E-News - East Catholic High School

Did You Wear Your Brain to School To d a y ?
On January 26, it was easy to pick out the students in Holly
Noble’s Anatomy & Physiology classes. Most of them had
worn their “brain” to school that day!
As part of the class’ month-long study of the nervous
system, each student was issued a white swim cap and
instructed to draw the brain in a way that accurately reflected
human brain anatomy. January 26 was designated “Wear
Your Brain to School Day.” Each student found wearing his
or her “brain” received a bonus point. Seen here are: Sarah
Leonard, Kerry Driscoll, Kim Negri, Sam Wing, and Mary
Marena. Kim is holding a tray with the two hemispheres of a
sheep’s brain on display.
NHS Students Seize Opportunities to Serve
Tutors Bethany Rang, Michael Ragazzi, Brittany French, and Kaila
Toce review their notes between tutoring sessions in the Julie Center.
In addition to academics, membership in East Catholic’s
National Honor Society is based on leadership, character, and
service. NHS members give service in many ways during the
school year. Nearly every period of the school day, a NHS
member is available to tutor students in the Julie Center.
NHS students brightened the Christmas season for retired
Sisters of Notre Dame who live at St. Julie House in Windsor.
Students baked and delivered cookies and cupcakes, decorated
the house before Christmas and took decorations down afterward,
and, along with members of Tri-M, sang Christmas
carols with the Sisters. Spanish teacher Jan Reilly is the
moderator of the National Honor Society.
News & No t e s
Four To Compete in
Debate Championships
Four EC students have qualified
to compete in the Connecticut
Debate Association (CDA) state
championships this year. EC
Debate Team captains Kayvon
Ghoreshi and Ryan Baniszewski,
at
left,
will compete as one team, and
Jay Ockert and Wesley Langlais,
at right, will compete as a second
team. More than 35 high schools
participate in the CDA.
The debate format is
extemporaneous. Once the topic
is revealed, students have only
one hour to prepare and build
arguments for both sides of the issue. Topics debated this year
include financial compensation for Division I college athletes,
increased microgeneration of electricity by private citizens, and
Connecticut’s death penalty. Social studies teacher James
Cooper moderates EC’s Debate Team.
continued from page 1
Dressing Down to Help Others
Student Government, under the direction of social studies
teacher James Cooper, sponsored two dress down days in
the fall to support those in need. A dress down day on
Veterans Day, November 11, raised awareness of the
sacrifices veterans make in their service to our country and
resulted in a $2,164 donation to the Wounded Warrior
Project. More than $2,200 raised by a dress down day
before Christmas went toward providing 30 local families
with gift cards to fill their holiday food baskets.
The Guidance C o r n e r
As they hear from colleges, seniors are beginning to
decide which school to attend. Seniors should update their
Naviance accounts, and if they are deferred or placed on a
wait list by a top choice school, they should update the
school on their activities and mention their high interest in
attending that school. Seniors should also sign up in the
guidance office to have their first semester grades sent to
those schools.
Juniors and their parents will attend the College Night
on February 2, an important and informative meeting about
the college search process. Juniors should RSVP with the
number of people from their family who will attend.
Sophomores and their parents attended a meeting on
January 12 to obtain PSAT results and to get a feel for how
these scores fit into the overall standardized testing picture
and college consideration process. Sophomores and freshmen
are meeting with counselors to discuss their current
courses and those they would like to take next year.