NFA World
By Geoff Serra
During this centennial year of its
operation, the Converse Art Gallery opened the 65th
Annual Juried Connecticut Artists Exhibition, the only show
of its kind in the state. Featuring
work of resident Connecticut artists, the exhibition includes paintings,
drawings, mixed media, sculpture, graphics and photography. Steven
Holmes, Curator of the Cartin Collection, Hartford, was
juror. Ian Pawluk of Norwich won first
place for his “Stairs” in graphite pencil; Christopher Zhang of Old Lyme
received second place with “Tibetan Boy” in oil on canvas; and the
technical pen on paper work, “Key of Pain,” by Randall Ensley of Gales
Ferry won third place. The annual show regularly receives close to
400 submissions, vetted to a final show of about 100. The exhibition is free and open to the public, Tues.-Fri., 9 a.m.
– 4 p.m. and 1-4 p.m. on weekends.
Don’t miss this one.
This year’s college acceptances are
beginning to trickle in. Early action
and admissions returns are exciting. In
addition to multiple acceptances at the Universities of Connecticut, Vermont,
Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire, NFA students have already been
accepted at Dartmouth, Villanova, Johns Hopkins, Holy Cross, Boston University,
Duquesne, Bryant, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Rochester Institute of
Technology.
Upper, Amelia
Parenteau, of North Stonington is an avid reader,
and she has organized a book club to share her interests. With the help of English Department Head Denise Grant, about a dozen students meet
periodically to discuss books. Past
reads are She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb, Ishmael by Daniel
Quinn, The Black Pumpkin by Dean Koontz, and The Golden Compass
by Philip Pullman; currently, the group is reading Ian McEwan’s Atonement. In addition, the group has
also seen movies based upon their reading choices. They plan to have Wally Lamb speak at the upcoming annual English
Department Tea.
Senior honor student and Project Outreach
Coordinator, Nisha Baxi, a native of India, knows all about the challenges of learning to
speak English. She has used her
experience to organize an NFA Chapter of the Literacy Volunteers of
Southeastern, CT. Coordinating volunteer
tutors, Carline Charmelus, Nicole Rubin, Margaret Perkins, Sana Samnani, Salome Miclette, Shareena Belin, Hannah Shogren, Brenner Green, Witney Hamlin, Noel Ramos, and David Williams, Baxi arranges training and hours for tutors to help and support
students learning English. In addition,
the group runs an after school drop-in program on Thursdays to help English
language learners with their schoolwork.
Together with the Otis Library, the
friends of the Slater Museum are planning a bus trip to the Sterling and
Francine Clark Institute in Williamstown, MA, on April 12, to view Remington
Looking West, an exhibition of works by Frederic Remington and photographs,
drawings, and scrapbooks from his personal collection. In his illustrations, sculpture, and
painting Remington, shaped the late 19th century popular vision of
the American West. To learn more, visit
www.clarkart.edu. Cost is $40 ($36 for museum members). More information may be obtained by
contacting Elisha Sherman at 425-5563 or at shermane@norwichfreeacademy.com.
A Wildcat salute to the Slater, whose
good news seems to fill this week’s column.
Slater is one of 615 museums nationally to receive a Connecting to
Collections Bookshelf from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. A competitive application program, it
provides an essential set of books, online resources and user’s guides that
profoundly impact the professional ability of a museum to care for its
collections. The Getty, the Henry
Luce, and the Sameul H. Kress Foundations sponsor the program.
For the next two weeks, lowers and 9th graders
will be taking the CAPT. Many students have test anxiety. Parents and caregivers can help overcome
much of the anxiety in several ways: Be
sure students have a good night’s sleep and a good breakfast; be positive and
encouraging; remind students that they have been prepared for these tests;
encourage students to try their best, and finally, encourage students to
maintain a sense of balance and to keep the test in perspective. More suggestions from the US Dept. of
Education to help your child improve in test taking are at www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/TestTaking/index.
.
Upperclassmen not requiring re-takes,
will report to classes each day after testing is completed. Consult the NFA Web site for the testing and
special daily class schedule.
Tom O’Rourke, 9th grade principal,
tells us that ninth graders will not have school on March 5th when
freshmen teachers will hold their annual review and planning day. In the morning, Sue Iwanicki, English Language Learner Coach,
and Tamara Buonocore, Literacy Coach, will work with faculty to develop
effective instructional strategies for content area classes. In the afternoon teachers
will reflect on the transition process for the class of 2011 and begin planning
for the incoming class of 2012. The day
is part of the ninth grade’s process of continuous evaluation and improvement
to meet the needs of all students.
Wildcat Billboard:
For
all regularly scheduled Varsity Athletic events, consult the NFA Web site,
Athletics tab, Schedule link.
This week reflect upon the words of Ella
Williams, successful African-American businesswoman and entrepreneur: “Bite off more than you can chew, then chew
it.”
See you next week in NFA World….until then direct your comments or
questions to serrag@norwichfreeacademy.com
