By Donna Hayward, HKHS Principal.
The HKHS community has enjoyed a busy autumn season and we’re rapidly approaching the end of first quarter. We celebrate our students’ performance in the classroom, on the stage and on the field and look forward to more learning and success in the coming weeks. Here is a glimpse of what has kept us busy to date.
HK Foodies:
The culinary arts students have been very busy. The basic culinary class has been learning everything from how yeast breads work to how to make potato leek soup. The international cuisine class has been researching different cuisines from Italy to Japan.
Sixteen of the culinary arts students took a field trip to the channel 8 news station to support Megan Strick while she taught the viewing audience how to make pumpkin butter on CT Style. Clearly, our culinary students are off to great start of the 2018-2019 school year.
Fall Athletics (submitted by Fall head coaches):
Cross Country – The Boys XC team placed 1st at Somers Big Red Invitational, placed 2nd at Suffern Invitational, finished 2nd at Ocean State Invitational and 4th at Thetford Woods Trail Invitational during the fall. The boys were undefeated (14-0) in the dual meet season for the 5th consecutive year and have gone 76-0 in dual meets over the past 5 years. At the Shoreline Championship, the boys finished 1st as a team to win their 5th straight Shoreline Championship and 10th out of the past 12 years. Matt Jennings was the individual runner up and earned First Team All-Conference along with senior tri-captains Nate Carlson and Seth Freeman. Matt will be competing at State Opens on November 2nd.
The Girls XC team placed 3rd at the Somers Big Red Invitational and placed 3rd at the Ocean State Invitational during the season. The girls team was also undefeated in their dual meet season going 14-0 as this is their 4th year in a row being undefeated with a record of 59-0 over that time span. At the Shoreline Championship meet the girls placed 2nd as a team and were led by senior co-captain Emma Anziano who placed 3rd in the race to earn First Team All Conference accolades along with sophomore Meara Bodak and junior Julia Callis. The girls were Class SS Runners up at States and will be competing in State Opens on November 2nd.
Cheerleading– This 2018 football season has been going very well. The football team has been doing an amazing job and keeping the team on their feet cheering the team on! The team participated in a Game Day Cheer Competition at Middletown High School. This was a new opportunity and it was a great experience for all of the girls. The fall team cannot wait to see what is in store for next season.
Boys Soccer– The HK Boys soccer team has had a very successful season thus far and has managed to make both post season tournaments. Our current record stands at 9-5-2 and we rank 3rd in the Shoreline conference. Senior Ben Marchetti leads the team with 23 goals including 16 in conference and the defense led by Trent Ferguson and Thomas Williams has posted 5 shutouts. The team will be hosting the quarterfinals of the Shoreline Tournament this Monday, 10/29 at home so please come and show your Cougar Pride!
Girls Swimming – Our HK Girls Swim Team kicked off the season at a relay meet in Windsor Locks with eight high schools competing. Cougar girls won gold medals in both the 800-yard free relay and the highly competitive 200-yard free relay, which had 21 entries. The team worked on mechanics, stroke technique, endurance and strength training to move each swimmer to the next level of their own personal competitive ability. Cougar girls had some incredible swims this season, resulting in many personal best times, a win and a tie, and 12 automatic qualifying times for State Championship events. Way to go, HK swimmin’ women!
Girls Soccer – The HK Girls Soccer team had a very competitive showing during the 2018 season. The team improved on its record and finished 4-9-3 overall falling two wins shy of a Shoreline Conference appearance and only one win shy of making the state tournament. The girl’s also improved their statistics from the previous year’s scoring 22 goals from 11 different players while only conceding 40. The team will miss seniors Elena Boyington, Hailey Cassidy, Autumn Coady and Jasime Griswold greatly and wish them the best of luck in their futures!
Football – The HKHS football team, with a 5-1 record entering the Oct. 26th game against North Branford, is averaging 40 points per contest currently putting them in 10th place in the entire state in scoring with 240 points. 26 of those points are from kicked extra points by Jordan Callahan. The team is 3rd in the state (2nd in class S) in interceptions with 11 so far. Running backs Tobey Callender and Dalton Modehn, along with their lineman, lead the Cougars’ offensive attack, which rolled up a season-high 501 total yards in a 63-22 win over Morgan on Oct. 12. Callender, who got the team into the end zone 3 different ways that game (pass, reception, rush x2) and fellow senior captains Dalton Brown, James Murphy, Aiden Maher, and Colton Lavoie have kept the team focused as it approaches a challenging 4 game stretch on the road to complete the regular season. (Stat rankings: according to MaxPreps)
Volleyball – The HK volleyball team is presently 14-4. Recently, the team has had great wins against Lyman Memorial, North Branford and Valley Regional. We are fortunate enough to have 7 seniors that provide stability and experience to help unite all of the players to play their best! Emily Jennings and Juliette Sasso (co-captains) along with Kristen Dansereau and Leah Forte are considered our powerhouse offense. Libero, Amanda Minervino, and defense specialists, Ellie Hinds and Catherine Celano have sacrificed their bodies, diving all over the court to bring up volleyball’s while playing on defense!
Field Hockey – Haddam Killingworth Field Hockey had a tough, but rewarding season. Despite not winning any games, they had two ties, one against the then #1 Ranked Class M school, Pomperaug, and became closer than ever. They worked really hard to stay positive and keep their heads up. Overall, they had fun and are proud of what they accomplished. Three students were recognized with All Conference Honors, Senior Captain Becca Conti and Junior Emma Conklin received 2nd Team All Shoreline and Junior, Natalie Pontbriand received All Shoreline Honorable Mention.
Community, student, and faculty support at our fall sports have increased and we would like to see that continue through the winter and spring seasons. Our student-athletes appreciate the support they are seeing. Go Cougars!
The HK Players Present It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play
November 2 and 3 2018 at 7:00 p.m.
The HK Players begin their season (and christen their newly renovated auditorium) with a family friendly production of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play on November 2 & 3, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.
The play, written by Joe Landry, premiered in 1996 at Stamford Center for the Arts in Stamford, Connecticut, and has since been produced across the country. Hailed as “magical” by “The Boston Globe” and “fresh and inventive” by the “Chicago Sun-Times”, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play transposes the cinematic classic (and holiday television tradition) to the theater by staging the story as if it was a live radio broadcast in front of a studio audience. Five actors perform the voices of dozens of characters while creating “Foley” sound effects. Foley sound, named after sound-effects artist Jack Foley, is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to film, video, and other media in post-production to enhance audio quality. These reproduced sounds can be anything from the swishing of clothing and
footsteps to squeaky doors and breaking glass. The audience will be able to watch the crew create these live sound effects as a part of the production experience.
Tickets are $10 each and are available for purchase at the H-KHS Media Center, through a member of the cast and crew, and at the door. For more information please email Director Marcy Webster at: mwebster@rsd17.org or by calling 860-345-8541.
Substitutes needed!
Regional School District 17 is seeking qualified individuals to work as substitute teachers. We offer regionally competitive pay for substitutes. Qualifications for substitute teachers include a Bachelor’s Degree (required) and experience working with children. A teaching certificate is not required, but definitely a plus. Substitute teaching is a great way to contribute to our schools for those who enjoy working with kids. Please visit the “Employment Opportunities” page of our district website (www.rsd17.org) for more information and to initiate an application. If you have any questions, please contact Donna Kana, Administrative Assistant to the Assistant Superintendent, 860-345-4534.
