Part of the Professional Development Day on May 5 was devoted to emergency preparedness training. In the ConVal library, School Resource Officer Justin Hyland conducted an extensive review of the ALICE procedures with the entire staff.

ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training focuses on violent intruder situations and teaches specific mitigation strategies: recognizing and reporting potential threats quickly; securing oneself in a safe location to minimize risk; communicating with school administration and law enforcement about the situation; engaging with the threat if necessary; and leaving the area when it is safe to do so.

Annual ALICE training is mandatory pursuant to the school district's emergency operations plan under RSA 189:64. For more information on ALICE, please access this website: www.alicetraining.com.

On Monday, November 4, the members of the ConVal Envirothon Team went on a field trip to the New Hampshire Audubon Center in Concord, where about 100 students from various New Hampshire high schools gathered to learn from environmental conservation experts.

Students practiced field skills like measuring tree width and height and analyzing a soil test pit, learned about identifying threats to wildlife and aquatic systems, and about carbon cycling in forest systems.

Envirothin students will be preparing all year for their annual state-wide competition in May. Envirothon is an environmentally-themed academic competition for high school-aged students organized by the National Conservation Foundation. The competition is held by the United States and Canada on a regional, state, and bi-national level.

At ConVal, the Envirothon Team is a co-curricular club that is advised by Andria Johnson.

Students who are new to ConVal this year, mainly freshmen and transfer students, were called to the cafeteria during TASC today to pick up their Cougar CARES T-shirts.

The CARES acronym stands for Community, Adaptability, Respect, Engagement, and Safety — the key values that are embodied in the school culture at ConVal Regional High School.

Cougar CARES T-shirts are worn to spirit rallies and athletic events to exhibit school spirit.

Students in Kevin Sudell's Woodworking class finished Quarter 1 by putting their prototyping and tool skills into action. 

Students first made a prototype of a box with a sliding lid out of pine, learning how to cut wood to the desired lengths and angles before securing the pieces with wood glue. 

After learning the basics, students then progressed to creating a version from hardwood, which followed the same process but was then sealed with polyurethane and engraved using the laser engraver with a design of the students' choice. 

Family members should be on the lookout as some of these boxes may end up under Christmas trees!

Congratulations to Joe Hodgen who has earned the CTE Student of the Month award at the Region 14 Applied Technology Center for October 2024. He was nominated by Mr. Levesque, his digital photo and video instructor.

In his nomionation letter, Mr. Levesque noted that Hodgen excelled in all the career readiness skills but especially for his perseverance, positive attitude, and always coming prepared with the mindset to learn and be successful.

He noted the student's strong sense of self-motivation, whether it is to help out in the classroom or engage in self-directed study and exploration: "Joe is a teaching assistant without being a teaching assistant, always working in this room; he is setting up equipment, assembles the gimble, and regularly assist students with technology."

"Joe brings home a camera every night. He has taught himself to use the full-frame cameras which are reserved for professional occasions.  He experiments at home, making all kinds of strides with camera and lens technology, including astrophotography."

Hodgen also received a monetary award from the Kiwanis Club: $100 go directly to the student and $50 will be donated to a nonprofit organization of the student’s choice.

Congratulations!

The World Language Department would like to announce and congratulate the October World Language Students of ​the Month.

The following students demonstrate ​the keys to being successful language learners. 

They have a positive attitude, willingness to take academic risks, perseverance, and curiosity, and they stand out as successful collaborators.

For German: Kaleigh Chalke and Addison Hardwick. For Spanish: Olivia Healey and Davia Porter.

Congratulations, all!

One of the objectives of the ConVal-Salzburg exchange program is to offer opportunities for comparisons and different perspectives on shared experiences.

On October 31, groups of exchange students presented on a wide variety of topics, ranging from the electoral and governmental systems in Austria to the country's education structure and what it is like to go to school in Austria. Other class presentations covered Austrian traditions and festivities as well as some widely shared misconceptions about the country and its people.

Each presentation was followed by an open discussion period that allowed ConVal students who are not part of the program to ask their own questions and get answers from the visitors.

ConVal High School's Student Council organized a costume contest for Halloween.

The competition involved registration by name, grade level, and costume during lunches. The contest was open to both individuals and groups of two or more people sporting a common theme. Teachers, staff, and students all got into the spirit.

The Junior Class scored with the most registrations and received 50% of the receipts to be applied to their class account. Individual winners were Charlie "Big Chuck" McGarvy (Senior), Liam Armstrong (Junior), Felix Hannah (Sophomore), and Allister Armstrong (Freshman).