Another season of exciting winter sports is just around the corner. Team tryouts are in full swing and basketball and hockey teams will soon be announced. November 28 and 29 will start out basketball season with a preseason tournament including teams from Hodgdon, Southern Aroostook, Katahdin and Houlton. The games start at 1 p.m. on both days. The hockey team will be in Bangor on those days for a tournament. Our Thanksgiving recess this year includes Wednesday, Nov. 26 through Sunday, Nov. 30.
Our holiday activities start with the high school band and choral concert on Thursday, December 4, at 7:00 p.m. The junior high concert is Thursday, Dec. 11, at 7:00 p.m. The winter ball will be held on Saturday, December 20. We wish everyone a happy holiday season.
Yearbook news:
Attention Parents: We are taking orders for the new and improved 2009 HHS yearbooks. This year features a new committee, a new look, and a new attitude. Orders will be taken from November to mid-January. From now until December 1, yearbooks will be $5 off and will be only $45. After December 1, they will be $50.
Music Department news:
Students in Ms. DeWan’s Music Appreciation class have been exploring how music affects the mood of moving images. Students first rescored the music for a political ad using GarageBand. They rewrote music to change the mood of the ad. For instance, if it was originally a pro-Obama ad, they added different music to make it sound anti-Obama. Students discovered that, without changing anything visually, the message of an ad can dramatically change just by what’s playing in the background. They also added new music to movie trailers using GarageBand. Examples of student work can be found on the music department’s blog on their website: www.sad29music.org.
Guidance Department news:
This week the seventh graders had a presentation from the Battered Women’s project called “Making the Peace.” Leslie Gervais and Hollie McPartland conducted activities in Mrs. Peabody’s social studies class that helped students recognize acts of violence. Utilizing Martin Luther King, Jr.’s quote, “Violence is anything that denies human integrity and leads to helplessness and hopelessness.” The discussion focused on the idea that violence is learned and how we can help promote peaceful ways of interacting with people. There will be a follow up video called “Joey” viewed in Mrs. Peabody’s room about bullying and in January there will be an assembly on this theme. The eighth-grade class will have a similar presentation in December and attend the assembly in January. Students were very responsive and contributed peaceful ideas for interacting with peers. Noteworthy was the discussion between what is teasing and what is bullying.
Junior High news:
The Junior High Student Council has sponsored a coin drive to benefit the Hannigan family. Over $400 was raised. The student body had a little competition to see which advisory could raise the most money for the family who tragically lost everything in a fire. The winning advisory group was Mrs. Korhonen’s group who raised over $90 all by themselves. Thanks to all who donated.
Jobs for Maine Graduates news:
Houlton JMG students are conducting a food drive for local food pantries. The students must bring in nonperishable items for November 24. The students are also assisting the Battered Women’s Project with Christmas gifts for their clients. Those gifts must be turned in by December 17. Every JMG students must have at least 10 hours of community service by the end of the second quarter.
News from Mrs. Cowperthwaite’s room:
Study skills are important. Set aside a place, a time, and be consistent. To avoid “losing books,” place them inside your backpack each night before you got to bed. When you do this, you will not have to look for them in the morning. It is amazing how many students are missing items every day. Put your vocabulary words on tape. Record the word, the definition and the spelling or meaning of the word. This can be used for all vocabulary and information needed. For the science fair, start by asking yourself all the “WH” questions. Write them down and then look for answers. Each question should be in the form of a paragraph. Do some work each day and the project will be better and not so hurried and anxiety ridden.
