Hartford High Lites
March 28, 2025
Recognition
Congratulations to the cast and crew of Embellish, our One-Act play, making it to the state festival!
Great job Student Council for this week's blood drive which resulted in the community providing 31 pints of blood through a partnership with the American Red Cross. This drive combined with an earlier drive resulted in over 50 pints.
Congratulations to the following students for their outstanding achievement through the VT Allstate Music Festival:
Molly Fournier-Stephens recently prepared and performed a memorized 7-minute trombone solo for a panel of judges in competition for a VT Allstate Music Festival Scholarship. She has been awarded the top honor, a Performance Scholarship, for the Brass category. This recognizes the state's top scoring brass performer and Molly will now perform her solo in front of the entire Allstate Music Festival in May in addition to receiving a scholarship. Congratulations Molly!
We also had 11 students accepted into the VT Allstate Music Festival this year!
Students accepted into Allstate Band:
Daniel Beaulieu
Molly Fournier-Stephens
Dexter Maxell-Crosby
Larkyn Moodie-Hamilton
Cooper Warren
Students accepted into Allstate Chorus:
Jaidin Bennett
Quinn Chartier
Jaxon DalPra
Maddie Moore
Arlo Philip
Cora Winslow
Congratulations to all!
Question of the Week
How do we provide our students with choices to meet their learning goals and needs?
During the past couple of weeks we have partnered with our students, through their advisory, to support Student-Led Conferences. A significant part of this process is to help our learners understand the breadth of opportunities Hartford offers them and to tailor a schedule that aligns with their goals and needs as articulated through their Personalized Learning Plan (PLP). As I indicated in a previous post, this process started some weeks ago and was fueled during our Hurricane Day. Since then all students have met with their school counselor and their choices are emerging. These choices will ultimately become next year's master schedule.
Our Program of Studies represents our commitment to the unique and individual goals and needs of our students. It would be an interesting exercise for anyone to review our current Program of Studies and compare it to the more limited options students had not too many years ago. Most of the changes are a direct result of our school listening as our students told us what they wanted to study.
We are looking forward to the coming weeks when, from the requests of our students, next year's master schedule emerges. One downside of having so many unique choices is that often our students have conflicts which they work through with their school counselors. These conflicts are inevitable and we address them - it does end up requiring our students to make some difficult choices.
Of all the ways we provide students with choice, the annual development of the master schedule is the most impactful.
Thank you for reading
Upcoming Events
Pizzazz, our annual variety show, is on stage tonight at 7:00. Join us for an evening of entertainment.
Just a reminder that Spring break is the week of April 14 - 18
Links
Curiosity Corner
Week 24: March 31 is International Transgender Day of Visibility
Recently, there have been executive orders signed by the President targeting the LGBTQ+ community, including youth. The orders are used to create fear and chaos but they cannot override the United States Constitution, federal laws, and established legal precedent. In the Hartford School District, we will continue to uphold our policies honoring, supporting, and celebrating all the diverse individuals in our community, including our transgender*, non-binary, and intersex members.
March 31st is International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV)! International TDOV was created in 2010 by trans advocate Rachel Crandall in response to the overwhelming majority of media stories about transgender people being focused on violence. She hoped to create a day where people could celebrate the lives of transgender people, while still acknowledging that due to discrimination, not every trans person can or wants to be visible.
Trans athletes have been a major focus in the media, specifically the idea that trans women have an unfair advantage in sports. This belief is couched in the notion that women athletes are inherently inferior to men, which is both scientifically unfounded and rooted in sexism. Claims that trans athletes threaten fairness or make women less safe are based on misinformation, not credible evidence. Fear-mongering harms all women. The so-called “safety concerns” around trans inclusion in sports often perpetuate harmful stereotypes that portray women as fragile and in need of protection, distracting from the real issues facing women’s sports, such as pay inequities and racism.
Trans athletes represent only a tiny fraction of competitors. So, what is the real issue with trans women playing in women’s sports? Is it about our own discomfort and privilege and not necessarily about fairness or safety? If we really cared about women in sports, we’d be focusing on the real issues, like pay inequities, underfunding, sexual harassment, and barriers.
Watch this 5 minute video from the NY Times Opinion section about a trans runner who struggles with wanting to compete to her fullest potential but also believes she may have an unfair advantage and how she is constantly trying to navigate these two truths. (Transcript).
Inclusion reflects the true spirit of sports: unity, opportunity, and celebrating human potential. Sports thrive on diversity and breaking barriers. Trans athletes bring new stories of perseverance, determination, and triumph, embodying what sports are truly about.
Resources:
Get the Facts: Trans Inclusion in Sports
Banning Transgender Youth from participating in sports
How many transgender women play sports?
* Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Being transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation. Therefore, transgender people may identify as straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc.