PRINCIPAL’S LETTER

Hello, Colonel families!

One can certainly debate with others the political record and character of Richard Nixon, but one cannot debate

the accuracy of one of his more famous quotations: “A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished

when he quits.”

Remove the man and substitute any of our Ledyard High School community members:

Students are not finished when they are defeated. They are finished when they quit.

Teachers are not finished when they are defeated. They are finished when they quit.

Parents are not finished when they are defeated. They are finished when they quit.

Thank goodness we are a community that refuses to quit. It’s been a long, difficult year, and we’ve not yet seen

the end of this journey. I know that so many among us have had moments of despair and defeat in the past twelve

months. Some of us lost friends or relatives we held dear. Some of us lost opportunities to engage in the activities

we love. Some of us lost sources of income and the assuredness of steady housing and food to feed our families.

All of us have felt, at least for a moment, trapped or saddened by the circumstances of the pandemic.

But no one has quit.

I think it’s important to remind ourselves of the resilience of the human spirit…not just remind ourselves, but

applaud ourselves for our endurance and adaptability. How many parents have figured out how to balance

changes in their own work (dining room table office anyone?) while also helping their teenagers navigate an

entirely new way of attending school? How many students have had to refine their time management and

technology skills while missing their friends and their routines? How many teachers have had to reimagine and

digitize their entire curriculum while working to forge authentic connections with black squares in a Google

Meet?

We are all eager to return to “normal,” but the new normal or the next normal will encompass the skills we’ve

discovered and refined throughout the past year. We are, each one of us, capable of more than we realized. But

even the strongest among us need to rest and recharge. I hope the approaching April vacation will provide just the

bridge we need to help us shift our thoughts and energies from the challenges we’ve surmounted thus far to the

work that is left to be done. We will return to just eight weeks of academic instruction (and nine weeks until

Graduation!) and a full slate of SAT, NGSS, and AP testing (generally for juniors and seniors). There is much to

do…but we’ll do it together.

No one quits.

Respectfully,

Amanda O. Fagan

Principal, Ledyard High School

Ledyard High News ISSUE 2 April 2021

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I N D E X

A/B Rotation . . . . . . . 4

Agri-Science . . . . . . . 15

Art . . . . . . . . . 14-15

Athletics . . . . . . . . 6-7

Calendar of Events . . . . . . 3

Encountering Survivors . . . . . 9

Guidance & School Counseling News . . . 11

History . . . . . . . . 8

Junior Class . . . . . . . 12

Marine Science . . . . . . . 17

Math . . . . . . . . 16

National Honor Society . . . . . . 5

National Ocean Sciences Bowl . . . . 18

Principal’s Letter . . . . . . 1

Unified Sports . . . . . . . 13

Yearbook . . . . . . . . 5

Youth Alive . . . . . . . 10

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS April 12, 2021 to June 18, 2021

April 2021

12-16 NO SCHOOL (Spring Break)

21 Board of Ed Mtg 7:00 pm Virtual

May 2021

5 Board of Ed Mtg 7 pm Virtual

14 SHORTENED DAY (12:00 Dismissal) Professional Development

19 Board of Ed Mtg 7 pm Virtual

31 NO SCHOOL (Memorial Day)

June 2021

2 Board of Ed Mtg 7 pm Virtual

18 Graduation 6 pm

Upcoming

Awards Night

FFA Awards Night

Music Gala

Senior Prom

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National Honor Society

The Ledyard Chapter of the National Honor Society has been busy serving their community with

a plethora of activities despite the ongoing obstacles of the pandemic. NHS organized a penny

drive by simply asking people for their spare change to raise money for the Jenna K. Foltz

Scholarship fund. Also benefiting the fund, NHS sold candygrams to go with the Valentine

holiday from early February to the 19th. Shortly after that, the club set up a sock collection for

the Salvation Army from March 11th to the 19th. In total, they collected over 50 pairs of socks

for donation!

Also in March, and despite not being able to visit in person, NHS managed to connect to the elderly and raise their spirits at

the nursing home through signed cards and short messages. For late March and early April, NHS has been hosting a food

drive to collect donations for the food pantry, while simultaneously raising money for the cause through a candy guessing

game where students could pay a dollar to guess how many candies were in a jar. Since the Ledyard Food Pantry is

undergoing relocation, all proceeds will be going to the Preston Food Pantry. During the Easter weekend, the club also helped

to hide eggs for the annual egg hunt at Colonel Ledyard Park. Looking to the future, NHS has already planned two more

projects for April. First, on April 10th, NHS is providing volunteers for a hiking trail cleanup on the local Tri-Town Trail.

Nine kids have already signed up to help out! NHS plans to finish out the month of April with a combined project with More

than Words to run a supplies drive for a homeless shelter. NHS plans to collect essential supplies in late April for four days

and then donate them to the Covenant Shelter of New London. Altogether, the National Honor Society has been continuing to

work hard and support the community despite the struggles of our modern-day pandemic.

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LLLEEEDDDYYYAAARRRDDD AAATTTHHHLLLEEETTTIIICCCSSS

Ledyard Athletics

Ledyard High School Athletics enjoyed a terrific winter sports season despite battling COVID.

Congratulations to all of our student-athletes and coaches for their safe and successful season. The

students and coaches worked very hard and made the entire community of Ledyard proud to be

Colonels! Scholar-Athletes from the winter season included: Cameron Reynolds (Boys Basketball),

Clare Inyang (Girls Basketball), Marsela Wilhelm (Fencing) and Luke Roberts (Fencing).

Sportsmanship award winners from the winter season included: Dylan Frechette (Boys Basketball),

Natalyah Williams (Girls Basketball), Madelyn DiFilippo (Fencing) and Zachary Robinson (Fencing).

Spring Sports are underway at Ledyard High School. The spring sports regular season officially begins

on Saturday April 10. Ledyard High School will be competing in baseball, softball, boys’ outdoor track,

girls’ outdoor track, boys’ lacrosse, girls’ lacrosse, boys’ tennis and girls’ tennis. You can view all of

our spring athletic schedules by logging onto lhs.ledyard.net/athletics or eccathletics.org/ledyard. You

also can get daily LHS athletic updates following the twitter page of @ledyardsports. Finally, you can

access all information about your favorite LHS sports team by downloading our mobile application.

Simply search ‘Ledyard Colonels Athletics’ on your Apple App store or Google Play store. Please

come out and support our student-athletes and show your Colonel Pride. If you have any questions,

please contact LHS Athletic Director Jim Buonocore at 860-464-9600 ext. 2122 or email at

jbuonocore@ledyard.net.

GO COLONELS!

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What's Happening in History? March is Women’s History month and April is Genocide Awareness month

There are so many exciting subjects being explored in History! Read below to see what your student is learning.

Freshmen taking World History: Liberty, equality, fraternity! Students have learned about the impact the Enlightenment period had on the causes and events of the beginning and radical phases of the French Revolution. Next up - Napoleon Bonaparte: Reactionary Tyrant or Revolutionary Hero?

Sophomores taking Civics: Working to change the world one piece at a time. Students are working on Civic Action projects that focus on improving racial justice in CT, improving access to trade schools for young people, strengthening copyright regulations, increasing access to feminine hygiene products in public school restrooms, and changing environmental regulations. Students may not be successful in all of their goals, but participation in this project will empower them to affect change in their communities.

Juniors taking US History: So far juniors have learned about Progressives, Twenties, Thirties, and the Origins of the Cold War. Check out our scoreboard- keeping track of who’s winning the Cold War. No spoilers please :)

APUSH and AP Psych: In the final stretch to get ready for their national exams in the first two weeks of May!!

Ancient History with Casertano: We have made our way through the ancient River Valley Civilizations and are now onto regional imperial powers (Persia, Macedonia, Greece and Rome). We are looking at connections between geography and the development of civilization. We will soon shift our focus to cultural contact but the one constant is the singing history teachers….ask your student and check out the recent hit Ma ma Macedonia, set to the tune of “My Sharona”. Anthropology with O’Brien: Anthropology students have finished a unit on Physical Anthropology where they learned all about the life of early man You can ask them about the difference between australopithecines and later hominids :) Next up: Cultural Anthropology!

Current Issues with Galante are working on examining difficult events such as discrimination, racism, the pandemic, and wealth inequality. We are examining ourselves and our own implicit biases, and how these unseen factors influence how we can see events differently than our neighbors. We strive to find common ground without being demeaning, and to hear one another, without simply waiting for our turn to talk.

20th Century American (Pop) Culture with Hargus -Students are working their way through a study of the decades. We have completed the 1920s with a focus on celebrity culture in the United States and the 1930s emphasis on forms of escapism through popular culture (dawn of the superhero genre). We will move on to the 1940s and a study of how war is portrayed through film. In between decades, we continue to work on final projects.

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Encountering Survivors

STUDENTS LIVE HISTORY THROUGH THE EYES OF A SURVIVOR Once again this year, six LHS students will be participating in the Encountering Survivors program, albeit in a virtual format this year. For the past 8 years, the Holocaust Resource Center of Southeastern CT has run this program in conjunction with high schools in southeastern CT. The program connects high school students to Holocaust Survivors in the area. It is an intergenerational program designed to train high school students to be witnesses to the oral histories of survivors or children of survivors of the Holocaust. Students meet and interview these survivors during three virtual visits. This once in a lifetime opportunity allows students to become the keepers of those stories and the living memories of human tragedy in the spirit of ‘never forgetting’ the atrocities of the Holocaust. At the end of the program, these six students share their experience learning the survivor’s story and its impact on their life, through video presentation which will be made widely available to the LHS community. This unique opportunity is open to any age student who wishes to enhance their understanding of the Holocaust through the eyes of a survivor. This year’s participants are Ryan Tomis, Aaliyah Amadon, Cayden Herr, Chris Houdeshell, Nicole Bennet and Josh Knight.

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Youth Alive Bible Club

Spring is here and the Youth Alive Bible Club is ready to "spring" into action! This March we completed our "Blessing Bags" campaign- collecting toiletries for the Homeless. We thank the student body, faculty & staff for their support & contributions. The first year that YABC did the Blessing Bags, we did 2 bags. It has steadily increased every year and this year, although we did not reach our goal of 50 bags, we were able to do 36 bags. The bags will be distributed to Veritas Church and Recovery Church, both of which do outreach to the Homeless in New London. We will also donate 6 bags to our LHS Social worker, Ms. Krissa Anderson, to distribute to any LHS students in need. Along with collecting the toiletries, YABC raffled a basket of Easter candy and other goodies and a $10 Dunkin Gift Card. The winner was chosen by Mr. Dave Doyle. And the winner is...Olivia Planeta! Congratulations to Olivia! Look for YABC to be receiving "Back to School" supplies for our semi-annual "Fill-a-Backpack" campaign during Spirit week. Earn points for your class with each new, packaged item donated! "Fill" a backpack & receive Bonus Points for your class! Look for our table during the Lunch Waves that week! All donations will go to United Way of SECT. Finally, Youth Alive Bible Club would normally fundraise by holding semi-annual Bake Sales outside of Village Market, but due to Covid, we have been unable to hold these fundraising events. We welcome any donations and ideas to help our club with fundraising. We use these funds to purchase the gift cards as incentives for our various community outreach events and have donated to various charities and even other clubs in the school. We have also used the funds to help purchase extra toiletries or school supplies to donate. Any donations or suggestions will be greatly appreciated! If anyone would like to join Youth Alive Bible Club, you are welcome to. You can contact me at my email : hyano@ledyard.net Thank you again for all of your support! Mrs. Heather Yano LHS Youth Alive Bible Club Sponsor

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SCHOOL COUNSELING AND GUIDANCE NEWS

FUTURE SIGNING DAY!

On Friday April 30, 2021, the School Counseling Department will host our 3rd annual Futures Signing Day! To

acknowledge all of their hard work and celebrate the Class of 2021, this event gives seniors an opportunity to

share what their plans are after graduation. School counselors will be in the lobby throughout the morning and

during both lunch waves with some fun and activities! While May 1 is the National Decision Day for seniors to

declare their college plans, our Futures Signing Day aims to celebrate the success and plans of all of our

grads whether they are heading off to college, the military, or into the workforce.

THREE RIVERS CC APPLICATION DAY!

On Thursday, April 29, 2021 from 10:30am - 12:30pm in the Library Media Center, Ledyard School Counseling

department will be hosting a Three Rivers Application Day. Students will be able to sign up for a time slot to meet

with the Director of Admissions. During this time they will complete an application and make a follow up

appointment with their Three River Advisor.

SAT School Day is May 18, 2021, all LHS juniors will be taking the SAT at LHS during school hours.

Additional Saturday administrations of SAT/ACT

ACT will be offered on June 12th at a nearby HS. The deadline to register is May 7th. Students can

register at www.actstudent.org .

SAT will be offered on June 5th at a nearby HS. The deadline to register is May 6th. Students can register

with their CollegeBoard account at www.collegeboard.org .

2021 AP TESTING

AP testing is coming up in May visit http://lhs.ledyard.net/guidance/a_p_testing for all details and information.

2021-2022 Scheduling meetings

Counselors are currently meeting with students to review course selections for next school year. Please be sure

to see your counselor to reschedule if you have missed your appointment.

Naviance

Any junior parents interested in setting up a Naviance account, please contact your school counselor for a code to

register. Use this exciting tool that provides college information, college searches, career information and

streamlines the college application process. Please feel free to contact our office if you have any questions.

Twitter

Follow us @LedyardGuidance for news and information! HERE is where you will see scholarships and other

important information!

Facebook & Instagram

Fan us on facebook. You can search for us under "LHS guidance".

Follow us on Instagram @ledyardguidance

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Unified Sports Unified Sports had a great 2021 winter season. Our team continues to grow together despite the obstacles and challenges that Covid has delivered. We had some great basketball 3-3 games and knockout challenges. Mr. Turner, our assistant principal, even joined in on the fun one day and showed us his skills. Our Unified team also learned a new game called nitroball, which is basically inverted volleyball, where the ball is hit over the net but it must be played first off a bounce as opposed to out of the air. We were also fortunate enough to have a few great days of weather where we were able to take our activities outdoors and utilize the brand new turf for some kickball and soccer. The Unified Sports team has come together like a true team this year, and I am looking forward to our spring season. Coach Lyon

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Ledyard High School Students participate in the 72nd Annual

American Mathematics Contest

On February 10th, thirteen students from Ledyard High School participated in the 72nd annual American

Mathematics Contest. The contest is designed to engage students in effective mathematical problem

solving that is consistent with curricular goals, and to prepare students for future mathematical success.

The purpose of the contest is to spur interest in mathematics and develop talent through the excitement

of friendly competition at problem solving in a timed format. The AMC 10 and AMC 12 is a 25-

question, 75-minute, multiple-choice examination in secondary school mathematics. The AMC 10

contains problems which can be understood and solved with algebra and geometry concepts. The AMC

12 contains problems which can be understood and solved with pre-calculus concepts. The problems

range from the very easy to the extremely difficult. Students find that most of the problems are

challenging but within their grasp. We congratulate all the students for their participation. Best of luck to

our seniors!

AMC12

Laura Pellowski LHS 1st place

Blake McLeod* LHS 2nd place

Zachary Robinson LHS 3rd place

Shevis Hankins, Ryan Heide, April Loy*, Courtney Sizer, Tessa Tillman

*4-year participant

AMC10

Helena Robinson LHS 1st place

Noah Freeman LHS 2nd place

Madisen McLeod LHS 3rd place

Katlyn Patton, Ella Stephenson

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On March 22nd , Marine Science class 1B went on their first field trip of the year. We were

treated to bright sun, mild temperatures & light winds. A huge difference from our trip on March 5th that

had to be cancelled due to almost gale force winds! About 100 seals were seen on the rocks off Fishers

Island. Upon returning to school, students analyze graphs for results of the day, compare seals seen this

year to last year and draw conclusions as to which physical factors (ie. Tide stage, wind direction, etc.)

will increase or decrease the chances of seeing seals hauled out on the rocks.

Collecting Wind Speed & Direction Data Are Seals Well Adapted to Cold Water?

Blubber Glove Says YES!

One of the estates on Fisher’s Is. View through monoscope using

student’s phone

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National Ocean Sciences Bowl

Our Ocean Bowl team played in the 2021 Virtual Quahog Bowl on

Saturday, March 27th.

Twelve teams from Connecticut &

Rhode Island attended, battling for

the chance to be Quahog Bowl

Champion.

After 5 rounds of play, Ledyard entered the

elimination rounds seeded 4th place!

We then made it all the way to the semifinal

rounds, ultimately losing by a couple of questions

to the team who would go on to win it all.

Ledyard’s final standing was 4th place overall.

I continue to be so proud of the students and the work

that they are willing to put in. The best part was, none of

them had taken UCONN Marine Science yet here at LHS

and most plan to do so next year. This will be a HUGE

help in our study efforts. Can’t wait for Quahog Bowl

2022 !!!!