Challenge Success
On Friday and Saturday, October 13 and 14, 2023, the Administration, English teachers, and one of our Adjustment Counselors attended the Challenge Success conference. It was a great conference with impactful sessions and we look forward to sharing the learning with the Leadership Team, and everyone in the coming days and weeks. We attended sessions on belonging, engagement, homework, artificial intelligence, the science of wonder, integrating SEL, and more.
Fun Fridays!
Fun Fridays are back! This was something we used to do pre-Covid and we are finally bringing them back. The CCHS Wellness Committee and CCHS Parent Association are teaming up to bring some fun activities to our students during their lunch block and to boost school spirit. Please reach out to the PA to find out how you can help or assist in future Fun Fridays if you are interested.
This Friday, during both lunches, students will have various fun activities in the cafeteria, outside of the Learning Commons, and outside of the dining commons, weather permitting. Students can come to grab some yummy cider, listen to music, and enjoy some of the fun activities during their lunch block.
Promote School Spirit - All students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to wear jerseys, any CC gear, or school colors (maroon and white). Let's see which class has the MOST SCHOOL SPIRIT!!
No Homework Weekend for Seniors
The Administration met with Student Senate leadership last week and they expressed the stress that many seniors are under with college applications and the upcoming November 1 deadline.
After thinking about possible solutions, we have decided to make next weekend a homework-free weekend for seniors. As a result, no homework can be assigned on Thursday, 10/26 (there is no school on Friday, 10/27, because of parent-teacher conferences), and there should be no assignments due on Monday, 10/30. Please reach out to the Administration if you have any questions.
Instrumental Music Concert, "Move!"
We hope you will join us for the CCHS Instrumental Music Concert, "Move!" on Thursday, 11/2, at 7 p.m. in the auditorium! Read on for some highlights of the exciting program we will be presenting that evening:
- The WORLD PREMIERE of Nubia Jaime-Donjuan's "Monarch Migration" for Symphony Orchestra, which we commissioned as a consortium member of the Mexican Repertoire Initiative
- Arturo Marquez's masterpiece "Danzon No. 2" transcribed for Concert Band
- Jennifer Jolley's challenging work "March!" - an examination of the Western march form as a wind band tradition and a tool of brutal regimes and authoritarian dictatorships around the globe and throughout history
You'll also hear works portraying dance, flight, and a stuck key on an organ. We can't wait to share all of our hard work with you at our Fall Concert!
I'm really proud of the hard work the students put into this program - the musicians in the bands and orchestras have prepared a concert consisting of works largely written by living composers. Most pieces they are performing are uncommonly difficult for a concert two months into the school year - several of these pieces are typically heard being performed by All-State or college ensembles. Not to mention a world premiere piece and a haunting finale! Don't miss this one!
- Chris Noce, Director of Bands & Orchestras
Department Spotlight: METCO
We are excited for the beginning of the new year! We are now a staff of four, Barb Burgos, Chris Skinner, Malinthi Fernando, and Deb Jemison. We are so excited for all the students returning to school! The Achievement Strategies classroom, 202, has been completely renovated and all of the students are enjoying the new space. We welcomed Chris Skinner, Academic Liaison. Chris was previously at CMS as an Academic Liaison for METCO. Our students are working extremely hard in their academic endeavors which makes us extremely proud. We are getting ready for our youth leadership conference at Emmanuel College on Oct 20th. We are also getting ready for our HBCUs Colleges and Universities event that will be conducted at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, on Oct 25-27. We will be taking students from Concord, Carlisle, and Boston to be a part of this event. With such a strong positive start to the new school year, we are excited to see where the rest of the school year will go!
- Deb Jemison, METCO Director
7 selected METCO students attended the 27th Annual METCO Directors Association
High School Leadership Conference at Emmanuel College.
9th Academy Field Trips
Over several days in October, the 9th Academy will be taking students on an all-day walking tour of Concord. The goal is to use the walks to build community within the teams and increase awareness of our place within the larger community. The walks will start at the Buttrick House in Minuteman National Park, and integrate geological and historical lenses. Concord’s unique history from first inland settlement in 1635 through the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and the contributions of the Transcendentalists, will also be incorporated into the walks.
Twice Told Tales Field Trip: MFA Boston
On Friday, 10/20, The History & Literature: A Twice-Told Tale class visited the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Like Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous book of short stories, which inspires the title of the course, Twice-Told Tales endeavors to re-conceive, to reconsider, through history, psychology, and literature, the human condition.
Upcoming Dates:
