What transpires at CCHS in a given week is both impressive and inspiring. From engaging class discussions and lessons, to visiting delegations from Japan, to inspirational stories of student service and student accomplishments. It is impossible to capture even a fraction of the great stories that evolve in a given week, but below I am highlighting a few of many that are worthy of note. Please read on to be both impressed and inspired. Have a great weekend!
Eagle Scout
By Santiago BenoitMy path towards getting Eagle Scout was a great experience for me, mainly because it taught me how to lead groups of people and how to take initiative and plan things out myself. A lot of this experience came from the most noteworthy requirement of Eagle Scout: the Eagle Project. My Eagle Project was to build a picnic table, two benches, and a peg board -- all from scratch -- at the Gaining Ground farm in Concord. Before starting work on the project, I had to plan it out completely on my own and include all details, including the materials and their costs, how I will acquire funds, all the steps to take during work, how people will be grouped to work on different parts of the project in parallel, and other logistics during the project. After that, there was the bureaucratic process of getting all the signatures I needed and presenting my project proposal to my troop committee. By the time I had started the actual project, everything was already planned out and all I had to do was make sure that everything went smoothly (and it went very well!).
Overall, being in the Boy Scouts was a life-changing experience for me, not just because of the Eagle Scout requirements but also because of all the leadership experience I was exposed to. There were several occasions in which I was in a position of leadership; for example, I served as the leader of my crew when we did a week-long, hardcore high-adventure trip in Maine, and I was the Assistant Senior Patrol Leader for my troop. Boy Scouts has also shaped me morally, to the point where I am willing to help others without expecting recognition or reward. I think that the experiences offered by Boy Scouts are unique because they give you opportunities to make a real impact on other people's lives. Boy Scouts isn't just about learning outdoor skills -- it's mostly about how to be a good leader and a good person.
All National Honor Ensembles
By David Gresko
During the 2016-17 school year, Steve Li (oboe) and Marisa Ih (clarinet) practiced with dedication to gain high placements in the Eastern District (MA) and All-State (MA) ensembles. Their high achievement made them eligible to audition for the 2017 All-National Honor Ensembles. And now, Steve and Marisa will join the “best of the best” for the National Association for Music Education’s (NAfME) 2017 All-National Honor Ensembles November 26-29, 2017, at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.
The All-National Honor Ensembles performers represent collaboration and creativity in its highest musical form. The All-National Honor Ensembles consist of a concert band, symphony orchestra, mixed choir, and jazz ensemble. Students were chosen through an audition process. The concert band and symphony orchestra will each have 155 and 152 instrumentalists respectively, the jazz ensemble 20 instrumentalists, and the mixed choir 281 vocalists. Eligible students have qualified for their state-level honor ensemble program and competed against top students for a spot in these national honor ensembles.
Selected students will be rehearsing a challenging repertoire in preparation for performing under the baton of five of the most prominent conductors in the United States: Dr. Z. Randall Stroope (Mixed Choir); Dr. Margery Deutsch (Symphony Orchestra); Dr. T. André Feagin (Concert Band); and Todd Stoll with Lauren Sevian (Jazz Ensemble). All conductors have received top honors in their field and will spend several days rehearsing with students before the concert.
Marissa Ih (’20) was awarded a spot in the prestigious All-National Concert Band and participates in the Concert Band, Pep Band and Pit Orchestra at CCHS.
Steve Li (’19) was awarded first chair (FIRST CHAIR!) in the elusive All-National Orchestra on oboe and has participated in many ensembles at CCHS, including the Concert Band, Pep Band, Pit Orchestra and Jazz A.
Delegation from Japan
Concord Carlisle High School has enjoyed more than twenty-five years of friendship and educational exchange with Nanae High School, and our collaboration has taken many forms: joint concerts with our school bands, visits by students and teachers to one another's schools, and most recently a one month exchange through the William Wheeler program. CCHS student Davison Floyd visited Nanae last year. He has brought back many experiences that have enriched us all, and we hope this will be the first of many such exchanges.
We are sending representation to Nanae's anniversary celebration in November. We also look forward to sending another student delegation to Nanae in April.
We at CCHS consider ourselves very lucky, as it is the rare school in the United States that has such a close and rewarding relationship with a school in another nation. We are proud of our tradition of friendship, dating all the way back to William Wheeler's visit to Hokkaido, yet we also have our eyes on the future. CCHS, like Nanae High School and schools all over the world, must prepare their graduates for success and citizenship in an interconnected global society. Exchanges like this one play an essential role in that mission, and we want to work with you to ensure that they continue.
An end of visit debrief with the Japanese students about their impressions of Concord and of CCHS yielded some interesting insights. The debrief is an annual tradition as we are interested to hear their favorite part of the experience, what surprised them the most, what they learned from their visit, and what they feel we could learn from Japanese schools.
They nearly unanimously spoke of how friendly everyone was, and how they hadn't expected to be received so warmly by people who didn't even know them.
They were also very impressed with how vocal CCHS students were in their classes, and how many opportunities they had to give their input/opinion (in Japan, instruction follows much more of a teacher-lectures, kids-take-notes model).
As for what they felt we could learn from Japanese schools? "Personal responsibility," especially in regards to "cleanliness." Every single Japanese student in the delegation expressed shock that students left their dirty trays on tables in the cafe, and much random trash they saw strewn around the building. In Japanese schools, custodial staff is minimal and it is the students' duty to maintain a clean building.
As the principal of this school and the father of two young girls, cleanliness is an area of growth both at CCHS and my children's rooms. The common denominator in this problem is me, so perhaps I need to start doing a better job.
Thank you to CCHS teacher, David Nurenberg. He is the chief curator of this vital relationship whose efforts ensure a smooth, enriching experience for our friends from Nanae, and he is an excellent ambassador for our school and country. Thanks, David.
I also want to thank all students and staff for receiving our friends from Nanae so warmly.
McKenzie Campbell
Mckenzie Campbell recently visited Haiti on a humanitarian mission. The purpose of the mission trip to Port-au-Prince, Haiti was to provide reconstructive surgery to earthquake survivors, people with birth defects, and people with injuries due to fighting.
"Our trip focused specifically on reconstructing the ear, in which we taught seven Haitian medical residents how to perform surgery and deal with a patient who needs reconstruction. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. Although I have gone on other medical mission trips to developing countries, Haiti was definitely in the worst condition. There is still so much damage from the earthquake that happened six years ago, but the people cannot do much about it because their government is corrupt and the country has little money to spend. We could not go outside unless we were in a car.
The hospital we worked at consisted of many small buildings in poor condition, and the waiting lines outside each one of them are impressively long every day. I wish we could have provided more to these people, but we definitely made an impact on the education the medical students had and the lives of the affected. I have hope that these young doctors will make an even greater impact in their country."
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 Belgium. We are delighted to have them with us. They add diversity to our halls and a global perspective to our classrooms. Over the next three weeks, I will introduce you to our visiting students. This edition features Pablo Munez, a student from Spain.
Where are you from?
I’m from Spain, I was born in Madrid and I’ve lived my whole life there.
Please tell us a little about the town/city you live in and what your high school is like?
I live in the north part of Madrid, in a neighborhood called “El Encinar”. As it isn’t in the center of the city it has plenty of space, the houses are pretty big, even though it has nothing to do with Concord. Here a regular house is two times bigger than the nicest houses in my neighborhood.
One huge difference I’ve noticed is that in Spain we hang out in the street or anywhere more often than in here, we are almost every day going out with our friends.The school is way different than my past one. Back in my country, we don’t change classes, the teacher the one who goes from class to class and we are not allowed to walk around the halls in the school by our own. As we don’t change classes, I’m always with the same people, I know them since I was 7 and, as we spend that much time together, my best friends are usually in the same classroom as me. CCHS is much bigger than any other school I know in Madrid and it has much more sports fields and other facilities, such as the gym or the auditorium.
Why did you want to come to the United States and Concord Carlisle to study?
I wanted a change, I’ve always wanted to study a year abroad so one day I took my laptop, searched for one of these programs and signed in. Sincerely, I didn’t know I was coming to MA, they told me like three weeks before coming where I was going, a bit risky, but it worked out pretty well. I think I’ve been so lucky with this place.
How has your experience been so far?
It has been great. I arrived the 9th of August and everything is going well, I’ve already done things that I would have never done in Spain and I’m seeing things from a different perspective.
What are you most excited about?
I’m excited about everything, I mean, about all the things that are going to happen during this year.
Ruettger's Lecture Featuring Liz Wilkinson
Why do people hike the Appalachian Trail or bike cross-country? Why do people make pilgrimages? What is the Way of St. James, otherwise known simply as The Way or El Camino, and why Spain? These are the questions that Spanish teacher Mrs. Wilkinson addressed in a Ruettger's Lecture on Wednesday, October 4th. The Camino is a 1000-year-old pilgrimage route in northwestern Spain that at one time was the third most important route after Jerusalem and Rome. Nowadays, people of all ages and of all religious persuasions from all over the world do the Camino by foot or by bike.
Three students from the class of 2017, Emma Walker, Margrit Rindlisbacher, and Linnea Hubbard-Nelson, did the Camino this past summer and shared their testimonials and photos. Mrs. Teiwis, who did the Camino five years ago, also gave a brief but soulful account of her experience. Mrs. Wilkinson did the last third of the Camino by bike because she wanted to get to know this part of Spain and create pedagogy to teach history through architecture, so those who attended the lecture got a brief summary of 1000 years of history through photos she took along the way. Reactions? Some of the students who participated expressed interest in doing the Camino someday!
Kicks for Cancer
By Ray Pavlik
Thank you to everyone who helped support the 2017 Lois Wells Kicks for Cancer. From those who attended and planned the Pink Dance on Friday night, bought shirts and wore pink and teal, volunteered or attended one of the games, it was an amazing example of a community coming together. The crowds were incredible, a sea of pink, it was humbling to be a part of the day.
Early returns suggest that we will exceed our goal of $50,000 raised for women's cancer research at Dana Farber, bringing our 11 year total to over $325,000
I have attached a few memories from the day:
Senior Jeff Zhu playing the anthem with his cello quartet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZVWiqZAHCk&feature=youtu.be
By Brian Miller
We are lucky to have Mr. Pavlik as a member of the CCHS Faculty. From CCHS earth science teacher to soccer coach, to class advisor, he is involved in so many things at CC to enhance our students' experiences. Follow the link to learn more about him.
Ray Pavlik Feature
Mrs. Lynne Beattie has been worked in a variety of roles in the District including as a teacher, a principal, and she is now our K-12 Digital Literacy Administrator. Learn more about her work below.
Lynne Beattie Feature
Pathways Blog
The Pathways staff and students have been working hard on the Pathways blog. The blog features photos and descriptions of the current activities of our students, from classes to extracurriculars and more! It is a great way to keep up to date with the ongoings of Pathways.
Additional photos of our friends from Nanae and Kicks-for-Cancer.
