Our extracurricular programs also continue to excel. This fall the Slaters won the DII state football championship. We are also the defending DII golf champions and look forward to returning to Barre Auditorium to once again compete for the state title in boys basketball. Our girl’s track and field team finally had their four year reign as state champions broken but both teams will be competing for a state title this winter. Our band students earned Lake Placid Regional first positions, as well as all-New England and all-state honors. We have one of the largest Scholars’ Bowl team which has successfully competed against Vermont and New Hampshire schools.

Fair Haven Union High School maintains a superb array of course offerings while still making sure all students receive the individual attention they deserve. FHUHS has a five-year graduation rate of 90% with 70% continuing on to higher educational institutions. Our overall SAT and ACT scores are higher than the national average. Along with the many Vermont colleges that accept our graduates, the past year has seen Cornell, WestPoint, Georgia, Oklahoma State and dozens of other colleges/universities offer scholarships. Advanced Placement courses are offered in all departments while still having electives that include (but not limited to) welding, wood, CAD, ceramics, foods, accounting, personal finance, fashion and design, piano, guitar and horticulture.

The key ingredient for our success has been our faculty and staff. The faculty/staff continue to demonstrate their professionalism and dedication for developing world-class students. They work regularly before, during and after school (at least once a week formally) to improve student learning. Faculty analyze a variety of data to validate, correct and/or improve student performance. A source of tremendous pride has been the open desire of the faculty/staff to see twenty-first century skills front and center in a positive student-centered climate. This fall students organized and ran several assemblies and continue to show a meaningful student voice in nearly all aspects of their education. I am proud to say that we at Fair Haven Union High School have improved our ‘product’ while reducing costs. I am also excited in the manner in which we not only view learning but our means to improve such.

Connecting our responsibility to our taxpayers with our driving mission of educational excellence is also of primary importance. With that in mind, we rearranged our resources making the appropriate cuts while improving our learning environment. Last year our proposed budget was down 3.97%; this year we will be proposing a slight increase of 0.4%.

I look forward to working with the faculty, staff, community, and most importantly the students, as we continue to strive for excellence with everything we do at Fair Haven Union High School. I continue to be highly appreciative of the vast support of our greater community and welcome ongoing input and assistance with our school.

Sincerely,
Brett C. Blanchard, Principal

The Fair Haven Scholars Bowl Team took 3rd place at the Quest for the Nest Competition held at Lyndon State College in Lyndonville. The only team that beat our team was from Phillips – Exeter Academy (with tuition over $42,000). Several of our members scored over 300 points individually. The highest individual score was earned by Slater Abigail Rampone. While no individual state champion is crowned in Vermont, there is Scholar’s Bowl team champion. While Abigail thinks South Burlington may be the team to beat, she is hopeful for a high finish with a chance to win the second bracket. This is Abigail’s third year on the team that also has six seniors for a total of just over 20 students. Along with being a high honor roll student, she is also an outstanding actor and musician, having just earned a top seat for clarinet at the Northeast Music Festival held in Lake Placid. Next week the Scholars Bowl team will start selling Lindt Chocolate as a fund raiser for their trip to Saint Louis in June. Please support your Scholar’s bowl team and buy lots of chocolate!

Technology Integration News

Clarena Renfrow, Technology Integration Coach at FHUHS, has reported some exciting technology use happening at our school. Ben Worthing, Science Teacher, has been working hard on creating an exciting opportunity for students to learn. The concept is called flipping your classroom and it involves students watching a narrated video as homework to do before they get to class so that they can be ready for hands-on work at school. Mr. Worthing creates the videos that teach the content and uploads them to YouTube as well as burns them to DVDs. Students either watch the videos on YouTube or take a DVD home with them to watch. They fill out a worksheet as they watch the video to assist them in remembering the material. Then in class the next day, they are ready to complete their other tasks with teacher support. In this way, students get the support they need and don’t end up with homework to do at home that they don’t understand.

Kathy Gallagher, Math Teacher, has been concerned about students who are absent from school not getting the material that is gone over in class. She also worried about students who get home, attempt their math homework and have difficulty remembering all the steps. So she teamed up with the Tech Coach and now Ms. Gallagher is using her Smartboard and a microphone to record her lessons as a video. Then she uploads them to YouTube and puts the link to the video in EdLine where students have access to it! Now when a student is out sick, they can go to Ms. Gallagher’s EdLine page and watch what they missed in class. Students who need additional assistance doing their homework can also watch the videos to review the concepts and steps. Currently she is using this method in one of her courses and will branch out to the other classes in the future.

Stafford Technical Center’s Community Service theme this year is “Give Back”. They launched this effort on October 26th by raking and cleaning up the lawns of local senior citizens and several recreational parks within the Rutland area. The entire student body (over 200 students) , faculty and staff participated in this project. Everyone wore bright orange T-Shirts with the logo “Give Back” emblazoned on the front. The logo was designed by the Stafford Technical Center Digital Arts Program. Each senior who had their leaves raked were also presented with a homemade apple pie courtesy of Stafford’s Culinary Arts Program. This initiative is Stafford’s way of thanking the Rutland Community for their continued support .

Stafford would like to acknowledge the Southern Vermont Council on Aging and Grace Congregational Church for their support. We would also like to thank the following businesses and organizations for their help with donations of supplies and equipment. Without them, this project would not have been successful. A special thanks goes out to Casella Waste Systems, Home Depot. Aubuchon Hardware-Rutland, Gilmore Home Center, Noble True Value, LaValley’s Building Supply, Rutland Public Schools Transportation Department, Rutland County Transfer Station, and the Department of Corrections. Several students in Stafford’s Video Production Program-Zach Hampl, Jordan McClure, Logan Greeno, and Soleil Bosley put together an amazing video capturing the event.

Slater senior Katherine Pouliot has been honored by the Vermont State Athletic Director’s Association as one of their Vermont Scholar-Athlete Award winners. An awards banquet was held recently at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in South Burlington, where Katherine and was recognized along with just nine other seniors from across Vermont.

Katherine’s involvement in athletics has provided the necessary balance in her schedule, as she has undertaken more activities than can be imagined. On top of being ranked 8th in her class and carrying above a 96% GPA, she has been class president, and student Council Vice President. In these positions, she has been the driving force that re-instituted our Winter Carnival and Y-Day (yearbook day) activities. . At times, I think athletics provided Katherine with the rest she needed from all of her other extracurricular activities! Her value to her teams is evident in her leadership qualities, as she has been, or will be, a captain of all three of her teams this year, and will finish her athletic career with 11 varsity letters. She appreciates the process that athletics provides for her to become a complete young woman, and has proven over this period of time that the busier you keep yourself, the faster it goes, and the more successful you become.
Post Season All MVL Recognition

Girls Soccer-Shelbylynn Hall-MVL 1st Team; Boys Soccer-Noah Harrigan- MVL 1st Team, -Justin Pelerin- MVL 1st Team; Field Hockey-Charlene Metcalf- MVL 1st Team-Kala MacKenzie-MVL 1st Team-Bethany Alger-MVL 1st Team; Selected to play in the North/South Senior All Star Football Game at Middlebury College: Robert Coloutti, Neal Hier, Parker Lamoureux, Derick Hernandez, Levi Ellis.

Students of the 1st Marking Period at FHUHS

Students of the marking period

Current Benson Village School Science teacher and 2006 FHUHS graduate Michael Ellis was our Academic Awards Ceremony speaker. Mike’s speech earned many accolades and will appear in print and video on our website. This will also be true with our other noted speakers from previous assemblies. During the assembly students were recognized for earning honor roll status and special awards were given to those seniors showing excellence on the Science NECAPs. It was nice to recognize our Slaters for having a top Scholar’s Bowl team, DII state championship football team, NCAA DI athletic scholarship and the students with the highest NECAP scores in the division. Scott Messer – Social Studies, Kaisa Czarnecki – Foreign Language, Brittany Jette – FairHaven Annex, Alexandar Caraballo – Family & Consumer Studies, Matthew Tomsuden – Industrial Arts, Jacob Silver – English,Sarah Czarnecki & Samuel Hoenes – Music, Alex Hernandez – Science, Brittney Sisk – Art, Bethany Alger – Business, Matthew Tomsuden – Work Study/Career Seminar, Alex Hernandez – Math, Colleen Pouliot – Computer Applications, Kelley Daley – Physical Education, Cassie Ciejko– Stafford Technical Center –Culinary Arts, Jordan Pedro – Stafford Technical Center –Power Mechanics/Welding. Congratulations to all!

Have a great week,
Brett C. Blanchard, Principal

Many have heard me speak on the high importance for education moving away from the industrial model and towards personalized, passion-based learning.  While at Fair Haven Union High School we continually strive towards this being the daily norm with all our students, it is tremendous to see one of our student-athletes earn formal recognition for excelling at her passion.  On Monday, November 14, Senior Kaci-Jo O’Rourke signed an NCAA Division I athletic scholarship to attend Oklahoma State University.  Kaci-Jo will be pursuing her passion of equestrian reining while earning her degree in Animal Science at OSU.

Kaci-Jo represents so much of what is working in today’s educational world.  She is a full-time honor roll student who travels the country competing at the highest level of reining.  The rigor of following her passion necessitates her missing schools days.  In the traditional industrial world of education this would have posed huge obstacles with mandated seat time (often referred to as “Carnegie units”) and her making a choice between school attendance and athletic excellence.  Instead, Kaci-Jo has been given flexibility by all her teachers who work to see that accommodations are in place so that academic and athletic excellence may be had.  Kaci is very appreciated of her teachers and acknowledged that “If the school wasn’t flexible with helping me keep up my grades, I wouldn’t be able to go. Teachers have been able to help me keep up my grades and with helping me understand [the material/skills]. “

Kaci-Jo is also a showcase for inquiry-driven, project-based learning as she is starting work on an intensive independent study that has her using today’s modern educational tools to complete a research project examining how best to work and train with horses.  She has been blogging about her experiences and learning to use a variety of internet tools in order to publish her findings.  Kaci-Jo understands that by using modern media tools she can access the latest findings as well as contact the most famous horse trainers no matter where they are located.  She has also been using her on-site experiences at shows in order to improve her writing through blogging.

Beside her teachers, what else have been keys to her success?  “Being able to compete with some really nice people; I was able to enjoy it.  I really developed an interest in it.  I think if you do not have the interest you cannot really do well.  My parents always want me to try my best and it didn’t matter if I won or not as long as I tried and kept up my grades.   My coach is really good, Dan Sanborn.”  While extremely excited about next year, Kaci said she “will definitely miss the high school.  It is bittersweet but I will be back to visit [FHU] as I will really miss it. “

As I have known Kaci-Jo for four years, what likely sets her apart from other competitors is not only her passion but her solid ethical foundation.  When asked why she chose not to contend for the world title this year, her explanation was clear.  “I wanted to more than anything at the beginning of this year as it was all I talked about.  I noticed the toll it was taking on me and my horse and I realized it was not the best thing for either of us.  I came to the point that I needed to decide if I wanted a trophy or if I wanted a healthy horse and high academics.  Looking back I know I definitely made the right decision.” Currently Kaci is ranked fourth in the world despite competing in the fewest shows of any of the top riders.   With offers from other division I universities, why did she elect to sign with OSU?   “I like their morals out there as they are very strict with academics and it is not always about winning but improving.  It appealed to me a lot.  The team shows a lot of sportsmanship. “

It is that passion coupled with a strong moral foundation that drives Kaci to excel.  They are also the traits that will earn her success in whatever field she devotes her considerable talents.  Kaci-Jo O’Rourke is a local example of what results when passion is allowed to drive learning and excellence.   Along with her parents Linda Balestra and Harry O’Rourke, Fair Haven Union High School is proud of Kaci’s accomplishments.

By Brett C. Blanchard, Fair Haven Union High School Principal

What Friday’s conversation reminded me of was how important it is for schools to develop a culture where students own their learning and excellence is desired, encouraged and made available as I believe is the case at Fair Haven Union High School.  It is important that our students continue to be given opportunities to showcase and develop their talent and passions.  Whether it is earning state/national recognition in equestrian, swimming, music, drama, athletics, Scholar’s Bowl, community service, standardized testing and/or academics (of course!), it is necessary to allow students to discover, create and use their diverse talents.  As I have said before, there never has been a more exciting and engaging time to be involved in education.

Speaking of excellence, FHUHS is proud to announce that senior Katherine Pouliot has been named our 2011 Pumpkin Princess.  Katherine has been an outstanding Slater in more ways than I can mention in this blog.  She has helped strengthen student voice at FHUHS, organized countless positive groups, activities and clubs while serving as class president, Student Council Vice-President and captain of the girls varsity soccer team.  Katherine received the distinction of Pumpkin Princess after receiving the most votes in a school-wide election.

Teachers Mrs. Ransom, Mrs. Potvin and Mr. Cavacas have been working to bring a student-operated local banking branch to our school.  We are working on a proposal and will keep everyone updated as we hope to have a presentation before our school board sometime this winter.

Internet Safety and Cyber Bullying Presentation for parents and community members will be offered in the FHUHS gym on Tuesday, November 1, from 6:30-8:00 PM.  Admission is free but attendees must be 18 or older.  Students and faculty/staff will take part in a school assembly that morning.

Mrs. Birchmore has great news as “students from the Horticulture class provided the school cafeteria with vegetables from the school garden that they grew this fall.  Some of the vegetables grown included swiss chard, sorrel, Chinese cabbage, and arugula.  Earlier in the year, students harvested vegetables that were planted by the previous year Horticulture students.  These crops were shared with students and faculty members.

The FHUHS Community Garden, a community and school garden atFairHavenUnionHigh School, was the recipient of a 2011 School Community Mini-grant.  The garden was one of 40 statewide to receive the $1000 grant.

The grant allowed the addition of community plots to be used by community members.  A local family was able to use the community garden this summer.  By building a bridge between the school garden model and a community garden model, we expect to establish a long-lasting garden partnership that will help to sustain community involvement and commitment on behalf of the school and community. The FHUHS Community Garden will not only provide students and community members with healthy nutrition, but it will also help them to connect to the source of their food.”

As I mentioned Scholar’s Bowl earlier, they have been invited to the Pace National Scholastic Championship being held at Washington College in Saint Louis MO. On June 9^th and 10^th.   The A team members are Michelle Rogals, Sam Hoenes, Abby Rampone, and Katherine Rampone who hope to raise enough money to take advantage of this amazing opportunity.

Senior week went extremely well thanks to the efforts of Mr. Ramey and our terrific student-athletes and parents.  It was great to hand each one of our senior players some symbol recognizing her/his accomplishments on the various athletic fields.

Have a great week,

Brett C. Blanchard, Principal

FHUHS has had a terrific start to the 2011-12 school year, although I have been negligent in getting out the details.  The first six weeks of this year displayed what modern education is all about: student-centered learning where kids inquire into an issue, research, collaborate, present and then reflect on their learning.  While Emily Ringquist is spearheading the Veteran’s Day Assembly which will feature Heidi Doran, she will also be having fellow students speak on what it means to have a family member serving overseas.  FHUHS hopes to have Jason Eaton as our featured speaker at the next Memorial Day Assembly.  A model for a student controlled assembly was seen last month with Eva Orr’s school-wide gathering on the Invisible Children of Uganda.  It was educational, student-centered and highly relevant. The new Slater Cafe is open thanks to Student Council members Sydni Shaddock and Brian Buehler.  Along with new food options, a variety of seating styles is in place (including bistro-style tables and chairs).  This morning faculty and students enjoyed an omelet creation station that also included fruit and cinnamon roll; a great way to start the week.

Our opening speaker was local Spartan Death Race champion Grace Cuomo-Durfee who had an inspiring and riveting message about perseverance, teamwork and overcoming obstacles.  At that opening it was my pleasure to introduce our Support Staff Person of the Year, Mrs. Carla Ochs as well as the UVM Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award winner Mr. Kyle Wilson.  Both are great examples of adults who far exceed their role as “just educators” to see that our students are given every opportunity to excel.  Mr. Wilson not only has done an excellent job teaching our students math, he spends non-teaching time assisting students and after-school hours helping make our many extracurricular activities work.  He will also be back as our varsity girls’ basketball coach.

Open House was well attended and it was a pleasant evening for parents and families to hear about what is happening at FHUHS in and out of the classroom.  While this event occurred prior to the announcement of the latest Science NECAP results, I was only able to share that last year Fair Haven Union High School was 1 of only 4 high schools in the state to meet the latest standards under No Child Left Behind’s Adequate Yearly Progress.  While standardized test scores are a poor indicator of a school’s educational success, it is always nice to see our student’s excel.  While last year FHUHS was well above state and New England averages in math, reading, writing and science, it was particularly gratifying to see our students earn first place this year in Division II with a 14% higher proficiency over the state average and roughly 17% over the New England average.  Out of a total of 61 high schools, Fair Haven Union High School earned a tie for fifth place overall.  Again, while the majority of the standardized testing movement is harmful for education, we are proud that our students desire to excel, have excellent educators to help lead them and far surpass most New England schools with the written inquiry section of the Science test; this was also true last year.  I am most proud, however, of the learning that is not tested on state exams but is shown on a daily basis in our building.  More details of this will be appearing on our website.

Have a great week,

Brett C. Blanchard, Principal

“[Michael’s] story was traumatic and filled with drama. To be ripped away from his family at such a young age, not knowing if they are alive or dead is an experience no human being should undergo.” (Nick Stanley)


“Although many bad events were present through Michael’s life, there was a sense of optimism that came through his character. He made the conflict between the North and South [of Sudan] palpable and offered a clear view on his native culture. This personal experience can’t be gained from the “objective” newsman or the basic textbook.” (Austin Herber)


“I feel like the conflicts in Africa are something that should be widely recognized. The more that can be done in terms of really helping people, the better. I feel that it is important for people to hear these stories not only to help, but to appreciate what advantages and comforts they, themselves, have.” ( Sophia Michael)

Students of the 3rd Marking Period The following students were recently selected as students of the marking period: Sarah Czarnecki – Social Studies, Jacob Silver – Foreign Language, Elizabeth Robinson – Learning Annex, Matthew Namiot-Eaton – Family & Consumer Studies, Christopher Stone – Industrial Arts, Jonathan Boule – English, Maria Burt – Music, Alex Hernandez – Science, Daniel Pirie – Art, Jamie Jerome – Business, Andrew Salamin – Work Study/Career Seminar, Dillon Bergantino – Math, Alex Hernandez – Computer Applications, Dillon Bergantino – Physical Education, Brittany Jette – Driver Education, Brady Dugan – Living Skills, Levi Booska – Stafford Technical Center – Power Mechanics/Welding, Lauren Hart – Stafford Technical Center – Culinary Arts. Congratulations to all for achieving this honor.

Have a great week.

Brett C. Blanchard, Principal

Tennis – If was fun last week watching our girls compete against Burr and Burton’s team tennis. Mr. White offered a summary on play thus far: “ We have played 3 matches so far. The last one being yesterday, this was away against Rutland High School J.V. team.  Rutland showed up with 13 players to our 8, which meant our team members  had to double up and play more than one match.  The result was the Slaters emerging victorious by a score of 12 matches to 8.  Standouts were Shannon Moriarity going undefeated at No. 1 singles and teaming up with Eva Orr, for the victory at No. 1 doubles.  Other highlights were Taylor Traverse and Sierra Gregoire winning at #2 doubles and Darian Messer and Brittany Savage winning #3 doubles . The team of Julia Dockum and Katelyn Phillips were victorious in doubles as well as singles. 
On Monday, we played another formidable team away at Burr and Burton which showed up with 18 players.  The girls played for three hours, a total of 27 separate matches.  On that day, the Slater tennis team won just about half of the matches they played. “


Guidance – A representative from Albany College of Pharmacy visited some Health & Biology classes last week to present health careers information to the students. One teacher stated, “It included facts that would be helpful to anyone considering college, in addition to information about the specific college he represented.  It was well-organized and allowed time for questions.”  Guidance would like to thank those teachers and classes for the time to allow such a presentation.  If others are interested in similar presentations, feel free to contact Guidance.

On Tuesday, the Guidance Office assisted students with an online college fair.  Students were able to watch presentations, chat with representatives and explore information from colleges throughout the New England area.  There continue to be online fairs, so if any students are interested in virtually attending, see your school counselor. The Guidance Office is also in the process of inviting representatives to come to FHUHS next year.  If there are particular colleges you would like to see at the school, please let us know. Reserve Cup Challenge –  It was great to receive a call from our FHU team immediately after earning an excellent third place finish in this year’s Reserve Cup Challenge. Lisa Helme, from the Treasurer’s Office wrote:

“On April 30, teams competed in Montpelier for the opportunity to represent the State of Vermont in the regional Reserve Cup Challenge held each fall at the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston. The Vermont State Treasurer’s Office, in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, began holding a state tournament two years ago. The aim of the competition is to promote student interest in and knowledge of personal finance, economics, and consumer affairs topics. Using a game-show-style format, teams progress through rounds of questioning that test their grasp of these subjects.

“The state tournament provides Vermont high schools with the chance to offer students an academic challenge that underscores how financial and economic concepts apply to our daily lives,” said State Treasurer Beth Pearce. “At the competition, students receive a lot of positive feedback for their skills that will hopefully motivate them to continue their financial studies and carry that knowledge with them into their adult lives.”

“The Reserve Cup competition gives us the opportunity to reinforce with students the importance of understanding how our economy works and how their personal finances interact within the larger economic system,” said Director of Economic Education Scott Guild of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. “The Vermont competition has been especially meaningful for us because we can interact with students face-to-face and review with them some of the concepts that may be particularly challenging.”

Fair Haven Union High School was coached by business teacher Kim Ransom. Student team members were: Nathan Poczobut, Taylor Traverse, Derek Hernandez, Jake Silver, Jonathan Sanabria, and Megan Wooster. Congratulations to all our team members.

Scholarship Fundraiser – Last Thursday night showcased so much of what makes Fair Haven Union High School and our community an amazing place. Student Council, led by the efforts of Senior Jenna Charron, organized a scholarship fundraiser in the honor of FHU administrative assistant Diane Flood. So many people rose to the occasion with baking items, selling tickets, spreading the word via Facebook (and other social media outlets), playing in the game, outright donations and a myriad of other efforts. It was an overwhelmingly positive night that saw an amazing faculty “victory” over our FHU seniors. While the scorekeeping may have seemed a bit in favor of the faculty, it was still a good showing by all. Thanks go to the Booster Club, parents, students, faculty and many, many in our extended community.

Enjoy the sun and have a great week,

Brett C. Blanchard, Principal

We would like to extend a sincere thank you to the Slater Booster Club.  They recently contributed $2000 to the athletic program to help offset some unanticipated safety mandates at the national level for the upcoming fall season, as well as another $675 for improvements to other teams. The national field hockey committee recently informed us that eye protection will be required for all players starting in the fall of 2011, and the booster club graciously donated $700 to help offset the cost of “eye cages”.  The national football helmet reconditioners also informed each high school in America that following the upcoming fall season, any helmet older than 10 years will not be reconditioned.  In an attempt to get ahead, the boosters approved the purchase of 10 new helmets for this upcoming season, which will in turn reduce the amount of replacement helmets we will need to budget for in 2012-13.  Contributions to the baseball and golf programs were also made by the club.  Again, we thank them for all they do to help the FHU students.  Look for details about this summer’s 4th Annual SLATER CUP golf tournament. 

WCAX TV will be interviewing junior Kaylie–Ann Flannigan about the FHU Service Club’s Teddy Bear Drive for nursing homes in Colorado.  Therapy dogs deliver these gifts to patients for the next holiday season.  The interview will be held Tuesday the 3rd for airing sometime that week so (perhaps that evening’s newscast!).

“You can imagine our excitement!” says Mr. Burlette. Mrs. Sheldon and her Ethnic Advanced Foods classes visited Ghana, Africa, on Monday, April 25th via the LNV (Learning Network of Vermont). It was our first time ever to connect outside of the U.S. using the LNV. FHUHS students were connected to African students in Ghana through collaboration with content provider Oiada International, Inc. This highly interactive videoconferencing program was structured to meet the needs of Mrs. Sheldon’s curriculum and included exploring different foods of Ghana and methods of food preparation, interesting facts about the Ghanaians and their culture, specifically their music, religion, art, entertainment, education and a touch of their history. One fact learned was that world famous inventor Dr. Thomas Mensah, who holds 7 U.S. and worldwide patents in fiber optics technology, was born in 1950 in Kumasi, Ghana.

The following responses reflect our students’ reactions to this educational experience—“I loved the LNV presentation-it exposed me to other cultures, I saw authentic cuisine and learned ethnic phrases…”, “…It was really cool to actually visit and speak with people in a different country. They cook using stuff from the land, not box and manufactured stuff like we do…”, “…They were dressed in fancy clothing. It was an interesting look into another culture.”, “The clothing was nice; so was the music.”, “…I liked the dancing and the songs.”, “It was a fun experience, great singers, amazing food, I loved Daddy.”, “It was interesting, however the connection took away from the experience…”, “I enjoyed the presentation and sharing our culture with other people. It was interesting that we spoke to people from another country and learned their style of food, dance, clothing and way of life.”, “…interesting, nice music, very informative, would want to make food from this region, overall great experience.”, “…good quality talking to them, being interactive with them was a plus…”, “…It was really fun.”, “They all spoke very good English. It was fun.”

Have a great week,

Brett C. Blanchard, Principal

Mr. Doucette’s student-centered approach to school leadership has earned him the respect of students, staff and community members. An integral part of Fair Haven Union High School’s ongoing school improvement, he has led the development of the first district-wide Summer School Transition Program. Mr. Doucette’s presence in the hallways, classroom and after-school has led to a positive environment where students feel comfortable speaking to him on most any issue. Mr. Doucette is a true team player who always keeps the best interest of the students front-and-center. He will join the other 49 Assistant Principal of the Year nominees in a Washington, D.C ceremony honoring their accomplishments. FHU is extremely proud of this well-deserved honor for Mr. Doucette. He is an outstanding example of the nurturing attitude and positive role model that is needed by students every day.

College Fair – This week, Sophomores and Juniors were able to participate in the Rutland Area Counselor Association College Fair held at Castleton State College.  There were representatives from over 100 colleges, universities, and technical schools present.  The event was held the evening of April 5th and during the day April 6th.  Students were bussed over on April 6th, providing the opportunity for all Sophomores and Juniors to attend.  FHU students represented  the majority of those attending on April 5th and Charlene Metcalf (a Junior) won a 32 GB iPod Touch in a raffle held on Tuesday night.  All students who attended engaged in conversations with numerous representatives and gained valuable knowledge about prospective post-secondary opportunities.

Job Fair – The Vermont Department of Labor and Catamount Radio are sponsoring a Spring Job Fair in Rutland on Friday, April 15th, from 9a – 1p.  The job fair is at the Rutland High School Gymnasium and there is no charge to participate. This could be a valuable opportunity for FHUHS students to learn about the various businesses in the greater Rutland area, secure employment for the summer and potentially beyond, or perhaps seek out an internship or mentorship opportunity.  As students will be off for Spring Break the week of the job fair, this could be a very positive use of time. 

The Learning Network of Vermont (LNV) at FHUHS – On Monday, April 4th, ACT Out Ensemble of Indianapolis, Indiana presented a program from Marian University involving role playing of conflict resolution and anger management to a group of 22 FHUHS students and their teachers via the LNV. As part of their Peer Mediation curriculum, Mrs. Sheldon and Mrs. Jepson are interested in giving their students the skills that will help them become leaders in promoting peaceful conflict resolution and anger management. In order to develop a non-violent society, learning to conduct and to lead peaceful civil discourse is even more vital than ever.

Some of the students related the following comments about this distance learning experience, Peace Talk Live, “…the role playing was great”, “…learned how to handle conflict”, “…very useful and fun learning tool”, “…everyone has different learning styles”, “…interesting and engaging when you change the learning environment”, “…interaction was good”, “…provided me with many new approaches to handle conflict”, “…the methods presented on how to responsibly and safely handle disputes between people will serve me for a lifetime”, “…it really helped to learn how to handle things seeing them acted out”, “…I liked the skits they acted out“, “…They knew ways to show the things that are happening with teenagers all around”, “…I really loved watching people act out the problems and we asked questions.” In random order, students Gwynneth Roberts, Gabrielle Perry, Cody Brooks, Lexus Hardiman, Rachel Orr, and Nadia Seamans contributed to the above quotes.

Members of the FHUHS Schools for Schools Club and Mrs. Hadeka’s 9th grade English lab students joined the Peer Mediation group for this interactive videoconference coordinated by Mrs. Burlette.

Have a great week.

Brett C. Blanchard, Principal

The call began promptly at 10:30 a.m. (3:30 p.m. in Lincoln) with each side of the conversation gathered around one computer. Our students were suddenly struck with stage fright and despite their obvious curiosity didn’t want to talk. One student (Seth Welch)  did briefly greet and converse with our new long-distance friends. We learned that the (18 and older) students’ favorite recreational activity was “Going to pubs.”

The call was made with two objectives in mind: to learn about the British Isle’s biome and to learn to use Skype. The second objective was better met. We learned how to search for and find other teachers and learners, how to prepare for the conversation and that it’s much better to have one-on-one conversations instead of a group chat. Next up: “More connections with people in Alaska and beyond!”


AYP – This week the Vermont Department of Education released the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) results as mandated by No Child Left Behind.  Vermont agreed to the use the latest benchmarks to determine success even though many considered the bar to be unrealistically high.  Commissioner Vilaseca said, “Vermont did not choose to lower our standards in the face of these federal accountability requirements,” said, “therefore we continue to see more schools identified. Nationally, an estimated 82 percent of schools in the country will not make AYP this year.” Fair Haven Union High School was among the few schools to meet the latest benchmarks.

Of the 300 Vermont schools examined this year, only 84 met AYP, with the vast majority being elementary schools.  Fair Haven Union High School was one of the few high schools.  While Vermont’s 28% success rate was obviously above the national average, it is nice to know that our students Math, Reading and Writing scores earned placement in the top 18% in the nation, and the top 10% of high schools.  As I am continually saying, standardized test scores are only one means of examining student achievement (and nowhere near as important as the higher personalized learning that students regularly exhibit in our building!), but it is nice to be recognized, as we were with the latest Science scores, in the top tier.

National Honor Society – Thursday’s National Honor Society Induction Ceremony offered an excellent opportunity to reflect on the reality of the current generation of students. The amount of community and global service is amazing. With 18 new inductees joining last year’s 18, the accomplishments were plentiful as well as important. To hear of Maria Burt taking the initiative to work with students in Korea, or Eva Orr’s ongoing efforts to assist the children in Uganda, makes for the appropriate counterbalance to the majority of student news.

Performance – Senior Jeff Bruce, alongside former students David Atkins and Patrick Infurna will be performing Friday, April 8th at Merchant’s Hall in downtown Rutland. Their band, Morning Comes Early, plays a variety of rock and will provide a first-rate listening experience. Tickets are $5 in advance (see Jeff) or $10 at the door.

Competition – The 2011 Vt. State Science and Math Fair is this weekend. Good luck to Cassidy Auger, Celina Bronson, Maria Burt, Michael Gose, Dustin Lewis, Devin Paradis and Amanda Tucker. Mr. Shaun Ketcham will be stopping by Saturday morning to support our students and help with any set up with Mr. Schwaner helping in the afternoon. UPDATE: Congratulations to Amanda Tucker for earning a top 5 finish! Amanda will be presenting her project on alternative power/windmills to Governor Shumlin. Sports Corner – As the spring sports season tries to push the winter weather out to sea, I too, want to bring closure to another successful winter sports season.  Several of our teams, coaches and individual student-athletes had remarkable seasons, again casting  Fair Haven into the media and community spotlight.  I will share a few of the many successes from the past 4 months.

Top of the list, senior wrestler Seth Welch captured the Vermont State Championship in the 135lb weight class, and along the way became the all-time career leader in wins at FHU with 137 victories, surpassing Joe Bushey from the Class of 2001.  After falling short and finishing 2nd in 2010, Seth clearly stated his mission to win the championship long before the season, and he did just that!  As a captain of the team, Seth played a key role in the success of the overall team, as they finished 6th in the state tournament, and closed out the season by claiming both the MVL Sportsmanship Award, as well the Vermont Wrestling Officials Association Sportsmanship Award.  Congratulations to Coach Shaddock and the Slater Wrestling team on a terrific season.

The varsity boys basketball team returned to the Barre Auditorium for the 2nd consecutive year, the 9th time in Coach Prenevost’s 15 years at FHU, and for the 16th time in the past 30 seasons!  After rallying to beat U-32 in the semi finals, the Slaters faced top-seeded Missisiquoi in the state championship game, but shots would not drop, and we fell 47-40 to the Thunderbirds.  No matter the disappointment in not winning the championship, the players should be incredibly proud of their season, finishing with 19 wins against 4 losses.  Slater Nation once again made the pilgrimage to the “Aud”, and anyone there can attest to the wildly exciting atmosphere that was a staple of our basketball season.  Much of the credit goes to senior Matt Smith and his “Raise the Guns Gang”, along with the Slater Cheerleaders, who I like to call the “Lady Ra Ra’s.”  A great job by the team, and thanks for bring the community together the way you did. 

Congratulations to Coach Bob Prenevost on his induction into the Vermont Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Coach P has nearly 370 career victories over the years, coaching the Slater boys as well as both the boys and girls teams across the border in Whitehall.  He joins longtime Slater coach Mike Barsalow and Fair Haven alum and former Mill River coach Jay Wilson in the VBCA Hall of Fame.

Below is a list of Slater athletes who achieved post season accolades:

Indoor Track-New England Championship representatives: 4×200 Relay-Tara Hubbard, Hayley Macomber, Shanna Rinaldo, Chelsea Montello, 4×200 Relay-Derick Hernandez Jim Adams, Grady McIntyre, Joel Link

MVL All Stars Selections

Wrestling – Seth Welch 135lb Class – Team MVL Sportsmanship Award Winners – Vermont Wrestling Officials Association Sportsmanship Award

Girls’ Basketball – 1st Team-Devyn Reed – 2nd Team-Kala MacKenzie

Boys’ Basketball – 1st Team-Mac Stannard – 1st Team-Robert Coloutti – Team MVL Sportsmanship Award Winners

Congratulations to all our teams and a winter athletes.

Other News – The Fair Haven Union High School Music Dept. has three Chorus students taking the opportunity to sing with the Lakes Region Youth Honor Orchestra to perform Vivaldi’s “Gloria”. They have made a commitment to attend four rehearsals at Castleton State College and the Performance Saturday, April 30, at Mill River Union High School at 7:00 p.m. Representing FHUHS are Soprano Emily Billado and Baritones Adam Cook and Grady McIntyre.

The Student Council had their spring blood drive on March 31.  During this time 74 pints of blood were collected.  Thank you to all students and community members that came in to donate.

Have a great week, Brett C. Blanchard, Principal