, our local robotics team, went to work immediately. On January 6 the students and mentors of Team 176 gathered in the computer room next to the metal shop at Windsor Locks High School. They studied the nature of the new game, called Destination Deep Space, identifying the capabilities their robot must have. They discussed ways to provide those capabilities and considered possible game play strategies that might be advantageous.
The Suffield Middle School talent show was called Shiver Me Timbers and featured a pirate motif, but the shivering on November 15, the planned show date, was mostly from the substantial snowstorm, and the show was postponed to November 18. There may have been a few unavailable performers, but the production was great nevertheless, and the supportive audience had good reason for the plentiful applause and lots of laughter. It was an enjoyable display of diverse talent, with over 40 students and four teachers contributing onstage and more helping backstage. Most of the performances were music and dance, solo and ensemble. Two solo dancers were particularly impressive.
Suffield High School has recently observed National French Week, an annual celebration organized by the American Association of Teachers of French. Each year, AATF, together with branches of Alliance Française and French organizations across the country, join forces in promoting the French language and increasing understanding and appreciation of the francophone world in schools and communities across the United States. During the French Week, which was celebrated at the high school in early December, the World Language Honor Society took the lead role in organizing a variety of cultural events promoting the diversity of francophone cultures. Each morning, SHS’s daily news show, Morning Update, welcomed all students and staff with contemporary music, cultural facts, and language from a variety of francophone countries. French language students Matthew Sinofsky and Fletcher Seymour, serving as anchors all week, delivered a lively and enthusiastic show featuring student guests Allison Gambrel, Gabrielle Zeller, Liam Duffy, and Jewel Hazlett who joined in sharing information and cultural perspectives from French speaking countries around the world.
Congratulations to Sarah Johnston – World Languages Student of the Month for December. Sarah is a senior at Suffield High School, currently enrolled in Advanced Placement French Language and Culture course. Sarah is a talented language learner with an unbeatable enthusiasm for linguistic challenges and cultural diversity. Her effort and dedication to the study of French have resulted in a high level of competency in the language. In April of 2017, Sarah was inducted into the National French Honor Society, and currently serves as the President of the chapter.
