Hartford High Lites

Congratulations to Walker Garthwaite for their recent inclusion on the Hartford School Board as a Student Representative.

Congratulations to the Girls Ice Hockey team for winning the state championship last Sunday. This championship represents the second in the program's history and makes our girls back-to-back state champs.

Congratulations to the following students whose art projects are on exhibit at the "Best of the Upper Valley High School" Art Exhibit at AVA Gallery in Lebanon: Cavin Benjamin, Geneva Durgin, Lilli Lachle, Taylor Lynds, Monet Nolan, Logan LaPole, Norah Wood The exhibit lasts until March 21st and is free.

We are pleased to recognize our teams that represented Hartford at the Vermont State University at Randolph's annual bridge competition which is sponsored by Vermont Trans.

Hartford had 5 out of a total of 30 teams compete and 2 of our teams finished in the top 4.

Overall champions were the Hartford team of Sebastian Lorenz, Ben Lang, and Connor Beland who scored 1st in strength, 2nd in design, and 3rd in presentation. Their bridge held 870 pounds which was 220 pounds more than the second strongest bridge. Each member of this team won a scholarship to any VTSU school.

The Hartford team of Greyson Renninger, Vincent Munn-Campuso and Gavin Irish placed 4th overall while scoring 3rd in design, 2nd in presentation, and 2nd in predicted load.

Great job to all of our teams and to Mr. Mike Hathorn for continuing to include this learning opportunity in classes.

Lastly a huge congrats to a wonderful Concert Grande last week. The combined bands and choirs of HHS and HMMS provided a wonderful evening of music (and even a little German).

Why standardized tests?

I think I have heard this question, phrased in a number of ways during the last week, more than at any other time in the recent past. Our students wonder why they need to participate in standardized testing (PSAT, SAT, VTCAP). I will readily admit that I am not the first one to champion standardized testing and yet I do understand and agree with our reasons for doing them. Our school tries very hard to "partner with all learners." This partnership requires that we know our students fully and part of that knowledge is knowing our students' academic strengths and needs. In order to prepare for this partnership we have to consider the areas where each student needs our support, and in the ideal we would understand what student strengths can be leveraged to support their growth.

I fully understand that, for some, standardized tests are demanding and difficult. Sitting for long periods of time taking computer-based assessments is considered a "good time" by few of us. It is important that our students and their families understand that these measures are just a part of our knowledge about our students and we recognize the scores are simply a snapshot in time. These tests do not measure much more about our learners than they do measure and yet, they are an important piece of the puzzle.

A few years ago we committed to the purchase of a PSAT for all 10th grade students and an SAT for all 11th grade students. As I have explained to our students this is a reflection of our commitment to ensure each and every student has access to these assessments without cost and taken during the school day. Our sense is this is the right thing to do as it eliminates barriers that some have to accessing these tests. Additionally, our 9th graders, like all Vermont 9th graders, take the VTCAP tests in ELA and Math and our 11th graders take the VTCAP in Science.

We are challenged to support our students' understanding of this and as a result many of our students do not do their best (which at the end of the day is our ask of them). When this happens we do not have accurate information and this makes our partnership more complicated.

I hope in some small way I have helped explain our use of standardized tests and my thoughts regarding their value.

Thank you for reading

March continues to be a very busy month. In the coming weeks we will have One-Act play performances (March 19 and 20) as well as our annual variety show, PIZZAZZ on March 28.

Spring sports are also warming up.

Week 22: Your identity is your superpower - not an obstacle!

When we think about why we love superheroes it’s that they have abilities that are different from the norm. It’s their unique difference that makes them stand out. But outside of movies and comic books, those differences are often seen as problematic. We are constantly asking folks to be more like everybody else, more like the ideal - which are often characteristics of the dominant culture.

In her TED talk, America Fererra* talks about how Hollywood needs to stop resisting what the world actually looks like. Tracing the contours of her career, she calls for more authentic representation of different cultures in media -- and a shift in how we tell our stories. "Presence creates possibility," she says. "Who we see thriving in the world teaches us how to see ourselves, how to think about our own value, how to dream about our futures." Watch a short clip of her TED talk here.

* America Fererra is an American actress, director, and television producer. She was the first Latina woman to win a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress for her role as Betty Suarez in “Ugly Betty.” Ferrera is known for her advocacy and storytelling that empowers communities and champions Latina culture.