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Showing posts from 2018

Culinary Arts: Feeding a Passion for Learning

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Chef Bratz provides last-minute instructions to SHS Culinary Arts students prior to opening the Three Seasons Restuarant. It's opening day for the 3 Seasons Restaurant and the first plate of food will soon be served to customers and members of the culinary program advisory board. The restaurant is located in a corner of the high school near where the automotive garage use to be. The new 3 Seasons is a clean, modern eating space with 18-foot, floor-to-ceiling windows, seating for 50, and an outdoor patio area. As Chef Bratz orchestrates students to their various cooking stations, Assistant Chef & Instructor Kaci Ahern greets the first customers arriving out front. It’s about to get real. ( Download transcript... )

SHS Film Students Shine at at NH Film Festival

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Salem High School film students brought home three awards in the 2018 New Hampshire High School Short Film Festival -- including first place overall. This is the second straight year SHS has taken home the top award in the festival. This year's winning film -- The Waiter -- was was written by Grace Lumley and produced by Nate Magoon and Briana Demers. The film included contributions from the entire film club over 20 students and several advisers and parents. Two additional SHS films received awards -- 4th place went to God's Acre ; and 5th place went to Worthless . God's Acre is a documentary created entirely by Brenden Nault. Worthless was created by block 3 TV 2 with Autumn-Rose Bogdan, Kaitlyn Willson, Rheannon Rodriguez and Briana Demers.

Podcast: Early Childhood Play -- The Key to Building Successful Learners

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Fisk Kindergarten Teacher Kristin Mashoke uses a cup stacking game to engage students in blending sounds into words. Episode 4 of the Salem Stories Podcast discusses the importance of early childhood education programs and how play-based learning can build a foundation for success.

Parents + Kids + Math = Fun?

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Students have one minute to flip a water bottle as many times as possible. Then they calculate the probability of flipping a bottle and having it land upright. Bonnie Torrey swears math is fun. No, really. To prove it, the Fisk School inclusionary specialist organizes an annual Math Night that brings students and family members together for a night of fun activities. Ms. Torrey pulls together staff and student volunteers from the district to set up and facilitate 13 activity stations throughout the Fisk Elementary School. Parents and students work their way through various math- and STEM-themed challenges designed to promote creative problem-solving, an understanding of technology resources, and an appreciation for hands-on learning practices. Students practice their addition and subtraction skills by playing the game Farkle. Families work together 100 cups to build a tower within three minutes in this STEM challenge. Students program their own interactive

Making Dreams Come True

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SHS Key Club members working to transform the Davis Gym for the Make-A-Wish Benefit Dinner. Sarah's wish is to go on a Disney Cruise to meet her favorite characters. Salem High School Key Club members have been working for months to help this dream come true. "We have the unique opportunity this year to be helping a girl from our own community of Salem," says Key Club Advisor Jennifer Monterrosa. The student organization -- working with Make-A-Wish New Hampshire -- is hoping to raise funds to help Sarah, a 15-year-old Woodbury student fighting a life-threatening illness. Despite her medical complications, Sarah is active in Special Olympics, loves to dance, and listens to Taylor Swift. To help Sarah relize her dream, Key Club members solicited donations, entertainment, and contributions for more than 100 raffle items in support of the Make-A-Wish Benefit Dinner to be held Saturday, March 17 in the Davis Gym. The 300-seat event is sold out.

Big Fun at "Big Event II"

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Lancaster teachers and staff created 18 mini-courses in a variety of interest areas during this year's "Big Event II." Students were able to participate in activities ranging from bike safety, yoga, weaving clothing, sign language, decorating cakes, and others during the school-wide event held Thursday, Feb. 22. Mr. Griffus -- a visiting "mad scientist" -- helped students create a number of bubbling concoctions. Miss Malo worked with students interested in bike maintenance and safety. Miss Farley and Miss Higgins lead students through a number of yoga poses. Mrs. DiZazzo helped students create their own sensory glitter bottle. Students in the "Hot Lava STARS" course used cooperation and planning to make their way down the hall without touching the floor tile. Mrs. Drummond helped students learn and share some basic sign language skills.

Podcast: Making Mistakes and Growing Brains

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The Salem School District embraces an educational philosophy that encourages mistakes and rewards continued effort. These are the foundations of a growth mindset and the key to creating better learners. Mrs. Barry holds a small group review session with 6th-grade math students. Today's podcast explores the differences between fixed and growth mindsets and why failure is not only acceptable, but encouraged.

Nose to Tail: Culinary Students Go Whole Hog

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Salem High School culinary students spent today getting to know the secrets of sustainable use of a common food source. Chef Ben Reed (left) introduces SHS culinary students to the whole hog. Chef Ben Reed, owner and head chef at Thyme + Tide Kitchen in Hampton Falls, NH,  held a butchery demonstration for students in the culinary arts program. He shared characteristics of the pig explaining how the way it lived and the structure of its body influenced how it can be used as a food source. Though not all students were comfortable with the process at first, they agreed it was important to understand where food comes from and how sustainable practices lower food costs and extend options for creating meals.

Salem Robotics: More than Fun and Games

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In the early hours before school begins, these fourth-grade Soule school students are busy problem-solving. The "board" is laid out in the library and animals, obstacles and robots have been constructed from First Lego League kits. Students eagerly type commands into iPads that direct the robots to interact with the board pieces. Today they are trying to collect the "pink pig." "In a competition, students get points by how well their robot interacts with various elements on the board," says Anna Caron, one of several Salem teachers volunteering time to guide the elementary Lego Robotics Clubs. "We're just getting started. Today's challenge is to collect the pink pig without crashing into other objects." Soule fourth-grade students react as their robot just misses collecting the "pink pig." The students take turns determining a course of action, programming the robots, then running the controls. After collaborating on a

Lessons Learned from Luke Bonner's Journey

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Luke  Bonner takes a moment after the presentation to visit with Salem basketball players. Luke Bonner always wanted to follow in the footsteps of his famous siblings -- Matt and Becky. But after suffering a career-ending knee injury during his senior year in college, the youngest member of New Hampshire basketball’s royal family faced a harsh reality. “I needed to recalibrate,” Bonner told a group of nearly 500 students at the Salem High School recently. “I knew I had to move on from basketball, but I had no idea what to do next.” Bonner shared lessons from his journey with Salem and Pelham students at the Greater Salem Chamber of Commerce Business Education Collaborative event held at the Seifert Performing Arts Center. Stacey Kallelis, Work Based Learning Coordinator at Salem High School, helped organize the event and feels Bonner’s story holds lessons for her students. “Luke’s unconventional journey to where he is now depended on keeping an open mind, finding those tr

Podcast: The Making of The Sound of Music

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Salem students rehearse a scene from The Sound of Music on stage at the Seifert Performing Arts Center. On February 1 the Salem Performing Arts Department's production of The Sound of Music will open at the Seifert Performing Arts Center. Salem Stories spoke with some of the key directors and performers as they prepared and rehearsed for four public shows. The musical fits the district's educational philosophy of providing opportunities for students to put their classroom learning to the test in real-world situations.

Expanding Performing Arts Beyond the Classroom

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Guest Conductor Dr. Robert Franzblau worked closely with select band students from nine area high schools on the stage during the Granite State Invitational Festival at the Seifert Performing Arts Center.  Salem musicians and singers hosted classmates from eight area schools for a day of music, collaboration, and learning at the recent Granite State Music Festival. The event, hosted in Salem for the first time, is part of Jared Cassedy’s vision of elevating the program beyond the traditional classroom setting. “It’s important for all students to experience music from different perspectives,” explains Cassedy, Director of Salem K-12 Performing Arts and the Seifert Performing Arts Center. “We want them to think beyond the notes and the rhythms on a music sheet to the meaning and passion behind the music.” Boston Children's Chorus Director Anthony Trecek-King (right) leads festival chorus students in warm-up exercises prior to getting started for the day. To that