Cougar News

Good Afternoon, Cougar Nation!

What an exciting time of year! Our students are achieving in the classroom, participating in activities and festivals, and competing on the track and fields. Please take the time to read through this entire newsletter, as there is so much to celebrate and share.

Next week, we will host many special events, including a voter registration drive on Monday, culminating with commencement for our graduating seniors on Saturday morning at 10:00 am. Graduation is truly one of my favorite events of the year. It is a special opportunity to celebrate our seniors as they prepare for their next steps after ConVal.

We also have three teams that have advanced in the state tournament and will be competing this weekend. On Saturday, softball will play on our home field at noon, baseball will travel to play Hanover High School, and our boys lacrosse team will be away against Bow High School. In addition, the Cougar runners and relay boys that will be competing in the Meet of Champions at Oyster River High School on Saturday. Best of luck to all of our teams!

I look forward to an exciting week ahead. Have a wonderful weekend, and as always, GO COUGARS!

Best,

Heather

• June 8: Senior Finals Blocks 1 and 2
• June 8: Summer Musical Auditions
• June 9: Senior Finals Blocks 3 and 4
• June 10: Scholarship Award Ceremony - 6:00 pm - 8:00pm
• June 13: ConVal High School Graduation - 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
• June 17: Final Exams Blocks 1 and 2
• June 18: Final Exams Block 3 and 4
• June 19: Last Day of School - Early Dismissal
• June 19: Finals Makeup Day

Please see also the overview end-of-school calendar here.

ConVal High School's Commencement Exercises will be held on Saturday, June 13, 2026. The outdoor ceremony will start at 10:00 am on Stadium Field. If there is inclement weather, graduation will take place inside the Robert McGuire Gymnasium, with the same start time of 10:00 am. Each graduate will be given six (6) tickets for guests to attend outside graduation. If the ceremony is conducted outside, there will be additional first-come, first-served self-seating options on the stadium field bleachers. In the past, there have also been some spectators who have watched from outside Stadium Field. For friends and family members who are unable to attend the graduation ceremonies in person, the event will also be live-streamed online here. If you have any questions, please direct them to ConVal High School’s graduation advisors who can be reached at this email address: graduationadvisor@conval.edu. The graduation advisors will send final updates to candidates for graduation to their school cvsd.me accounts. Please remind your child to check their email regularly for updates.

Geskus Studios will provide professional photos of graduates at the Commencement Exercises on Saturday, June 13. The QR code links to login page on geskusprint.com and allows families to access a pre-order offer to get photos of graduates as they receive their diplomas. The link is live now. Please note that this pre-order offer expires 24 hours after commencement concludes on June 13.

The World Language Honor Society inductions were held on May 12 in the Lucy Hurlin Theatre. Frau Concannon gave the opening speech before the following students of German were inducted into the Deutsche Ehrenverbindung by Frau Concannon and Frau Hodgdon: Sarah Brace, Amalie Davis, Caitlyn Fowle, Kiran Galbraith, Addison Hardwick, Caleb Heider, Josie Hodsdon, Marcus Jordan, Mallory Mason, Logan Montano, Noah Regis, and Larianna Trudel. The following students were welcomed into the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica by Señora Pacheco-McMahon and Señor Hargreaves: Charles Damata, Ethan Danforth, Jazmin Davison, Olivia Healey, Remi Kekuewa-Colon, Grace Lacroix, Autumn Maurice, Iris Palmer, Ryan Pimental, Scarlett Rogers, Keira Schaub, Samuel Stacy, Ross Stephens, and Parker Trodella. Congratulations, all!

The World Language Honor Society event also served as a forum for the ceremonial presentation of Senior Cords for students who had excelled in world language studies over the years. Senior Cord recipients for German were: Whitney Adair, Liam Armstrong, Ivy Armstrong-McEvoy, Sarah Brace, Alia Dodge, Thomas Flynn, Riley Heider, Evan Kelley, Madison Kemp, Bryanna Mattson, Megan Millbauer, Lucy Morris, Adeline Regis, and Cayden Sullivan. Hadley Bates, Heidi Bell, Brayden Boice, Charles Damata, Jazmin Davison, Alyssa Hamlin, Remi Kekuewa-Colon, Zadie Marshall, Rowan McClusky, Gavin Niemela, Charley Pile-Cunningham, and Ross Stephens were presented with Spanish Senior Cords.

The Kiwanis Club of Peterborough met with CTE Student of the Month award recipients on May 27 to recognize their achievements. Every month, students are nominated by their CTE teachers for demonstrating professional, career ready skills, and nominees are voted on to determine who will be the CTE Student of the Month. This person earns a monetary award, which is generously provided by the Kiwanis.

The World Language Department would like to announce and congratulate the May Students of the Month. These students exhibit the key qualities of successful language learners. They have a positive attitude, show a willingness to take academic risks, demonstrate perseverance and curiosity, and are successful collaborators. German: Viktoria Petrov and Caitlyn Fowle. Spanish: Catherine Stahl and Benjamin Ferrisi. Congratulations, all!

For their performance on the National German Exam Level 1 in April, Lane Williams and Audrey Higgins recently received Achievement Awards, while Gavin Lyons received a Bronze Award. The National German Exam (NGE) is sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) and taken by over 15,000 U.S. high school students. It evaluates listening and reading comprehension across four levels (Level 1 to Level 4).

The talent of ConVal music students was on full display during the Annual POPS Concert, both during the evening performance on May 27 and the assembly on May 28. Under the direction of choir director Brian Moore and band director Jonathan Trudeau, ConVal's voice and instrumental ensembles — Chamber Choir, Trouble Clefs, Jazz Band, Contemporary Group, Select Choir, Concert Choir, and Concert Band — put together a rich repertoire of diverse musical numbers that featured several soloists.

During the School Board meeting on June 2, ConVal High School students, teachers, and administrators had the opportunity to share their points of pride. The presentation covered the past two months and included slides from the school's Day of Service, a recap of the two educational travel tours — an environmental research trip to Belize and a cultural immersion trip to Spain —, as well as a wide variety of student achievements in academics and athletics. A particular highlight was the presentation of the movie short Bridge the Gap (Unified Sports) by senior Michael Gonzalez, who had received the Community Impact Award for the film at the New Hampshire High School Short Film Festival in May.

On Wednesday, ConVal High School celebrated the achievements of its freshman, sophomore, and junior students during a special Underclassman Awards Assembly. In recognizing excellence, this annual event highlights outstanding student performances in specific subjects and builds on a culture of achievement at ConVal. Students won a total of 73 awards. The complete list of award-winning students can be found on the ConVal website here.

In what has become an annual tradition, AP classes in Spanish and German each produce a play in their target language that is performed in the LHT for families, students, and teachers. The German AP class, together with students from German 1 and German 3, performed "Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen," an adaptation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which the students translated and wrote the dramatic dialogues themselves.

Laura Phillips is a ConVal alum. She recently visited Señora Pacheco-McMahon's class to talk about her experiences after graduating from ConVal. Having completed AP Spanish, Laura had such a good command of the language that she could complete a minor in Spanish as a freshman at UNH. Most recently, she visited Cuba under the auspices of UNH and hopes to travel to South America in the future. The Spanish class had many questions for Laura regarding traveling and studying abroad.

Current and future welding students toured the CANAM facilities in Claremont to learn about career pathways. CANAM is North America's largest steel fabricator, specializing in bridges and structural components for major infrastructure projects. Students had the opportunity to view training facilities as well as bridge pieces in various phases of development.

Students had the opportunity to highlight their successes during the CTE Spotlight on June 4. Extended Learning Opportunity students presented their final projects in collaboration with their community partners, demonstrating what they had learned through their experiences. Students from different CTE programs also highlighted some of their projects, answering questions from community members.

The CTE Spotlight evening culminated with the ConVal High School Film Festival, with films running the gamut from funny film shorts inspired by literature to philosophical reflections on the power of water and the ocean. While the festival showcased a remarkable caliber of film-making across all of the evening's submissions, the professional-quality documentary about the Hot Glass Art Center in Marlborough was particularly impressive. The film focused on the collaborative process of the art of glassblowing.

The highlight of the evening was the showing of Bridge the Gap (Unified Sports) by Michael Gonzalez. By weaving together interviews with teachers, coaches, and administrators as well as current and former members of the Unified Basketball team, which were expertly interspersed with actual game footage, Gonzalez explored the central value that Unified sports holds in the culture of ConVal High School. The film received the Spotlight Community Impact Award at the New Hampshire High School Short Film Festival in May.

On Friday, May 29, 21 ConVal students stepped onto the campus of Franklin Pierce University for the NEACAC Spring College Fair.

The day kicked off with an official campus tour, giving students a firsthand look at Franklin Pierce University's programs, beautiful campus, and vibrant community life. Following the tour, our students took full advantage of the opportunity to connect face-to-face with over 100 college admissions representatives from institutions all across the East Coast. Whether they were discovering new schools or asking deep questions about their dream universities, it was an incredibly productive day focused on future success.

June 10: Scholarship Ceremony in the evening (6pm). Families of seniors who will be receiving a scholarship will be invited to attend.

August 26: New Student Day

Remember to update your Naviance to inform us of the college/university you will be attending next year. This information is needed for counselors to send final transcripts.

*During graduation practice, you will be receiving a senior check out form - these are due to school counseling by June 10th.

Student/Family access to PowerSchool will be off for most of the summer. In August, students and families will be notified when the portal is back on and students will be able to view their schedule for next year.

School Counselors will return to work in late August. If you would like to meet with your school counselor to adjust your schedule, please reach out for a meeting after August 17.

All incoming freshmen and transfer students will be invited to attend New Student Day on August, 26. This is a half day for new students to get acclimated to the high school. Students arrive at 9:00 am. They will meet with peer mentors, receive a copy of their schedule, and be able to go to their classes and meet their teachers. The day ends with an ice cream social, and dismissal at 12:10pm.

In case you missed it, view the Applying to College 101 presentation from Granite Edvance at the link below.

https://graniteedvance.zoom.us/rec/share/aJpt3rjtu1gwcaqTlq8kUKAUs5D4OBAY8Lv_PIuTskTk9XJN9yjwrVJ1Zx6Sm8aM.iQBhNGtg5ybY50SY?startTime=1770850950000

Passcode: EU1A9^8n

The School Counseling Department would like to share a college planning presentation with you to help you and your child begin thinking about and preparing for the future.

College Planning Presentation

What a couple of weeks it has been for ConVal Athletics!

On the last day of the regular season, the Girls’ Tennis Team defeated Goffstown to qualify for the Division 2 State Tournament. Despite being the #12 seed, the team went on the road and defeated the #5 seed Winnacunnett Warriors to earn a spot in the quarterfinals vs. # 4 Plymouth Regional High School. The team eventually fell to the Bobcats, 7-2, but Haley Samuelson and Riley Heider each won their matches. Samuelson and Reider also qualified for the NH State Individual and Doubles’ Championships, which takes place tomorrow and Sunday. Good luck!

Last Saturday, the track team competed in the Division II Championships. Senior Ross Stephens won 2 individual events (200 meters, 400 meters) and anchored the 4 x 400-meter relay. His 48.46 second 400-meter dash was a new Division II record as was the 4x400 meter relay team’s 3:25.19 finish time. The relay team included Griffin Schultz, Walter Stephens, and Bretton Davies, and this speedy crew also broke the school record with this new time (see also the callout story and photo below).

Walter Stephens captured second place in the triple jump with a personal-best leap of 40 feet 4.25 inches. Griffin Schultz took fourth place in the 400-meter dash and fifth place in the 200-meter dash. Jack Telofski ran a personal best in the 110-meter hurdles and finished in fifth place.

For the girls, Whitney Adair finished in sixth place in the 800 meters, running a personal-best 2:26.57. The 4 x 100-meter relay team of Adair, Stella Arnone, Amelie Davis, and Larianna Trudel ran a season-best 55.14 second time. Adair, Davis, and Trudel teamed up with Alia Dodge to run a season-best 4:34.89 finish time in the 4 x 400-meter relay.

The softball team earned a #4 seed for the Division 2 State Tournament. On Wednesday, they hosted Souhegan in the first round and came away with a 3-2 win over the Sabers. Sydney Borges threw a complete game 4-hitter, with 15 strikeouts in the win, bringing her within a dozen of 600 career strikeouts. Mae Hagelburg, Chloe Hamlin, Annabelle Laughters, and Sienna McCay led the offense. The team advances to the quarterfinals with a home game tomorrow (6/6) at 12:00 pm vs. Campbell High School.

Also on Wednesday, the #5 seeded Cougar baseball team also hosted a first round tournament game vs. the Kennett High School Eagles. The Cougars pulled out a 5-4 win behind senior Isaac Clough’s complete game outing. Up next for the Cougars is a quarterfinal match-up vs. Hanover High School on Saturday, 6/6, at 12:00 pm.

On Thursday, the lacrosse team played Kennett High School in the first round of the lacrosse state tournament and won 7-5! The team heads to the quarterfinals on Saturday (6/6) at Bow High School for a 3:00 PM contest.

For those looking for information regarding athletics registration for the 2026-2027 school year, please visit our athletic website. Registration will open during the last week of school, and will be open for the remainder of the summer. Fall sports tentatively begins the week of August 17. Stay tuned for confirmation in the coming weeks.

ConVal is in search for a golf coach for the 2026 fall season. If you, or someone you know is interested, please contact Larry Pimental at lpimental@conval.edu.

With a time of 3:25.19 in the 4x400-meter relay race, the Cougars Boys Track & Field team enjoyed a record-setting day at the NHIAA Division II state championships at Londonderry High School on Saturday. The record-breaking squad consisted of Griffin Schultz (leg 1), Bryce Stevens (leg 2), Britton Davis (leg 3), and Ross Stevens (anchor). Separately, Ross’ time in the 400m race (48.46) set a new Division II state record.

The Keene Sentinel announced its third annual All-Sentinel Team on June 1, which includes the following ConVal athletes:

• Ivy Armstrong-McEvoy, senior - Volleyball
• Sydney Borges, junior - Softball
• Max Cail, ConVal, senior - Soccer, Basketball
• Isaac Clough, senior - Baseball
• Mae Hagelberg, senior - Soccer, Softball
• Ross Stephens, senior - Track and Field

Due to the forecasted inclement weather on Saturday, the Break the Stigma 5K Race, Walk, Run had to be postponed to the morning of Sunday, May 31. This annual event seeks to bring awareness to the importance of youth mental health. Thirty participants ran or walked, including School Board Representative Dan Harper and Principal Heather McKillop. The fundraiser was generously sponsored by the Cornucopia Project, RiverMead, Bellows-Nichols Insurance, and the Happy Girl Edit. Proceeds from the race benefit both the ConVal Break the Stigma student club and the Avenue A Teen Center in support of their youth mental health initiatives in the community.

The Elm Street bridge in Peterborough will be closed for the remainder of the school year. If students need to ride the bus to Elm Street or the Community Center they will need to ride bus 25.

End 68 Hours of Hunger Summer Registration

Spring Football

Avenue A Summer

📬 184 Hancock Road, Peterborough, NH 03458

📞 (603) 924-3869 📧 conval.highschool@conval.edu

🌐 cvhs.conval.edu

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