Publications/Newsletters

April 5, 2019 Newsletter

Art

The Annual Ellington High School Art Exhibition will take place April 1-30 at Hall Memorial Library (93 Main Street, Ellington). This event has been organized by the National Art Honor Society, EHS chapter. (Current active members are Margaret Andreyeva (chapter President), Lauren Christensen, Naomi Luginbuhl (chapter Secretary), Emily Kocur, Reagan Olsen, Sophie Valez, and Clarissa Welti). A closing reception and Induction Ceremony will be held on the evening of Tuesday, April 30th from 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. to welcome Amy Earnest, Marisa Morneau, and Zach Elsass to Ellington High School's Chapter of NAHS.

FBLA News

On March 12^th, the EHS Future Business Leaders of America club attended the annual CT FBLA State Leadership Conference. Fifteen students proudly represented Ellington High School at the conference. They attended various workshops, talked to business people and other business students from across the state, and competed in a variety of business events. The conference culminated with an awards ceremony and the following students were recognized and won awards:

Owen Babiec, 1st place - Introduction to FBLA

Ayushman Choudhury, 2nd place - Introduction to Information Technology

Emma Babiec, 5th place - Personal Finance

Ryuan Anderson & Collin Andrews, 5th place team - Sports & Entertainment Management

Owen and Ayushman are eligible to compete at the FBLA National Conference in San Antonio, Texas this summer. Congratulations to all attendees and winners for superb efforts and achievements in FBLA!

Graduation

On Tuesday, April 2^nd , the Ellington Board of Education unanimously approved Friday, June 14, 2019, as this year's graduation date. Details regarding the event and the Safe Graduation Party (also occurring on Friday, June 14th) will be forthcoming.

Music

Ellington has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education.

Now in its 20^th year, the Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts across the country that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. Only 623 school districts Nationwide were given this distinction in 2019, which accounts for about 4% of eligible districts.

This award recognizes that Ellington is leading the way with learning opportunities in music as important elements of a well-rounded education for all children.

National Honor Society

On Tuesday, March 26^th, 37 new members were inducted into the Robert W. Murphy Chapter of the National Honor Society. Congratulations and a warm welcome are extended to: Cole Angell, Ariana Bahavar, Nora Birmingham, Connor Cahill, Alexis Cantin, Aidan Caron, Kayla Carpenter, Brooke Casella, Eva Cohen, Samantha Curtis, Jaimee DelPiano, Abigail Edelstein, Kylie Elsass, Zachary Elsass, Allison Essig, Emma Gorham, Andrew Heyman, Aaron Hinze, Madison Holden, Christopher Hoover, Katelin Johndrow, Priyamvada Kishore, John MacGillis, Amanda McTighe, Clara Mattson, Emily Mead, Cynthia Mutua, Ashka Patel, Kyle Robin, Kavya Sajeev, Olivia Santini, Sadie Sanville, Tessa Sanville, Spencer Segal, Nicholas Sivo, Matthew Tebbetts, and Clarissa Welti.

Safe Grad Party

To all Seniors and Senior Parents: The Annual Ellington Safe Grad Party is scheduled for Friday, June 14^th at Revolutions Bowling and Lounge in South Windsor. This promises to be a fun-filled evening for the seniors to attend following their Graduation Ceremony. There will be lots of fun activities for the Seniors to enjoy throughout the evening and into the early morning hours. Earlier this year a mailing was sent out to all Senior parents which included a permission form and other important information related to the Safe Grad Party. The Committee has already received back many responses from seniors who have signed up to participate in this event. Our goal is to have as many seniors as possible participate in this wonderful event to celebrate their memories of Ellington High School with their fellow classmates. If you have not already returned the permission form and contribution form, please try and do so as soon as possible so we can get a head count for the venue. A second mailing will be forthcoming as a reminder – please look for it in your mail. If you have any questions, please contact the Safe Grad Committee at: ellingtonsafegrad@gmail.com

Calling all parents (especially freshmen, sophomore and junior parents). The Committee is also looking for adult volunteers for the evening of the Safe Grad Party. You can sign up to volunteer for the whole night or for shorter shifts throughout the evening/night. It is a very fun and worthwhile experience to help our graduating seniors as they celebrate with their classmates. Please keep an eye out for a sign-up form coming out soon.

Safe Grad Auction

A big ‘thank you’ to all who donated and/or attended this year’s Safe Grad Auction this past Saturday at Maple Grove Club. It was a huge success as a fundraiser for the Safe Grad Party and a great time for all in attendance. The Committee also wishes to thank all the volunteers that helped to make this event such a success.

Safe Grad Ice Cream Fundraiser

On Monday, April 29^th, from 6:30 to 9:30 there will be an Ice Cream Fundraiser at the Kloter’s Ice Cream Barn. Please come out and enjoy some ice cream and support the Safe Grad Party. Senior parents – if you have ordered lawn signs for your seniors, they will be available for pick up at this event. If you have not already ordered one, they will be available for cash and carry. Hope to see you there.

Science

The Environmental Science students took a field trip to the Vernon Water Pollution Control Authority to tour the plant and interact with the professionals there and got a tour of the whole facility and got to see how wastewater gets cleaned up.

Anatomy and Physiology students had two guest speakers on Friday, March 29^th. The speakers were third year medical students who shared their experiences as medical students as well as their knowledge about the digestive system. They covered the anatomy, physiology, and some pathologies of the digestive system and ended the day with a great game of Jeopardy. It was an amazing experience for the Anatomy students.

Technology

Technology education students in Mr. Chaves’ Tools and Machines classes have successfully mastered the skills necessary to begin their independent projects; this is a great time of the semester for students to apply their new skills, creating projects that can last a lifetime. Students in Computer Aided Drafting classes are also at an exciting point in the semester, designing and building model homes. Mr. Chaves’ Carpentry classes have just completed a unit on house foundations, where students designed individual forms that were filled with cement, mixing and pouring the cement personally. More new and exciting projects to come…

Guidance News

NATIONAL COLLEGE FAIR

The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) presents two local National College Fairs. The first is on Tuesday, April 2^nd from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Connecticut Convention Center. The second is at the on Monday, April 8^th from 9 to 11:30 and 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Eastern States Exposition (The Big E) in West Springfield, Massachusetts. EHS students are encouraged to attend either of these fairs. These are free events. Although not necessary, students are encouraged to register for these National College Fairs online at https://www.nacacfairs.org/attend/national-college-fairs/student-registration. By registering this enables colleges to collect student data for follow-up meetings. You can find additional information by visiting the NACAC web site at https://www.nacacfairs.org/ncf

SAT

Sign up now for the Saturday, May 4^th SAT. Registration deadline is Friday, April 5^th. Students can register on line at www.collegeboard.org

ACT

Sign up now for the Saturday, June 8^th ACT. Registration deadline is Friday, May 3^rd. Students can register on line www.actstudent.org

NCAA

NCAA reminder: College bound student-athletes who plan on participating in Division I or Division II athletics must be certified by the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse. Any EHS junior or senior considering

participating in college athletics must register with the Clearinghouse. To register, student/athletes need to access the registration materials by visiting the clearinghouse web site at https://web3.ncaa.org/ecwr3 If you have any questions, feel free to contact your student’s school counselor.

PROFILE

There are a number of private colleges which require the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE to be completed in addition to the FAFSA. The PROFILE is a service of the College Board and the application is customized for you based on the information you give when you register for the service. The PROFILE must be completed on-line at https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/index.jsp . Check with the individual colleges for specific deadlines.

ELLINGTON COMMUNITY SCHOLARSHIP ASSOCIATION

Attention Seniors: The Ellington Community Scholarship Association application is available in guidance or may be downloaded from the organization’s website at www.ecsact.org. Applications must be postmarked by April 5^th. Each student is responsible for mailing his/her own application. ECSA will not consider applications postmarked after April 5^th.

CAMPUS VISITS

Students should plan on visiting colleges beginning in the junior year. Students may want to first visit a variety of colleges so that they have a sense of large versus small, city versus rural, etc. It is best to visit when the college is in session and to have a student led tour. Although visiting a college when students are on vacation is better than not seeing it all. Do not base your evaluation of a college upon the quality of your tour guide. If you are unable to be part of a campus tour, tour yourself using the following guidelines.

1.The library: this is the academic focus of the campus. You will spend many hours here so discover how user friendly it is. What are the hours of operation? How many volumes does it have? Do they have an inter-library loan system? Can you access the library catalog from a computer in your room? Is there reasonable, quiet study space inside the library?
2.The student center: this is the focus for campus life. Read the bulletin boards and the campus newspaper to find out what is going on.
3.The dining hall: this might be a part of the student center. Read a menu. Is there sufficient variety in the meals? Is the eating area reasonably clean
4.A classroom building: discover the variety of classroom settings. Are the facilities up to date or are they crowded? Is the classroom a lecture hall with 300 seats?
5.An area of special interest: art facilities, athletic area, whatever appeals to you. How accessible are they?
6.A dormitory: most freshmen dorms are similar, but you will insist on visiting one anyway. Do not expect much.

If visiting a college on your own, plan on about a one and a half to two hour visit. Depending on distance between colleges, you can see as many as three colleges in a given day.

ACADEMY NIGHT

On Wednesday, April 24, 2019, the Connecticut Congressional Delegation will be holding its annual Academy Night for students and recent graduates who are interested in attending one of our nation’s preeminent military academies – U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and the U.S. Naval Academy. This is a great opportunity for students to meet with representatives and cadets/midshipmen from each of the academies.

This event will also give students a chance to meet with the service academy coordinators from each of our congressional offices to learn more about our individual nomination processes. In addition, representatives from several collegiate ROTC programs, the National Guard, and the Military Reserves who will be able to discuss other paths to military service and commissioning programs for aspiring military officers.

Details for the Academy Night on Wednesday, April, 24, 2019 are doors will open at 4:30 PM. The program is scheduled to begin promptly at 5:00 PM at the MG Maurice Rose Armed Forces Reserve Center, 375 Smith Street, Middletown, CT.

If you have any questions, please stop by the guidance office to pick up an informational flyer, or contact Kathy Bass, Deputy Director of Casework Office of Senator Christopher Murphy, directly at 860-549-8466.