Haddam Killingworth High

School

March 2016

From the Principal…

March is always a busy month at Haddam Killingworth High School! Our state testing day, March 2nd

, went

smoothly with juniors completing the required and recently redesigned SAT while sophomores completed the

science CAPT, and freshmen engaged in CAPT-aligned learning activities.

HKHS earns “High School of Distinction” designation from the State

of Connecticut

Earlier this month, the state released its first official version of their new accountability report for all schools

and districts in the state. This report, which communicates measures of school performance in the 2014-15

academic year is called the Next Generation Accountability Report. We are very pleased to share that Haddam

Killingworth High School has been named a School of Distinction by the State of Connecticut for its overall

performance! This designation reflects HKHS’ strong performance relative to other high schools in the state and

is proudly added to our list of celebrations including the Newsweek One of America’s Top High Schools award

(received this year and last year) and our being named to the AP Honor Roll for the past three years.

Moody’s Math Challenge February 28, 2016

“Share and (Car) Share Alike”…That was the focus of the big question posed to 10 of our juniors and seniors

during this year’s Moody’s Mega Math Challenge. After arriving at the high school at 7:00am Sunday,

February 28, our junior and senior teams downloaded the challenge problem and got right to work. They spent

the next 14 hours gathering data and information regarding the topic, making assumptions, and devising

mathematical models to provide insight about the issue before submitting their solutions. By 9:00 pm, both

teams had submitted solution papers that reflected their hard work, perseverance, and dedication to the

development of a solution that came about as a result of their diverse academic strengths and collaboration.

The Moody's Mega Math Challenge problem is an open-ended, applied math modeling problem focused on a

real-world issue. Moody's and SIAM (the sponsoring organizations) provide this opportunity because they are

interested in improving the number of young adults going into applied mathematics, finance, and economics

(among other subjects). This year, approximately 5,000 high school students from the US participated in the

Challenge – using their math modeling prowess to solve a relevant, real-life problem with the hope of winning a

portion of the $125,000 in scholarships that will be awarded by The Moody’s Foundation. Even teams that

don’t win will have gained a wealth of experience just by competing in the tenth annual Moody's Mega Math

(M3) Challenge.

This year’s full problem is provided below. If you are interested in reading more about this event, go to

http://m3challenge.siam.org

From left to right: Senior

Team: Kyle Sullivan,

Natalie Blodgett, Cameron

Garrelts, Anaka Maher, Joey

Bosco, Junior Team:

Caitlyn VonFeldt, Sarah

Winner, Julia Duffield,

Greta Nystrom, Mary

Pizzuto

News from the Fine Arts Department

Music: Three students from the HKHS Music Department were accepted into the Southern Region Music

Festival which took place at Middletown High School on January 8th and 9th. Choral Students Aubrey Laudano

and Lizzie McManus enjoyed singing with over 100 peers from neighboring high schools while studying with

Dr. Kevin Issacs from WCSU. Brooke Catalano, B-Flat Clarinet, performed in the concert band under the

direction of James E. Jackson, Conductor of the Hartt School Symphony Band at the University of Hartford.

Our students’ scores were high enough to qualify for an audition for the All State Music Festival.

Congratulations to our students for their personal determination to prepare for these prestigious events!

On February 6th students from the HKHS Jazz Band and Select Choirs travelled to the Berklee High School

Jazz Festival in Boston, MA to compete and attend performances from high schools across the United States.

Students performed very well and enjoyed a day of learning, music making, and camaraderie. Feedback and

coaching for the groups was positive and

informative and students made lifelong

memories.

Visual Arts: Twenty-nine students from

HKHS had their art accepted into the

Shoreline Arts Alliance “Future Choices” art

show. 1st Place printmaking, Melissa

Thompson (10th grade) 2nd Place

printmaking, Kailey Sutton (12th) and

Honorable Mention ceramics Nicole Bobbi

(11th grade). Students who were awarded

“Continuing Education” Merit scholarships

include: Melissa Thompson; Alyssa Sheltra;

Nicole Bobbi; and Kyra Figurelli.

1st Place Winner, Melissa Thompson (2nd from the

right)

Please save the date:

Haddam-Killingworth High School Art Show

April 6th-30th 2016

Maple and Main Gallery of Fine Art

Chester, CT

http://www.mapleandmaingallery.com/

Opening Ceremony and Celebration Thursday, April 21, 5:30-7:30pm

Student artists will be on hand to share and discuss their work

Featuring food prepared by HKHS Culinary Students & live performances from HKHS Music Department

Students

Attention Parents, Guardians and supporters of the HK class of 2018!

The sophomore class has started the class fundraiser and information should have come home with students

within the last two weeks. The fundraiser will be open until April 4th

. Please order online by visiting

FlowerPowerFundraising.com and search Haddam-Killingworth High School Class of 2018 or click here

HK FLOWERS to access the class webpage. Catalogs and order forms are still available. Help us reach our

goal! As an added bonus, the top three selling students will be recognized and awarded with an Amazon gift

card.

If you are interested in becoming a “team member” it is a great way to easily share the ordering webpage with

friends and family. Additionally you will receive email updates and reminders (not many) about the

approaching deadline. To sign up as a team member, or to get a catalog and order form, contact Mr. Cannan at

jcannan@rsd17.org.

Thank you for continued support,

Paula Warner and Jason Cannan, Class of 2018 Advisors

HKHS Athletics Successful Winter Season

Boys Swimming – The swim team competed in their second SCC league championship meet coming in 15th out

of 16 teams. The Conference is made up of highly competitive programs such as: Fairfield Prep, Cheshire,

Notre Dame, Xavier, Amity, and Daniel Hand to name a few. At the moment the team has two athletes that will

compete in individual events at the State Tournament next weekend at Plainville High School. Upon submission

of the teams times, HK will be looking to increase their representation in individual events at the meet.

Wrestling - The wrestling team had a great season. They finished in the top 4 of almost every tournament they

attended as a team. They matched their record of sending six wrestlers to the state open (Malakai Maher, Matt

Jenkins, Aidan Korper, Grayson Adler, and Mackay Revis), and 1 New England qualifier (Grayson Adler).

Adler defeated two state champions (Vermont and Massachusetts). The team finished 4th at the Class S

tournament. Mackay Revis was the first wrestler to place in Class S and qualify for the open all four years.

Indoor Track - Indoor Track began its Championship phase of the season with the Shoreline Championship on

February 6th and completed it at the New England Championship on February 28th. At the Shoreline

Championship, the girls team finished third and the boys team finished second. In the process, Cameron

Garrelts and Ben Rakowski, along with the 4x400 relay team of Zeb Khalid, Lucian Afragola , Ryan Agro and

Ben Rakowski earned First Team All Shoreline honors. In addition, second team recognition went to Mike

Callis, Nick Formica, Andrew Meredith, Jonah Spector and Kurt Sodergren. On the girls side, All-Shoreline

Second Team recognition was awarded to the 4x800 Relay team of Lexie Bouthillier, Mary Coletti, Kelsey

D’Amico and Lizzie Early and the 4x400 relay team of Julie Kelly, Sarah Blanton, Megan Little and Jackie

Stephens. The next competition was the Class S State Championship. The girls team placed fourth while the

boys team won the runner up trophy, something that had not been done since 1985. In the process, Cameron

Garrelts won the 1600 and 3200 to obtain First Team All-State. Cameron was joined in that achievement by the

4x800 Relay team of Mike Callis, Jonah Spector, Andrew Meredith and Ben Rakowski. Moving on to the State

Open which involves the best in the State, Cameron placed second in the 1600 setting a new school record. The

girls relay team of Maddie Brandon, Lexie Bouthillier, Mary Coletti and Kelsey D’Amico placed fifth, also

setting a new school record of 9:56.33. Due to a conflict, Cameron was unable to attend the New England

Championship, but the girls 4x800 relay did compete, cutting off a fraction of a second, breaking their school

record again. Maddie Brandon, who competed in the 3200 at the State Open, also set a new school record of

11:20.47. The week prior, Mary Coletti broke the 3200 record which had been set in 1990 running 11:38.59.

Also setting school records this year were Adrienne Schultz in the Pole Vault 9’0” and Ben Rakowski in the

600 1:24.49. Five school records were set this year, a remarkable feat considering the start of the program goes

back to 1979.

Girls Basketball – The H-K Lady Cougars basketball program, led by captains Ana Bruder and Meghan

O’Brien, ended their season with an overall record of 6-12. While this was a rebuilding season for the program,

there were outstanding performances from Second Team All-Conference forward, Tara Murphy, and All-

Conference Honorable Mention, Ana Bruder, as well as all players with each starter scoring in double digits at

least once this season. Junior guard, Alyx Stevenson, also finished in the top ten for three-pointers made for this

year. The H-K Lady Cougars basketball program returns four of five starters next year and will be gaining a

strong class of freshmen. Coaches Scott Medeiros and Ann Deibert have enjoyed coaching the girls this year

and are looking forward to extending the season further next year.

Boys Basketball - This year the Boys Basketball team had a regular season record of 9-11 which allowed them

to qualify for the Class M State Tournament. The team’s captains were Alex Segaline, Luke Bauer, and Ryan

Wills. We were defeated by #7 seed Granby in the 1st round. Getting this experience as a young team is very

valuable. The team consisted of freshman, sophomores, and juniors. Games were close and exciting to watch

all throughout the season. The team learned this year what it takes to win together. We competed with some of

the top ranked teams in our conference showing the conference that we can play with the best and that we are

going to be a team to beat next year. We are looking forward to the 2016/2017 season.

Gymnastics - The HK girls' gymnastics team was once again a co-op with Hale Ray and Coginchaug. We had

an outstanding year going undefeated in the regular season. The team qualified as the second seed in the Class

M State Championships for the first time in school history. The state meet was very close with the co-op team

finishing second only 1 point behind Daniel Hand HS. Brianna Livingston and Erin Figurelli, both freshmen,

were the two HK members of the co-op. Both girls worked hard all year and consistently performed at their best

level. Erin was exceptional as she finished the year a 1st team All State selection performing many high level

skills on all 4 Olympic events and qualifying to the State Open meet on all 4 events. Erin was also selected to

the New Haven Register All Area team. Our co-op team also qualified in the top 4 teams in the state to

participate in the State Open March 5th. A top 3 finish in that meet will qualify the team for the New England

Regional meet March 12th. Although we will be losing two great senior gymnasts from Coginchaug, we hope to

add some new blood next year and be a strong gymnastics contender in the state again.

Cheerleading- The cheer team had a great season. The team was small, but very talented. Six girls competed in

the Class M State tournament. The team worked very hard this season and showed great dedication. Sara

Meredith and Ketsana Bounphakdy were named to the All Shoreline 2nd Team. The team is very excited for

next season.

Ice Hockey- LH-HK-Coginchaug Co-Op Ice Hockey team finished the season with 11-6-3 record, finishing 1st

in the regular season SCC-SWC Conference. The Trojans had a bounce back year with great play by All SCC

2nd team Goaltender Zach O’Toole. Junior Markus Trahan and sophomore Jared Sullivan were solid on the

defensive end all year. After sitting out 10 games because of transfer rules junior Jack O’Brien came up big in

the second half scoring big goals and a handful of assists. Another newcomer this year was freshman Travis

Watrous.

It is clear that our students are enjoying experiences and opportunities across a wide-range of subject areas. As

ever, we are proud of their accomplishments and enjoy watching them grow and change as they progress

through the year.

Thank you, as always, for your support of our students and our school.

Respectfully,

Donna L. Hayward

Dear Parents and Friends,

RSD 17 is seeking substitute teachers and substitute paraprofessionals. If you know someone who would

like to work a flexible schedule and enjoys working with students please invite them to apply.

Please visit the “Employment Opportunities” page on our website: www.rsd17.org, to apply.

Thank you,

Larissa Johnson

Administrative Assistant to the Assistant Superintendent

SCHOOL COUNSELING UPDATE – MARCH 2016

Freshmen – Counselors met with their freshmen on March 9th

to discuss the upcoming College Fair being held

on April 6, 2016 from 10:00-11:30am. Counselors discussed the current list of colleges who will be attending

the fair and questions to ask them, and the students were asked to narrow down their choices to between three

and five colleges to visit during the fair.

Sophomores – Sophomore Parent Night was held Wednesday, March 9th

. The school counselors discussed

college and career planning, the Career Expo field trip, and the redesigned PSAT/SAT. Counselors also

discussed Naviance and registered parents who had yet to register. If you are not registered for Naviance, please

contact your student’s counselor. Many students picked up packets to bring home for those that were not able to

attend.

Sophomore students will attend a Career Expo on Thursday, April 28, 2016 at Wesleyan University and hosted

by the Middlesex Consortium of Schools. Approximately 100 careers will be represented at this student event.

Counselors will be administering the “Do What You Are” survey to all sophomores the last week of March.

This will help students focus on their career goals. Based on the results of the survey, students, with the help of

their counselors, will narrow down the list of professionals to visit at the career expo. Permissions slips were

mailed home with PSAT scores and are available in the counseling office for students to pick up. Permission

slips are due by Friday, April 8, 2016.

On Wednesday March 23, 2016, counselors will meet with their sophomores to discuss the upcoming College

Fair.

Juniors – Tuesday, March 2, 2016 all juniors took the school administered SAT. On Wednesday March 30,

2016, counselors will meet their juniors to discuss the college fair.

School counselors are currently meeting individually with each junior to discuss college planning.

Seniors – A reminder to seniors that you need 30 hours of community service to graduate. Please be sure to

complete your community service forms (available in the counseling office) and return them to your school

counselor.

Voter Registration will be held on April 6, 2016. Students are required to bring a photo ID and their Social

Security Number and will be able to complete a Voter Registration Form. For seniors under the age of 18 they

can complete the form and it will be mailed back to them when they become eligible.

The list of available scholarships is posted on Naviance and is available in the counseling office. Please be sure

to complete the application and request a transcript from Ms. Mohr in the counseling office at least one week

prior to the deadline.

UPCOMING DATE TO REMEMBER:

The HKHS 7th

Annual College Fair will be held on Wednesday, April 6, 2016 from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. in our

fieldhouse. Please view our website for a list of colleges that will be attending. This will be updated weekly as

responses come in. School counselors will meet with juniors on March 30, sophomores on March 23, and

Freshmen on March 9 during Advisory to discuss, “Making the Most of the College Fair.”