FHUHS Administration

As Project Graduation is working overtime to try and get all in order before June 13th, I will let their information lead off this week’s news.

On May 3, The Project Graduation Committee will be doing another basket raffle. We will be asking for a basket donation from all the parents, please let us know if you will be helping. We need all the help we can get. Lisa Cawley will be in charge of this, you can email her at NSKRJR8@aol.com. 
We will be attending Spring Fling on May 24. We are planning a raffle for this, so we are looking for items. Ryan Kent, who is a senior, has built us a picnic table to raffle off. We are hoping more Seniors will step up and help out like Ryan did. If you have something to donate, please let us know. 
We will be sending home a letter in the next couple weeks that contains a sign-up sheet for project graduation night itself along with last minutes information. Please be sure that you look for it. A lot of people have been telling us they know nothing about Project Graduation. Also, if you know any Junior parents. We need them to attend some meetings as well. We are willing to show them what is needed to be done as their turn is coming right up! Our next meeting will be April 23 at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria, hope to see you there.

Thanks to the very many folks–students, staff, faculty, members of the board and community–who contributed enormous amounts of time, money, and energy to a fantastic spaghetti dinner last Friday night, held to benefit the families of Spanish teacher Dave Herren and former student Jess Gero. Special appreciation goes to Cindy Seamans and her fabulous cafeteria staff for the delicious entrees, and to the Rotary Interact students for running the best temporary restaurant in the state! The Community Service Club also brought some delicious desserts. We hope to top $2000 with the inclusion of the quilt raffle which will be drawn at the jazz concert on the Fair Haven green June 5. Tickets are just $1 for this gorgeous quilt and other donated prizes, and are available at the FHUHS main office. Extra donations will also be gladly accepted for these two families battling a cancer diagnosis.

Sam Krans, a student in Mrs. Judy Baccei’s eCommerce class at FHUHS, has created a website dedicated to the Boys Varsity Baseball team. The site includes stats, game info, etc. The purpose of the website is to boost attendance at all the Slater’s Varsity Baseball games. To check out this website, go to http://www.scoresup.com/slaterscene. Mrs. Baccei has several other students who have created FHU related websites, and as I collect that information, it will be sent to all of you!

Mrs. Lisa Birchmore’s Horticulture students are making corsages and boutonniere’s for the prom. Yet another good example of what we try to emphasize at FHU: direct application of learning.

Mr. Shaun Ketchum reported that the AP Biology’s Genetics conference was a huge success. The four hour lecture and power point show gave students a taste of college lectures to come. Sam Rhine spoke of encouraging research in cancer and predicted cures for Alzheimer’s and Type 1 diabetes in the next few years. RNAi and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells are the cutting edge of this new research. FHUHS also has several students participating at the State Science and Math Fair at Norwich University. There will be more to come on how they made out on Saturday.

Ms. Linda McCuen’s Voice and Vision (juniors and seniors) will be performing their scenes from Othello on Wednesday and Thursday of next week. For these performances, they have fully memorized Shakespeare’s lines, created costumes, and incorporated props. Students have analyzed characters to prepare them for their presentations.

On Thursday, April 10th, at 7:30 PM at the high school, Fair Haven Recreation (FHR) is hosting a Refereeing clinic, run by Mr. Tom Blackbird. Anyone interested in refereeing little league baseball or softball is welcome to come. It is actually focused more toward high school students getting jobs but all are welcome. Also FHR is having a town wide bottle drive for our youth. These funds will be used for the FHR baseball program and summer programs.

Mrs. Fran LaPlaca has provided an update on the FHUHS Outdoor Bleacher Project, including a brief history.

• Phase I began in June 2002. With generous donations and community support, it was completed in June 2007. A set of Permanent Bleachers at a cost of $ 35,000 were placed to the left side of the tower providing 500 seats.
• Phase II began in June 2007 with its goal to purchase a set of movable hydraulic bleachers for a cost of approximately $35,000. It will provide 200 seats to accommodate all FHUHS outdoor events.
• Currently $14,000 has been raised.
• The committee made up of Mark Cassidy, Mary Anne (LaPlaca) Morse, Kandi Ramey, Joyce Roberts, Kyle Ruby and Fran LaPlaca meets weekly to coordinate a variety of fundraisers such as a Spring Raffle, Coin Drops, a 50/50 at Castleton Concert on the Green and other events.

At this time we are holding a 13 item Raffle. First prize is a $ 25.00 Cash award provided by an anonymous donor.

• Tickets can be purchased from any committee member- 6 tickets for $5.00. The drawing will take place at Spring Fling in the park on Saturday May 24 at 1:00 p.m. You do not need to be in attendance to win. 


Mr. Michael Bruce reported that the Matthew Lyon Chapter of the National Honor Society and the Student Council co-sponsored a talent show in the FHUHS band room. The event saw a number of talented Fair Haven students displaying their various skills. There was an excellent acoustic performance of an original song by members of the band Salad Daze (Josh Jakab, Josh Ferguson, and Amber Beayon). There was a rocking medley of original songs delivered by the band Kevlar Tuxedo (Pat Infurna, Jeff Bruce, and David Atkins). There was a great, solo saxophone piece performed by Garry Brown. Taylor Traverse performed a beautiful dance routine. Dave Brown delivered an amazing, improvised drum solo. And last, but not least, there was a very entertaining magic act from Christian Doran. The evening was hosted by NHS president Emily Rampone and student council member Matt Couture. This dynamic duo did a couple of improvised song and dance numbers of their own, as well as telling numerous jokes, to entertain the crowd in between acts. Reggie Schulman and Alyssa Ballantine bravely filled in at the last moment for an act that was scheduled but did not perform. They delivered a lip-synching performance that was completely unrehearsed. The performance had the crowd in stitches. All of the students performed brilliantly, but Christian Doran’s magic act took home the first place prize of $100. The event was a huge success. The audience filled the band room and helped us bring in $400, which will be donated to the National Honor Society’s ongoing effort to purchase a new sound system for LaPlaca Field. The NHS has already given money, which was generously donated from local businesses, to help purchase the speakers that were installed late last Fall. We thank those businesses who have already donated money; they will be receiving advertisements at sporting events held on LaPlaca field during this coming fall sports season. The NHS hopes to raise enough money to purchase the rest of the system before the end of the school year.

Next week I will report on the Odyssey of the Mind local results, the handing off of Mr. Joe Watkins and his Technology and Action student’s electric car to Stafford Technical Center, as well as some other news. There is no busier month for a high school than May, so I will try and keep everyone updated as time seemingly accelerates on us!

Brett C. Blanchard, Fair Haven Union High School Principal