Kearsarge Regional High School

Kearsarge Junior Places 3rd, Wins Scholarship in SkillsUSA Baking Competition

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Kearsarge Regional School District
Superintendent Winfried Feneberg
114 Cougar Court
New London, NH 03257

For Immediate Release

Friday, April 12, 2019

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Kearsarge Junior Places 3rd, Wins Scholarship in SkillsUSA Baking Competition

Kearsarge Regional High School junior Olivia Lord, left, stands with her baking instructor, Chef April Hall, after coming in third place at a recent SkillsUSA Commercial Baking Competition. (Courtesy Photo Kearsarge Regional School District)

NEW LONDON – Superintendent Winfried Feneberg is pleased to share that Kearsarge Regional High School junior Olivia Lord placed third in a recent SkillsUSA Commercial Baking Competition. 

Two Kearsarge Regional High School students attended a March 20 SkillsUSA event at Nashua North High School, where two separate competitions were held in the culinary arts and in commercial baking. 

Lord competed in the commercial baking competition, where she was tasked with baking a variety of goods, including muffins, eclairs, cookies, three types of bread, puff pastries and decorated a cake.

Each competition was timed, included a written exam and required students to share their resume. Students were judged on their skills, presentation, sanitation and uniform.

Lord spent significant time preparing for the commercial baking competition, and began staying after school late to practice her skills in November.

“I am incredibly proud of her,” said Chef April Hall, Lord’s baking instructor at Kearsarge High School. “Olivia worked really hard to prepare. It takes dedication to be a part of this. Both students were able to network with various chefs in the industry and meet peers who share their passion for cooking and baking.”

In addition to coming in third place in the commercial baking competition, Lord was given a $1,000 scholarship to the Culinary Institute of America and a $500 scholarship to Johnson and Wales University. 

Lord is currently planning on earning her associate’s degree in the culinary arts at Lakes Region Community College before moving on to pursue her bachelor’s degree. Her grandmother taught her to bake at a young age, and Lord has enjoyed the culinary arts ever since. 

“I have always enjoyed baking and I’m especially thankful to my grandmother who got me into it young,” Lord said. “As a young kid there was no greater pleasure than hearing my grandmother call my name when it was time to bake. My favorite part of baking is that moment when everything comes together and my finished product is even better than I intended.”

Lord plans on competing in next year’s SkillsUSA Commercial Baking Competition as well. 

“This competition was really comprehensive, and challenged students to showcase a wide range of skills in baking, taking written exams, creating a resume, sanitation and presentation,” Superintendent Feneberg said. “Olivia proved herself to be a dedicated, talented young chef, and we look forward to seeing her continue to expand her skills and pursue her passion for the culinary arts.”

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Kearsarge Students Use GIS Technology to Study Local Stream

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Kearsarge Regional School District
Superintendent Winfried Feneberg
114 Cougar Court
New London, NH 03257

For Immediate Release

Thursday, April 4, 2019

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Kearsarge Students Use GIS Technology to Study Local Stream

NEW LONDON – A new class at Kearsarge Regional High School is teaching students how to use geospatial technologies to better understand their own backyards.

Emily Anderson, a Kearsarge High School science teacher, created a new course this past fall titled GIS (Geographic Mapping System) Mapping of Natural Resources. Anderson was inspired by the natural landscape surrounding Kearsarge High School when creating the class, including Mt. Kearsarge, Stevens Brook and nearby conservation land. 

The course was open to any student who had already taken a prerequisite biology class.

During the course, students studied a stream in the Black Mountain Forest that directly abuts the Kearsarge High School campus. Students were tasked with collecting comprehensive data on a stream, which serves as the habitat of the Eastern Brook Trout. After collecting their data, students examined how the trout’s habitat can be used as an indicator for watershed health. 

“It was wonderful being outside with students engaging directly with the habitat in their backyard,” Anderson said. “The days we spent running along the contours of the stream, catching fish, taking measurements and recording data were of course the most exiting. But GIS Mapping, as a skill, is also very hands-on and provides a lot of opportunity for creativity and exploration.”

Students in the course worked closely with Carrie Deegan, Volunteer and Community Engagement Manager for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and John Magee, Fish Habitat Program Manager for New Hampshire Fish and Game, who each helped the class collect data in the field. 

Students gathered data from 200 meters of stream and created analytical maps from data points they collected. They documented the shape, depth and substrate of a stream, along with location, size and decay class of every piece of in-stream wood, log jam, or organic material. Students also used electrofishing data to create their maps with ArcGIS.

ArcGIS is a geographic information system software that allows users to built maps using their data. 

“This class has done an excellent job of engaging students in a real-world study of a stream not far from our school,” Superintendent Winfried Feneberg said. “Emily has done an impeccable job teaching students how to perform field work and use geospatial technologies as they also utilize critical thinking skills, problem solve and cultivate a scientific level of curiosity about the world.”

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Former New Hampshire Chief Justice John Broderick Gives Talk on Mental Illness at Kearsarge High

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Kearsarge Regional School District
Superintendent Winfried Feneberg
114 Cougar Court
New London, NH 03257

For Immediate Release

Monday, March 11, 2019

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Former New Hampshire Chief Justice John Broderick Gives Talk on Mental Illness at Kearsarge High

Former New Hampshire Chief Justice John Broderick, left, stands with Kearsarge Regional High School Principal Rob Bennett, middle, and New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon MacDonald at an assembly after speaking to students about mental illness. (Courtesy Photo Kearsarge Regional School District)

NEW LONDON – Superintendent Winfried Feneberg is pleased to share that former New Hampshire Chief Justice John Broderick visited and discussed mental illness with students at Kearsarge Regional High School last week.

The former Chief Justice spoke to students at an assembly on Thursday, March 8, in which he shared his experience as the father of a child who struggled with mental illness. He encouraged students to end the stigma surrounding mental illness, to seek help if they are struggling and to help loved ones with mental illness access the resources they need. New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon MacDonald also attended the assembly.

“Mental illness is a health problem, not a character flaw or a personal weakness,” Broderick said. “It’s not your fault, and there’s plenty of help available. You don’t need to suffer.”

During the assembly Broderick shared the story of his son, who struggled with depression, anxiety and panic attacks as a teen and in his twenties. His son turned to alcohol as he grappled with mental illness, and it wasn’t until he was an adult that his family discovered mental illness was the driving force behind his alcohol use problems. 

Students were acutely attentive throughout the assembly, and a couple dozen approached the former Chief Justice to share their own experiences after the discussion.

“His talk resonated deeply with students, and it was great to have such a respected state figure visit the school and address such a difficult — often taboo — subject,” Superintendent Feneberg said. “Mental illness affects many students, their families, and the Kearsarge communities at large. Our district continues to take significant steps to respond to the social-emotional needs of students. We provide a variety of resources and trained staff to address mental and behavioral issues that affect student learning in our schools.”

In addition to classes offered to students at Kearsarge Regional High School that educate students about mental health, the school has a student support team comprised of three school counselors, a school psychologist, a school nurse with a psychiatric background and a school social worker who is also a licensed drug and alcohol counselor. Each one is available to meet with students individually and in groups. Kearsarge Regional High School also collaborates with community based services, referring students and families when appropriate.

A Riverbend Community Mental Health therapist also visits the school once a week to meet with students individually, and local psychologists have also made themselves available to meet with students at the school.

The district continually seeks to expand its mental health support initiatives, and provides faculty with opportunities for training to support student mental health through organizations including NAMI NH and the Office of Student Wellness. The school also connects students to a variety of groups that spread awareness about mental illness, including Dover Youth to Youth, the Capital Region Substance Misuse Prevention Coalition, and the Greater Sullivan Substance Misuse Prevention Workgroup.

The former Chief Justice has visited approximately 360 New England schools over the last three years as he has sought to spread his message to young people.

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Kearsarge High Educator Creates Quilt Using Student Pictures Designed by Mathematical Equations 

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Kearsarge Regional School District
Superintendent Winfried Feneberg
114 Cougar Court
New London, NH 03257

For Immediate Release

Friday, Feb. 15, 2019

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Kearsarge High Educator Creates Quilt Using Student Pictures Designed by Mathematical Equations 

A class of 22 Kearsarge Regional High School Honors Algebra II students created pictures using equations this winter. Math teacher Sally Lyford, with help from several other Kearsarge educators, created a quilt using their images. (Courtesy Photo Kearsarge Regional School District)

NEW LONDON – Visitors to Kearsarge Regional High School math teacher Sally Lyford’s classroom may notice a large quilt that depicts various pictures of people, animals, and nature.

Lyford, with the help of Kearsarge High french teacher Kristen Allen, business teacher Jesse Fenn, and technology teacher Chris Spooner, put together and hung a quilt this winter that showcases pictures made by her Honors Algebra II students using mathematical equations.

It’s the first year Lyford has made a quilt to display the images her students made by using a graphing calculator on desmos.com. She began assigning students a project to create images using equations during the 2014 to 2015 school year.

At the time, Lyford was looking for a way to test her Honors Algebra II students’ knowledge without giving them a traditional “pen and paper” test. After learning about desmos.com, she was inspired to create a project that would combine what her students knew about transformations of functions with their sense of creativity. Since then, Lyford has had her students complete an annual project where they create pictures of their choice.

“There has been a push in education to have students show what they know through a performance based assessment,” Lyford said. “This definitely fits that description, and it gives students a more creative outlet as well. They also have a chance to see how these equations can be used in more of a real life application.”

Each student spends between three and 10 hours on their picture, depending on how intricate they decide they’d like their design to be. This year, 22 students participated in the project. Most of the students are sophomores, and a few are freshmen.

Many students, inspired by the New Hampshire landscape, chose to make pictures of mountains this year. Lyford said the project sometimes pushes students to learn more complex equations as well, for example to create a circle.

“Whatever comes to their mind, what they are interested in, prompts them as they come up with a picture of their choice, and sometimes they ask me for equations beyond those we’ve learned so far,” Lyford said.

Lyford said her students have enjoyed locating the pictures they created on the quilt, and that the overall project allowed them to explore what various equations can generate on a graph.

“They’re pretty excited about it because they get to see what they’ve been learning about, the transformations of functions, and what it will appear as on the graph,” Lyford said. “And how it makes the picture. They enjoy the fact that on desmos.com they can play around with equations and there’s no penalty. They can make what they want to happen appear right before their eyes.”

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