Today marks the end of quarter one. Difficult to comprehend, but freshmen, sophomores, and juniors have completed twenty-five percent, a full one-fourth, of their 2016-2017 school year. As the adage goes: "The days are long but the years are short."
Even harder to grasp, our student leaders, the great senior class, has completed more than eighty-percent of their high school experience. I want to thank the senior class for providing the necessary student leadership that helps make this school so special. Keep up the good work.
Attempting to capture all the incredible accomplishments and highlights from the first quarter would prove difficult; however, two special events that occurred yesterday offer a fitting end to a successful first quarter of school.
Director of Bands and Orchestra, David Gresko, led a truly spectacular Fall Concert last evening. If you were to draw the curtain to disguise the age of the performers, one would be left to believe they were attending a professional performance.
Yesterday our community welcomed a delegation from Japan led by their Principal, Nahira Hiroshi. We are hosting students and adults from Concord's sister city of Nanae, Hokkaido, Japan for the next week. They will be staying with homestay families right here in our community.
Clearly articulated and captured in our core values is the understanding that we are not only preparing our students from Boston, Carlisle, and Concord to meet high levels of academic and personal achievement, but we are also preparing them to be conscientious and productive contributors in a complex global society.
At CCHS, we are developing future leaders, and it is not hyperbole to suggest that the future peace and prosperity of the great countries of Japan and the United States will rest on our ability to solve problems that are truly global in scale. We are happy to do our part. The twenty-year exchange between Nanae and CCHS serves as a model of cross-cultural collaboration and partnership.
As a high-performing culture, we aim to maintain the momentum of quarter one and build upon the successes and great work that has commenced. We look forward to your input, participation, and support as we work together to achieve our goals.
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| Sophie Fisher & Brenna Robillard |
Doctors Without Borders Field Trip
By Caroline Cuoco, Class of 2018
On Tuesday, October 18, four sections of International Issues classes (approximately 80 students) went on a field trip to Boston to see the temporary outdoor exhibit called Forced From Home. The exhibit was produced by Doctors Without Borders and involved the organization’s association with the worldwide refugee crisis.
At the beginning of the exhibit, everyone was given a card with an identity. You could be either a refugee or an internally displaced person. I was assigned a Syrian refugee. The trip consisted of many stations that brought us through the displacement “process.” We had to pick five things to bring with us and get on a boat (which was on land) in an effort to encourage us to think more carefully about forced migration. As we were put in the place of a refugee at these stations, we learned about what they have to go through and how much their life changes. Other stations consisted of what kind of help and care Doctors Without Borders provides for refugees, e.g., food, shelter, medical care, water; all the basic necessities for survival.
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| Ms. Carr & Ms. McCabe's Class |
The field trip was very enlightening and informative, helping students get a better understanding of the refugee crisis. Some students said that “[they] thought that it gave students a different approach to learning because there were a lot visuals and the stations can help students learn in different ways.” Prior to the trip, I wasn’t that interested in learning about refugees and didn’t realize how big of an issue it is. The exhibit turned out to be extremely intriguing and made me excited to talk about it more in class.
Choral Concert
By Deb Smith
You are cordially invited to the first Choral Concert of the school year!
The CCHS Music Department proudly presents: The Fall Choral Concert
Come show your support for these dedicated and talented students!
When: Thursday, November 3
7pm,
Where: CCHS Auditorium
Who: Featuring Combined Chorus, Select Choir, Men's Chorus and The Melodies
Free Admission!
Delegation from Japan Update!
By David Nurenberg
The student delegation spent all three lunch blocks (that's almost 2 1/2 hours straight) running origami and tea ceremony workshops in the cafeteria, that were constantly well attended by CC students. They still had the energy at the end of the day make a presentation to Scifi Club about high school life in Japan. All of this, jetlagged no less!
Mr. Nahira, the Principal of Nanae High School, exchange speeches and gifts with Mr. Mastrullo at a special administrative luncheon, also attended by officials from both Concord and Nanae. Three teachers -Vicky Moskowitz, Melissa Carr, and Nora Mendoza - welcomed Mr. Nahira in to their classrooms to teach lessons on Japanese poetry, and to hold a "Q&A" session with students about Japanese schools.
This morning the Nanae students worked with Ned Roos and Sophia Karr'17 to produce their own radio show, which not only went on the air but was also livestreamed to the internet. The Japanese students' parents could listen along!
Food Donations Needed For Project 351 Fight to End Hunger
By Lisle Allen and Gretchen Carr, Class of 2020
Project 351 is a nonprofit community service organization which includes 351 towns. We were chosen as eighth-grade ambassadors to lead community service projects in Concord and Carlisle. Now, as freshman, we are running a food drive in a mission to end hunger. Together, along with over 200 towns across the commonwealth, we are partnering with local food pantries to help restock the shelves in time for the holidays with donations. Our service project will be taking place from November through mid-December.
We would love it if you could donate canned and nonperishable food to our service project! The donation boxes will be set up in various locations around the Concord Carlisle High School, Concord Middle Schools, and the Carlisle Public Schools. (There will be more sites to donate to as well.) If you or your child are interested in our project, or you have any questions please contact us at lallen20@concordcarlisle.org or gcarr20@concordcarlisle.org. There will be more detailed information to come.
Student Newspaper
Check out the latest stories from the CCHS student newspaper, The Voice.
Blood Drive at CCHS
This Saturday, October 29th the Student Senate will be hosting a Red Cross blood drive from 8:30 to 1:30 in the Maroon Gym at CCHS! Anybody over the age of 16 may be eligible to give blood, and their donation would be greatly appreciated. Walk-ins are welcome
Check out this CCHS Colonial Sound video on the upcoming blood drive.
"If Only" Opioid Presentation at CCHS
Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2017, 7 PM - 8:30 PM
Parents of Students in Grades 6 - 12
Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2017
School Day Viewing and Discussion for CCHS students only
Concord Carlisle High School Theater
As you understand from the media, our nation is currently in the midst of an opioid epidemic. The film, “If Only,” was created to raise awareness of this problem by the Millenium Health and the Wahlberg Youth Foundation, with help from the Recovery Center of America and was filmed in a local Massachusetts town that has been heavily impacted by the prescription drug abuse epidemic. At 32 minutes long, the film depicts how the decision to experiment with prescription drugs has lasting and profound consequences for two teens. More information about the film can be found at www.ifonlymovie.org. For more detailed information, please review the event flyer.
Additional Information & Links
SelfControl App
SelfControl is a free and open-source application for Mac OS X that lets you block your own access to distracting websites, your mail servers, or anything else on the Internet. Just set a period of time to block for, add sites to your blacklist, and click "Start." Until that timer expires, you will be unable to access those sites--even if you restart your computer or delete the application.
