For a number of reasons, school rankings are a fickle barometer by which to measure a school. There are dozens of national and local publications specializing in ranking schools; most utilizing different metrics to rank public high schools across the state and country. They measure various things ranging from student achievement to school resources. To illustrate my point, I have included the CCHS report card below from one of the publications in question. Difficult to argue with an overall rating of an A+, but receiving a C for Health & Safety based on limited feedback is difficult to comprehend.
I will refrain from getting too deep into the details; partly because it is tough to put much stock in the ranking systems due to their variability, but you will find CCHS ranks near the top of the list when measured solely on academic performance.
Boston Magazine recently ranked the 125 best schools systems in the Greater Boston area, and I am proud to say CCHS ranks #2 on their list. Very sound metrics, Boston Magazine, so thank you!
We are acutely aware that reputations are more easily lost than won, and we recognize ahead lay countless hours of work to improve, but there is no doubt that CCHS is a high achieving academic institution that excels in many areas, and it is a fantastic place to come to school and work each and every day. Not measured in any ranking system is perhaps our greatest strength, and that is a strong school culture built on a foundation of meaningful relationships. Follow the link for the top 125 schools in Greater Boston.
Boston Magazine High School Rankings
CCHS Trip Presentation Evening
Families and students are invited to the first ever CCHS Trip Presentation night on Wednesday, October 4th 6-7pm in the Learning Commons. This event will showcase all of the trips that CCHS teachers are offering in the coming year as well as some running next year. We hope you will join us to learn about the exciting opportunities for students and gather information to help with your planning.
Junior Parent Program - YOG 2019
On Wednesday, October 4, 2017, from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. in the high school auditorium, a meeting will be held for YOG 2019 Junior parents/guardians, which will focus on what families should be doing about postsecondary plans during the junior year. Topics discussed will include the timeline for the admissions process, sources of information, issues of student stress, and the role of parents in the process. This meeting is designed primarily for parents; however, students are also welcome to attend.
CCHS National Merit Scholars
Fifteen students from CCHS were named among approximately 16,000 semifinalists nationwide in the 62nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program, and they will be competing for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships next spring worth more than $32 million. More than 1.6 million juniors from 22,000 high school competed in the National Merit Scholarship Program, the 15 semi-finalists listed below scored in the top 1%. Impressive! Congratulations to our semi-finalists.
Semi-Finalists
Tucker Boynton, Jason Chadwick, Karen Chen, Laurie Chen, Chao Cheng, Timothy Dillon, Anthony Gao, Emma Garrison, Russell Guth, Alexander Hoey, Aidan Nuzum-Clark, Mariya Shtiliyanova, Peter Yang, Caroline Zeng, and Aidan Zinck.
Teacher Spotlight
This week's teacher spotlight features Alex Kuchar, a new member of our science department. Her favorite part of the job? "The people! The students, staff, parents — there’s a buzz about a high school that makes it a great community and a fabulous place to work. I learn something new every day."
Follow the link for the complete feature on Alex Kuchar.
Sportsmanship Award
CCHS made the MIAA Sportsmanship Honor Roll for not having any student-athletes or coaches disqualified or suspended form an athletic contest last year.
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| Pictured are CCHS students Justin Reed, Ben Clarke, Cameron Lopresti and Sandro Lopresti |
Eagle Scout
As part of his Eagle Scout Project, CCHS junior Ben Clarke built structures for The Kindness Rocks project at CMS. Ben Clarke had this to say about the project. "It's cool that our town, my Scout troop and the Middle School where I went can work together to help the community."
Laura Regis, 7th grade Peabody English teacher, wrote to the Concord Journal:
"I am reaching out to you to invite you to a Kindness Rock "installation" at the Hunt Gym in Concord on Sunday, October 1, at 12:30pm.
During the 2016-2017 school year, the 7th and 8th (now 8th and 9th) graders at CMS created "kindness rocks," inspired by The Kindness Rocks Project
http://thekindnessrocksproject.com/
The teacher/facilitators here at CMS looked for a place to "install" or "plant" the rocks in Concord for everyone in the community, as well as visitors, to enjoy. We wanted the messages of our students to spread beyond the walls of our school building. Lucky for us, we found a spot outside of the Hunt Gym/Concord Rec Center. Even luckier, a CCHS student partnered up with us to create the structure where the rocks will be installed.
As part of his Eagle Scout project, Ben Clarke (Peabody alum) built the structures for our rocks!
On Sunday, the student rock creators, teacher facilitators, and Ben Clarke will come together to officially "install" the rocks. Our hope is that people in Concord will take time to stop and read the inspiring messages on the rocks.
Even more exciting, we are inviting any community members to create their own rocks and add them to the "garden."
This will become a permanent and evolving part of the town, created by kids!
The rock project began as a part of a larger ThinkGive unit taught by CMS teachers Laura Regis and Alyssa Bigay. Reiko Funaki, 8th-grade math teacher, also contributed to the rocks with her math students who are current 9th graders at CCHS.
Laura and Alyssa worked closely with Ben all summer. Alyssa had this to say. "It really is a far-reaching project involving so many of our students, teachers and community members. Ben's work has really made our vision possible and his ownership of his piece helped it all come together."
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| Elsa Simonton and CJ Israel Photo by Peter Nichol |
Rivers & Revolutions Heads to Boston
By Michael Goodwin
A critical part of the Rivers and Revolutions experience is visiting the various communities in which all of our students reside. Such work in the field allows members of the cohort to better understand one another; this community building is foundational to the intensive learning experience that marks the program. To this end, our Concord and Carlisle students boarded the bus last Friday to head into the neighborhoods of Boston to pick up our 11 students who reside in the city. Winding through the streets of Roslindale, Hyde Park, Dorchester, and Roxbury, the cohort took in the various features of these unique Boston communities before arriving at the Charles River in Back Bay. Along these more urban waters, we compared the Charles to the Concord and began to explore the similarities and differences of not only the rivers, but the day to day reality of the students who comprise Cohort 11.
At the conclusion of the day, Concord resident and senior Elsa Simonton shared with the full group her appreciation for the devotion and commitment of our Boston students for coming so far to go to school every day. In response, Roxbury resident and senior CJ Israel thanked Elsa for her comments, offering how much it meant to hear such a statement. He said that it gave him a sense of pride to be able to show where he lived, and to offer a part of his daily experience to his classmates. It was the first time since he began coming to Concord in Kindergarten that he was able to share his home with his classmates. His gratitude was palpable, as was her's. This was our final day of the Rivers unit - our "Rivers Synthesis Day" - in which we aimed to pull together our learning across discipline during this first unit of study. This particular exchange between Elsa and CJ was truly synthesis at its finest.
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| Johnny Hudson and Jaylin Farquharson greet instructors Michael Goodwin and Tracie Dunn to board the bus in Roslindale Photo by Peter Nichol |
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| The cohort gathers by the Charles River at the Hatch Memorial Shell Photo by Peter Nichol |
International Students at CCHS
Every year Concord Carlisle High School welcomes several exchange students from all over the world. This year we have students from Belgium, Brazil, and Italy. We are delighted to have them with us. They add diversity to our halls and a global perspective to our classrooms. This week's edition features Cecilia Pavero, a student from Italy.
Where are you from?
I’m from Italy.
Please tell us a little about the town/city you live in and what your high school is like?
I live in a small town in the North of Italy in a beautiful green valley. My high school there is very different from CCHS, because it’s an old-school, with not enough room for everybody, but the kids there are very enterprising and smart. Italian schools are different from here because we can choose different kinds of high schools (like the scientific high school, the humanistic one, or the one for foreign languages) and from the first day of the first year you stay in your class with the same classmates doing the same lessons at the same time for five years. And also there is no technology at all, only paper and books and a lot of handwriting.
Why did you want to come to the United States and Concord Carlisle to study?
I decided to join an exchange year program in the US because I wanted to do something that could give the possibility to be more independent and to learn how to live in a place with a different culture. I came here to CCHS because here I’m living with family friends that are from Carlisle.
How has your experience been so far?
I have been here since August 17th, and so far everything is going very well. I have made friends and I like everything I am studying. Also, all of my teachers, and my host family is so kind.
What are you most excited about?
I made the volleyball varsity here in CCHS, and all my teammates are very kind and friendly, and very good at playing and this is so challenging for me!
Freshmen Class Election Results
The election results are in!
Class President: Vishal Chandra
Vice-Presidents: Jack Henry Eaton and Hayden Taylor
Class Secretary: Julia Clarke
Class Treasurer: Emily Aldous
Congrats to the new class officers!
Principal's Coffee
Principal's Coffee is Monday, October 2 at 9:30 in the Main Office Conference Room.
