SPHS Update

SPHS Community,

It's been a few weeks since the last update and lots of great things have happened at SPHS. First and foremost, there was the Boys Indoor Track team winning the Class A State Championships in dramatic fashion. Junior Arnaud Sioho led the way for the Riots by breaking the state triple jump record, and then proceeding to break his own record on consecutive jumps. #RIOTPRIDE

Also the Boys Indoor track team won the 2024 Sportsmanship awards as well. We're so proud of your accomplishments and of who you are. Really this goes for ALL of our winter athletes and their coaches.

One final Indoor Track note is that both Coach Kahill and Coach Toothaker won Coach of the year awards. Congratulations!

Check out the pictures below to see some award winning art that is currently displayed at Maine College of Art and Design in Portland. Congratulations Red Riot Artists!

Note these upcoming dates:

• Tuesday, March 5th - Scholarship Workshop
• Wednesday, March 6th - Early Release - Students Dismissed at 11:55
• Friday, March 8th - Winter Ball, 7-9:30pm
• Wednesday, March 13th - Junior SAT Day (All others attend regular classes)
• Thursday, March 14th - Parent Teacher Conference Night

One note about the SAT day on Wednesday, March 13th. 9th, 10th, and 12th graders will have classes as normal will report directly to block 1 and there will be no Homebase. 11th graders will have locations for testing posted in the lobby.

Peace,

Scott Tombleson (He/Him/His - What is this?)

Principal - South Portland High School

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL JUNIORS

➢ Juniors will complete the SAT during the school day on Wednesday, March 13th. Students will arrive at school by the regular 8:10 AM start time and report directly to their assigned testing room. Students must arrive on time. Once testing has started, tardy students will not be allowed to enter the testing room. Room assignments will be posted in the lobby.

➢ This is a great opportunity for students to complete the SAT for free as the $60.00 test registration fee will be covered for all students by SPHS.

➢ The College Board offers free online test prep through Khan Academy. To access the online practice, students can sign-up through their College Board accounts at:

• FREE SAT PREP

➢ While many colleges will continue their test-optional admission policies next year, there may be colleges that require standardized test scores. In addition, colleges with test-optional policies will often still consider SAT scores if a student chooses to submit scores in the application process.

Test Day:

• Breakfast will be available as usual prior to the start of school. Be sure to arrive early enough to eat breakfast prior to 8:10 AM as eating is not allowed in the testing room.
• Use of cell phones or any unauthorized electronic device is prohibited during testing. Students bringing a cell phone into the testing room will be required to power off the phone and place it in a designated area until testing is complete and students are dismissed. The College Board may cancel scores for any student who fails to follow the cell phone policy.
• Students will be taking the test digitally through the Bluebook app using their iPads. Be sure to bring your iPad fully charged and ready to test.
• Be well-rested and ready to go. Get a good night's sleep the night before the test.
• Bring snacks/water for the breaks.
• Score Reports will be available online at www.collegeboard.com beginning April 4th.

Winter Ball is on Friday, March 8th from 7-9:30pm. The theme is Winter Wonderland. Tickets are on sale for 10 dollars. Please see a staff member if you need financial assistance. You can buy tickets at the table in the lobby before or after school now though March 8th. If you would like to bring a guest from another school, please submit a guest form before Wednesday, March 6th.

Congratulations to the track teams for their strong performances at the SMAA Championship Meet on Saturday.

The Boys team won the meet, completing its 3rd straight undefeated conference championship. Arnaud Sioho won 3 individual events, set the SP & conference long jump records, and won the athlete of the meet. Lamed Khelendende, Menace Khelendende, Chris Salamone, Caleb Ramsell, Devin Berry, Cae Correia, Jared LaRose, Michael Lawlor, Matt Berry, Tyler Bryant, Gedeao Buanza, Patrick Heffernan, Nolan I’Aboni, Curtis Metcalf, Gavin Nicholson, Fischer Petrlik, Henry Risch, Che-Hao Saito, Arnaud Sioho, Evan Small, and Jackson Whitehouse all scored in one or more events.

The following athletes set school records: Lamed Khelendende (Jr. Div. 55m), Caleb Ramsell (Jr. Div. Hurdles), Michael Lawlor (Jr. Div. 800m), Arnaud Sioho (Sr. Div. Hurdles & Long Jump), & Fischer Petrlik (Open Div. Mile). The 4x200m relay team of Gedeao Buanza, Matt Berry, Che-Hao Saito, & Caleb Ramsell set the SP Open Div. Record, and the 4x400m relay team of Curtis Metcalf, Michael Lawlor, Gedeao Buanza, & Arnaud Sioho set the overall school record.

The girls team placed 6th out of 17 teams, scoring 62 total points - outperforming their originally seeded scores by 20 points. Sunila Deloacth won the junior division shot put while Ellie Bisson (55m, LJ, 4x200), Audrey Lebleu (4x400, 800, TJ), Annalise Soucy (TJ, 4x200), Laurelei Kebokere (SP), Christie Cole (55m, 4x200, SMR), Des Milandu (200, 4x200), Samantha Clyde (4x400), Gabbie Archibald (SMR), Jillian Edgar (4x200, SMR), Julia Tompkins (SMR), Iris Young (HJ, 4x400), Francesca Amoroso (HJ), Ella Nickerson (LJ, 4x200), Olivia Bean (TJ, 4x200, 4x400), Ellia Christensen (4x200) and Makayla Edwards Burwell (SP) all placed in their respective events and contributed to the teams overall success. The girls team went 15-1 in the regular season and put together an excellent championship meet!

March 14th is the final Parent/Teacher conference night of the year. The booking portal is now open for parents to schedule 15-minute conferences with individual teachers. Do that by going to the parent portal and booking a time slot.

There will be an intramural conditioning opportunity open to all students in March on Mondays and Thursdays. Sessions will run from 2:45-4:00 p.m. March 4, 7, 11, 14 will be held in the SPHS gym and March 18, 21 will be held in the SP Community Center gym.

If you would like to help supply the athletics office with donations, check out their Amazon Wishlist.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2XJNL2RAOLICL/ref=nav_wishlist_lists_2#

Planning for our Project Graduation Event is in full swing. Please check out our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/248051131136625 to see how you can help out.

Project Grad informational sign-up:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc16Hj-fscbt3Qct1J65u-GC1mPU7A98P4GyyS-ghNfG0JNTA/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0

This form is providing some base information (T-Shirt size) and initial parent contact information for Project Graduation. This is not committing them to attending, but merely helping us to plan headcounts and order proper T-shirt sizes so we are ready. Official sign-up forms will be sent to the Seniors in Mid March to start getting them excited.

• Summer BIPOC Paid Lobstering Program Students who are 16+ are welcome to come learn about the BIPOC Lobstering program through Luke's Lobsters in Portland. Info session on 3/5 during lunches, and at the end of block 4 (1:50-2:20). Please reach out to Ms. Inman (inmansh@spsdme.org) with questions, or to request a pass. Flier with more info available here.

• Restaurant Skills Workshop Series
  

  Join us on the upcoming half days (3/6, 4/11 and 5/1) from 1-4pm at Fork Food Lab in South Portland to learn skills you will need to get a job in a restaurant (both front of house: ex: being a host, waiter AND back of house: how to operate an industrial dishwasher, or basics of food prep, etc). If you have ever considered working in a restaurant, these workshops are for you. Please see Ms Inman in 328 for more info, or sign up here
  

  More info on this flier.

• FREE PAID CNA training program for students who are 16+

  Interested in earning your CNA and getting paid to do so? Please attend the informational session on Tues March 5 at 3:30pm at Boys and Girls Club Portland (277 Cumberland Ave Portland). More info on this flier or see Ms. Inman in room 328. One CNA program will be offered this spring, and one this summer.

Four SoPo students competed in the Winter Warm-Up chess tournament at Hampden Academy on Sunday. Your Red Riots chess team earned 6 points toward the Scholastic Grand Prix league team title in this final SGP event of the season. SPHS finishes the season with a total of 32 points.

While the final results have not been officially reported yet, our closest competitors, Dirigo HS, John Bapst HS and Lewiston HS did not compete in this event. Even Hampden Academy on their "home court" only had one student player, Riley Richardson, who defeated SPHS player Uriel Valentim De Carvalho in round four to finish in 2nd place in the high school division.

South Portland's Logan Levesque and Uriel Valentim De Carvalho entered the final round with 5 event points, followed by Snowy Conford with 2 and Chess Club President, Beatrice Ramos, with 1.

Ziyu Sam Gao, with 6 event points, faced off against Logan Levesque with 4 points up for grabs in the final round. The winner would be event champion. Under constant pressure from Levesque (playing the black pieces), Gao (an unrated entry playing in his first ever chess tournament) left the table three times to wash his face, take a breather and gather his composure. Running out of time, Gao played a series of high risk, high reward moves taking Levesque by surprise and emerging victorious. Gao joins South Portland's Gavin Cooley (2022/23) as just the second player in a decade to win the first chess tournament they ever played in. Jason Yang of Machias High, finished 3rd.

When the final SGP season results are published, I will let you know where we finished. SPHS is at or near the top of the league out of 17 high schools.Keep in mind, winning the SGP league is like coming in first during the regular baseball or football season. It is a great accomplishment, but not the same as winning the World Series or the Super Bowl.

Next up is OUR Super Bowl: Team State Championships on March 9th at Hampden Academy, followed by Individual State Championships on March 23rd at Lewiston High School.

All SPHS team players are qualified for these events. Please let me know ASAP if you wish to compete for the title of Maine State Champion!

ACDA Eastern Region Honors Festival

Wednesday February 28th-Saturday March 2nd

Omni Providence Hotel, Providence RI

High School/Middle School Combined Chorus Concert

Tuesday, March 19th, 7:00PM

• Tuesday, March 5th - Scholarship Workshop
• Wednesday, March 6th - Early Release - Students Dismissed at 11:55
• Friday, March 8th - Winter Ball, 7-9:30pm
• Wednesday, March 13th - Junior SAT Day (All others attend regular classes)
• Thursday, March 14th - Parent Teacher Conference Night