Bridget Bertoldi was selected as the first chair flute for the American High School Honor Series Symphonic Band!
The group will be on the Good Morning America Show this Saturday morning, June 26th, with the concert Saturday night at Carnegie Hall.
Congratulations, Bridget!
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Mike Griffin won All - State honors at the State Tournament at Fairview Farms yesterday posting a 1 over par 73. He will be honored at the Aqua turf later this month.
Mike will also represent THS at the ALL New England Championship held in Keene New Hamphsire on June 21. This is only the second time that a student from THS has been named to the All New England Team.
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The AFJROTC class at THS held its spring Change of Command ceremony on Tuesday, Jun 1, 2010. Cadet Colonel Jamie Cavanaugh, a senior with three years in JROTC, relinquished command of the Cadet Wing (CT-20021) and the command was passed to Cadet Colonel (select) Bobby Killackey, a junior with three years of JROTC experience, in front of almost three hundred family, friends, administrators, teachers, and staff. The reviewing officer, Colonel Robert Gabor (THS’ AFJROTC teacher), presided over the event. Strong storms caused the ceremony to be held in the THS gym instead of the normal venue the football stadium but it went off faultlessly despite the last minute change. After the ceremony cadets, family, friends, invited guests (including Mayor Ryan Bingham), and school officials adjourned to the café to celebrate the Annual Awards Banquet.
The following picture shows Killackey accepting command from Gabor (Cavanaugh is found behind Killackey). Also in the picture, behind Cavanaugh, is Cadet Colonel Veronica Cordon (the first female Wing Commander at THS and only junior to hold the position), and looking on is Cadet Chief Master Sergeant Savannah Hock.
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Torrington High School has five interns working with the Torrington Titans for the season. They are working on Video /Management production events and also Game Day Management.
The Game -Day management interns will be responsible for a number of game-day activities and students will learn the ins and outs of what it takes to run a sporting event on a daily basis.
The video/management production interns will be responsible for filming and editing video on a daily basis for our web effort and also filming for a long-term documentary about the concept of crowdsourcing and the Torrington Titans. This is the first time in the U.S. that a community will operate and fund a baseball team.
The interns met with the Titans team management and signed intern contract papers in May.
"Play Ball"!
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We are pleased to report that the Animal Rescue Club has had a very successful inaugural year! In addition to raising just over $100 in cash with our “pawprints” fundraiser a couple months ago, the students put together a collection drive that produced appx. $250-300 (retail value) in goods for donation to the CT Humane Society. On Saturday, May 22nd, club members volunteered 4 hours of their time and passed out flyers outside Petco, requesting that willing shoppers purchase items from the shelter’s “wish list”, which we would then take to the CT Humane Society for donation. I was very proud of the girls’ determination in this effort, and we had fun talking to people who share our love of animals. We hope to add to our activities next year, and would also like to thank the staff here at THS for their overwhelming support of this new venture. If you see any of the following students, please congratulate them on a job well done!
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The students listed below were inducted into the Cristoforo Colombo chapter of the Torrington High School Societa’ Onoraria Italiana. This is the first induction of this honor society here at THS and we are very proud of the achievements of our students. In order to be inducted, Italian II(CP) students must have an average of “A-“ (90 and above) and Italian III(H) and UConn Italian IV students must have an average of “B+” (87 and above), as well as be enrolled in Italian for the following school year. Please join us in congratulating these talented and dedicated Italian students.
Italian II (CP)
Calabrese, Megan (9)
Cerruto, Spencer (9)
Duong, Christina (9)
Hammer, Christina (9)
Innella, Kaitlyn (10)
Jerram, Thomas (9)
Miller, Thea (9)
Parziale, Anthony (9)
Stevens, Megan (9)
Italian III (H)
Canino, Teresa (10)
Chiravolo, Nicholas (10)
Le, Lan (10)
UConn Italian IV
DeLouis, Christopher (11)
Dill, Angela (11)
Hintz, Eva (11)
Lawlor, Brianna (11)
Lopez, Erika (11)
Michaud, Cassandra (11)
Olivero, Brion (11)
Osterman, Dale (11)
Peterson, Stephen (11)
Ruiz, Eddie (11)
Sisic, Haris (11)
Schmitt, Heather (11)
Smith, Victoria (11)
Theriault, Rebekah (11)
Torres, Marielle (11)
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Congratulations to Robin Magistrali who received the Paul Harris Award (Paul Harris was the founder of Rotary International) from the Rotary Club. Here is info about the award from the local Rotary Club's web page: http://www.torringtonrotary.org/prg_paul_harris_fellows.htm. On Tuesday, Muff Maskowsky, Michael Magistrali and Robin all became Paul Harris Fellows and $1,000 was donated to Rotary International in each of their names.
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The Seven Angel’s Theatre in Waterbury sponsors the Halo awards which are like Academy Awards for high school theatre students who excel in various aspects of the theatre. Torrington High School has received the following nominations:
2010 HALO NOMINATIONS
- 1. Best Actress in a Musical
Rachel Pelchat as Belle in “Beauty & the Beast”
- 2. Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Maura Magistrali as Babette in Beauty and the Beast
- 3. Best comic Female performance in a musical
Kelly Brennan as Madame D’Arque in Beauty and the Beast
- 4. Best Student Choreographer
Vanessa Miles , Destiny Lopez assistant for Beauty and the Beast
- 5. Best Orchestra
Torrington High School for Beauty and the Beast
- 6. Best Play
It’s a Wonderful Life
- 7. Best Actor in a Play
Kevin Kocis as George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life
- 8. Best Actress in a play
Nicole Currier as Mary Hatch in It’s a Wonderful Life
Alexandra Munson as Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie
- 9. Best Supporting Actor in a Play
Zachary Carpenter as Clarence Oddbody in It’s a Wonderful Life
Griffin Rapsilber as The Gentleman Caller in The Glass Menagerie
10. Best Supporting Actress in a Play
Sarah Carpenter as Violet Peterson in It’s a Wonderful Life
11. Best Featured Actor in a Play
Kyle Hogan as Mr. Potter in It’s a Wonderful Life
12. Student Lighting Design and/or Execution
Donald Fantozzi for It’s a Wonderful Life
Donald Fantozzi and Angela Capolupo for Beauty and the Beast
The Award Ceremony is Monday May 24 at Naugatuck Valley Community College.
The Torrington Public Schools was just named one of the "Best Communities for Music Education" in 2010 by the NAMM Foundation. This survey, conducted from January 17 - March 14, measured districts across curricular and programmatic criteria as well as public support of their music programs. The survey was developed and administered by The Institute for Educational Research and Public Service, an affiliate of the University of Kansas.
Torrington has been named in 10 of the 11 years the survey has been run, and has been named for 8 years in a row. Torrington has been named more than any other school district in CT! The other CT towns named- Bethel, Cheshire, Greenwich, Newtown, Simsbury, West Hartford- puts us in some very prestigious company!
The article and press release can be found here: http://www.namm.org/news/press-releases/namm-foundation-survey-reveals-best-communities-mu
CONGRATULATIONS! to several world language students from both Torrington High School and Torrington Middle School who attained national recognition for excellent performance on the 2010 Nation Spanish Examination.
Students from THS earned a total of 1 gold, 1 silver and 4 bronze medals along with 12 honorable mentions. Students from TMS earned a total of 1 silver and 4 bronze medals along with 3 honorable mentions. “Attaining a medal or honorable mention for any student on the National Spanish Examination is very prestigious,” said Kevin Cessna Busemi, National Director of the Exams, “because the exams are the largest of their kind in the United States with 125,915 students participating in 2010.”
The following high school students received medals: Diana Mojica, gold, Umberto Carusi, silver, Maggie Finn, Destiny Lopez, Ashley Stephens, and Trinh Thienthanh, bronze. The following high school students earned honorable mention: Rebecca Acquarelli, Bridget Bertoldi, Kristin Ellis, Michael Ellis, Kevin Finn, George Hayward, Zachary Knox Myles Ross, Adnan Sheerazi Katrina Springs, Seth Thompson and A.J. Vecino.
The following middle school students received medals: Taylor Stone, silver, Nicole Cappabianca, Nicole Gomez, Alex Polzun and Chloe Vollaro, bronze. The following middle school students earned honorable mention: Sarah Heath, Paulina Kolada, and Taylor Prestitto.
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History Day in CT, held in Hartford on Saturday, May 8, 2010:
Category Awards:
1st Place: Individual Performance – Brianna Cole for Amelia Earhart: On the Wings of Innovation
3rd Place: Group Exhibits - Lindsay Stone & Rachel Rubino for Apple Inc: The Fruit of Technology
3rd Place: Group Documentary – Donald Fantozzi, Jenny Martinsen, Claire McKenna & Nate Levesque for You Tube: It’s A Small World After All
3rd Place: Web Site – Geoffrey Mottola, Grant Gemelli, Sofia Iseppi & Eric Rinaldi for Film: Capturing Life
Special Awards:
Outstanding Entry in Women’s History - Brianna Cole for Amelia Earhart: On the Wings of Innovation, an Individual Performance
Outstanding Entry Related to Slavery or Abolition – Maureen Paretti & Destiny Lopez for Black Pride: Creating Consciousness, a Web Site
Patricia Behring Teacher Award:
Patricia Conroy
Brianna Cole is therefore eligible to compete at the National Competition in June (see below):
The Kenneth E. Behring National History Day Contest - June 13-17
“The Kenneth E. Behring National History Day Contest is the final stage of a series of contests at local and state levels. The contest is named for Mr. Behring in recognition of his support of NHD. Each year roughly 2,400 students and their parents and teachers gather at the University of Maryland, College Park for the week-long event. These enthusiastic groups come from all over the United States, Guam, American Samoa, Department of Defense Schools in Europe, and even Shanghai, China.” Source: http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/KennethBehring.htm
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Connecticut State Latin Contest
All 75 THS Latin students participated. The following students placed in the statewide competition:
2010 CT State Latin Contest Results
Summa Cum Laude
Latin III JILL MORASKI
JUSTIN CLARK
Latin V KIMBERLY WHIPPLE
Cum Laude
Latin II RACHEL TETI
Latin III MARYSSA BROGIS
CHELSEA MATZKO
RYAN LEONARD
Latin IV CHRISTOPHER ROYS
AMBER LONGHI
Cum Dignitate
Latin I ADAM EVERTZ
COE GAVETTE
GARET ROGERS
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Listed below are the top scoring THS Italian students for the National Italian Exam.
Italian II
Thea Miller and Jennifer Ortiz
Italian III
Nicholas Chiravolo and Teresa Canino
Italian IV
Stephen Peterson and Edward Ruiz
Italian V
Andrew Cohen & Anthony Renzullo
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The Torrington Public Schools Music Department will be presenting its annual District Band Concert on Tuesday May 25, 2010 7:00pm in the Torrington High School Gym. The Torrington Public Schools District Band Concert will feature over 400 band students from East, Forbes, Southwest, Vogel-Wetmore, Torringford, Torrington Middle and Torrington High School. The concert is free and open to the public.
Torrington, Connecticut has been listed as one of the Best 100 Communities for Music Education in America nine times since 2000, more than any community in Connecticut and one of only twenty nationwide.
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Eric Traub was just notified that he has received Academic All American which is only given to the top 2% of the student-athletes in the nation. (They approximate there were 289,000 involved in aquatics) This is the first swimmer since Garret Eucallito (2000) to achieve this honor.
I believe this is a great honor for you his classroom teachers! Congratulations to you all, for your fine work with him in the classroom!
Just another great tale for THS!
National Spanish Exam - 2010 THS Acknowledgements
Oro-gold award
Diana Mojica-Spanish III Bi-Lingual
Plata-silver award
Umberto Carusi-Spanish III Bi-Lingual
Bronce-bronze award Spanish III (regular)
Trinh Thienthanh
Maggie Finn
Destiny Lopez
Ashley Stephens
Premio de excelencia-honorable mention Spanish III (regular)
Kristin Ellis
Michael Ellis
Zachary Knox
Bridget Bertoldi
George Hayward
Premio de excelencia-honorable mention Spanish II (regular)
Rebecca Acquarelli
Myles Ross
Adnan Sheerazi
Premio de excelencia-honorable mention Spanish I (regular)
Kevin Finn
Seth Thompson
AJ Vecino
Katrina Springs
National Latin Exam - 2010 THS Acknowledgements
Gold Summa Cum Laude
Latin III Jill Moraski
Latin V Kimberly Whipple
Silver Maxima Cum Laude
Latin I Matthew Cavagnero
Coe Gavette
Latin III Maryssa Brogis
Latin IV Christopher Roys
AmberLonghi
Magna Cum Laude
Latin II Rachel Teti
Cum Laude
Latin I Stephanie Bramble
Richard Merrill
Nathan Patnaude
Adam Evertz
Sarah Hope Dennis
Brianna Lawlor
Latin II Marissa Pavlik
Mackenzie Peters
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Interact Club had it's annual Dodgeball Tournament on Thursday March 25, 2010. Over $1400 was collected for the Orphans of Rwanda!!
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Congratulations to the following teams and athletes for their outstanding performances during the Winter Sports Season!
Indoor Track
New School Record- Sprint Medley Relay-3:51.99
Wellington Sosa, Tremain Boles, Captain Dylan Kruppa, Danny O'Heron
New Indoor Record
Danny O'Heron 1600 Meter and 3000 Meter
Girls' Basketball
Copper Divisional Champs
All-State Girls' Basketball:
Sarah Royals
1000 point athletes:
Desmond Williams
Sarah Royals
Boys' Swimming
3rd place NVL Finals
State Open for Boys' Swimming:
200 IM State Open Champion-Eric Traub-1:52.77-School Record/NVL Record
100 M Butterfly-4th Place-Ray Cswerko-51.61-School Record
200 Medley Relay-11th place-Eric Traub, Ryan Andrews, Ray Cswerko,
Murphy Jennings
200 Free Relay-11th Place-Eric Traub, Ray Cswerko, Murphy Jennings,
James Cavanaugh-1:29.89
All-Americans:
200 IM-Eric Traub
100 Breaststroke-Ray Cswerko
All-State Boys' Swimming:
Eric Traub
Ray Cswerko
All-State Wrestling
T. Dean Tsopanides
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History Day in Connecticut
Torrington District Competition – March 20, 2010
University of Connecticut – Torrington
Theme: Innovation in History: Impact and Change.
Torrington High School students who placed at the Torrington District Competition and are therefore eligible to compete at the state competition on May 8 at the Classical Magnet School & Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford are:
Senior Paper
2nd place: Polio Vaccine: The Shot Given Around the World -- Molly Sczucka
3rd place: The Telescope: Bringing Heaven Closer -- Anthony Engenito
Senior Individual Exhibit
2nd place: The Refrigerator: Food Storage Made Easy -- Mellisa Melaragno
3rd place: iPhone: The World in Your Hand -- Amy Kostak
Senior Group Exhibit
1st place: High-Tech Swimsuits: The Need for Speed -- Maggie Finn, Corrina Nickerson
2nd place: Apple Inc: The Fruit of Technology -- Rachel Rubino, Lindsay Stone
3rd place: MRI: A Look Inside -- Kaitlyn Decker, Jennifer Hart, Stephanie Renzullo
Senior Web Site
1st place: Film: Capturing Life -- Grant Gemelli, Sofia, Iseppi, Geoffrey Mottola, Eric Rinaldi
2nd place: Black Pride: Uniting to Make a Difference -- Destiny Lopez, Maureen Paretti
3rd place: McDonalds: Doing It All for You -- Chelsea Eckert, Elizabeth Lambert, Gabrielle Palladino
Senior Group Documentary
1st place: Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before -- Maryssa Brogis, William Hammer, Kyle Hogan, Stephen Peterson, Leslie Smith
2nd place: You Tube: It’s a Small World After All -- Donald Fantozzi, Nate Levesque, Jennifer Martinsen, Claire McKenna
Individual Performance
1st place: Amelia Earhart: On the Wings of Innovation -- Brianna Cole
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Last night the Boy’s Swim competed in one of the toughest divisions in the State (Class M) and swam extremely well. It was the first time I can remember that we came away with TWO different Champions! Eric Traub in the 200 IM swimming a 1:54.67 for a School Record and All American Consideration! Ray Cswerko in the 100 Breaststroke 58.29 for Automatic All American. Eric Traub came in right behind Ray for a 1-2 finish in the 100 Breast which is a first on the state level in any event for the Raiders! (Eric’s time: 59.42 - just 2 hundredths of a second off All-American Consideration.)
In Raymond’s first event the 100 Fly he swam a best time at 52.19 but because he was in the second heat he was not allowed to move up, but the time was the second fastest overall for the meet.
Ryan Andrews the only other individual qualifier for the Raiders had the best meet of his life with personal bests in the 200 IM and 100 Breast moving up considerably in both events!!
The Relays:
Best time in the 200 Medley Relay: Eric Traub, Ryan Andrews, Raymond Cswerko and Murphy Jennings for a 6th place finish.
The real surprise was a 1:29.89 in the 200 Free Relay which broke their previous school record by almost 2 seconds, for a 3rd place finish (Beating top seeded teams like New Canaan, Middletown, and Brookfield)!! The relay team consisted of Eric Traub 22.03, Murphy Jennings 23.02, James Cavanaugh 23.94, and Raymond Cswerko 20.87. (They each do two lengths of the pool)
THS Jazz Top 10 in Boston!
The Torrington High School Jazz Ensemble I placed in the top 10 of their class at the Berklee College of Music High School Jazz Festival in Boston, MA Saturday March 13, 2010. THS placed 7th out of 16 schools in their class which marks it’s highest placement and score in school history.
Berklee College of Music hosts its High School Jazz Festival at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Berklee's annual event is the largest of its kind in the United States. Over 200 performing Big Bands, Combos and Vocal Ensembles from schools across the country performed and competed throughout the day. All ensembles were adjudicated by a panel of Berklee's top faculty and received a written critique of their performance.
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Megan McPhail (club founder and president)
Amber Longhi
Monika Kalinowski
Rebecca Acquarelli
Danielle Sanford
Michelle Theroux
Jessica Nichol
Chelsea Canny
Chelsea Matzko
Kim Whipple
Angela Dill
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At yesterday's CANHS State Conference Torrington High School NHS was recognized for their intergenerational work at the senior center. The two activities that were sighted were the pancake supper where our students served dinner and interacted with the seniors and the Wii bowling tournament where the seniors challenged our seniors. NHS will receive a gavel from the Connecticut Association of National Honor Societies.
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Congratulations to the following THS students that auditioned for and were selected into the Connecticut Music Educators Association All-State Music Festival. CMEA All-State Music Festival will be held in Hartford, Conn. April 8-10, 2010
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Thanks to all blood donors, Student Council workers, and teachers. Special thanks to Mr. Nass for overseeing the day’s activities in the gym and Chairperson Lizzy Marola who organized & carried out another successful drive.
There were 51 usable pts of blood from 86 donors. Unfortunately 26 donors were turned away by the Red Cross Because they had two employees call in sick meaning there were 2 less workers to take blood. The result was that students had to wait longer to have blood drawn and by the end of the day 26 people never got to donate.
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