The Rampage » News

Catching Up With Some Familiar Faces

Mrs. Hoffman — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:39:13 +0000

While looking through past-published RHS Rampage newspapers, we found a segment that needed updated. 1997’s, “Welcome Aboard New Teachers” article featured Jonathan Graham, Kimberly Marinan, Anthony Bianca, Steven Augustus and Christopher Lewis, all who are still with RHS today.

The social studies department is thankful to have Jon Graham. Mr. Graham admits he is becoming more stubborn and his expectations have increased. He is also more comfortable assessing on the strengths and weaknesses of his students and is able to apply the best strategies. He has noticed the changing needs of students and how technology has changed student interaction in school since his first year. Mr. Graham, now having three children of his own, still lives by his motto, Motivation is key in life.

“I think that anyone can accomplish their goals if they are motivated and ready to work hard. Lacking motivation is a major cause of failure,” said Graham.

According to Mr. Graham, RHS has been a really great place to teach. “I couldn’t imagine being some place else. The faculty, staff, and students are wonderful,” stated Graham.

Former RHS health teacher and athletic trainer, Kimberly Marinan, is now the director of the school counseling department. In 1999, Ms. Marinan began working as a guidance counselor in the Vernon Regional Adult Education program, which was held here at RHS. In 2005, she took on her current role, where she could “work with students on achieving success on a smaller scale.” With her love of sports, competitive nature, and desire to work with students outside the classroom, she became the JV volleyball coach in 1999. Now, she is the head coach of girls and boys volleyball.

“I continue to love where I work, who I work for and with, and what I do,” said Marinan.

The last time the Rampage checked up on Anthony Bianca, he was planning for his wedding in December of ‘97. Now he has two children, Sofia and Alexander. Mr. Bianca still teaches English classes but in 2000 he wrote the curriculum for a new fine arts course, American Film, which is still running today. In addition to the American Film class, Mr. Bianca has written a few television pilots for a friend recently. He also loves to cook. Unlike before, he does not play deck hockey anymore. Outside of RHS, his time is spent watching his children play sports and he finds time to watch films with his wife. When asked about the changes in the English department, Mr. Bianca replied, “It is always nice to have young teachers and fresh ideas join the department.”

During Steven Augustus’ first year at RHS, there was no block scheduling, just eight blocks a day. He says he couldn’t imagine returning to the old schedule. Now just down to four tech-ed teachers, Mr. Augustus sticks to “old tried and true methods” which he learnt 30 years ago, when it comes to teaching. In 1997, he discussed how he would like to do “special projects” with his advanced students.

“Every year there are things presented that I would never imagined,” said Augustus.

For example, this year, Mr. Augustus and his students built a pitching mound, used for indoor baseball practices, for only two-hundred dollars instead of buying a new one for fourteen-hundred. Since 1997, he has accomplished two years of attending the Connecticut Fire Academy to get training for the Fire Technology course he is now teaching. To this day he is still a member of the Vernon Fire Department.

“This was a big accomplishment for me at my age,” said Augustus. “Most of the recruits were in their twenties and I was in my late forties.”

Still teaching German and French classes, Christopher Lewis is a great part of the world language department. He occasionally teaches Spanish, now having his Spanish certification, unlike in 1997. His ambition is to drive “coast to coast,” the same dream he had when he first started teaching. He has been with his family to California, Utah, and Washington State but he would still like to travel across country by car. According to Mr. Lewis, RHS is pretty much the same but is “a bit more aware of other cultures and the wider world.” Before RHS, Mr. Lewis was a teacher in Germany, France, England and Austria.

“High school students are pretty much the same,” says Lewis. “Perhaps [European high school students] take school a bit more seriously; knowing that they don’t get as many chances as students here.” Mr. Lewis manages great activities and trips. For the students taking German courses, there is a field trip to a German restaurant and a three week visit to Germany. For the kids who take French classes there is a three day visit to Quebec. “RHS students are pleasant to be with.” stated Lewis. Without Christopher Lewis, RHS World Language Department would not be the same.

RHS is greatly appreciative for those teachers who have spent so many years here. It is nice to see the changes and new achievements they have made from 1997 and now. Will someone new from The Rampage will catch up with us in the next 13 years

Foods Classes Raise Money for Chile

Mrs. Hoffman — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:24:06 +0000

The students who take Foods classes here at RHS traditionally have a chili cook-off. It was Mrs. Rita Courtois’ suggestion to have a Chili for Chile fundraiser. The Foods students worked together to make and present Chili. According to Foods teacher Mrs. Gilmore, there were vegetarian dishes, chicken chili, white chili and chili with steak, pork, sausage, and even hot dogs! When experienced judges rated the students based on taste, presentation and paperwork, awards and prizes were given to the winners. The chili was available to RHS staff for a donation. “Carryout was a popular option,” says Gilmore. The fundraiser was successful but not as much as hoped for. “We hoped for a bigger staff turnout.” “We had plenty of chili and a lot of unique recipes,” said Gilmore. Mrs. Gilmore is looking forward to “tweaking” the event and trying again next year to help another cause.

Arctic Splash is a Great Success

Mrs. Hoffman — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:29:06 +0000

On December 12, 2009 an event was held at the YMCA to help raise money for kids in our community to take part in recreational activities and for scholarships. Students at Rockville High were given the opportunity to dress up in whatever attire they desired and jump into the outdoor pool at the YMCA to help the cause. One junior, Kevin Babcock, dressed in his infamous gorilla costume before jumping into the icy waters.

The idea came to Mr. Borofsky and Mr. Forte as they brainstormed activities for the student council to hold.

“We were at breakfast at the Cosmic Omelet when the idea just came to us. You could say it was an epiphany” stated Borofsky. “We wanted a way to raise money for scholarships in the town for kids in recreational activities but also have it be drug-free fun” he continued.

The Arctic Splash proved to be successful as thirty students participated in jumping in the icy water, and about seventy five students contributed in total by just showing up to the YMCA and donating money.

To take part in the event, a student was required to raise a minimum of $10. Students alone raised about $1,000 and the town added another $1,000 to the fund.

Senior Class President, Kelly Falkowski, partook in the event. “People were definitely excited but nervous at the same time because we had to break ice on the pool before jumping in. It was the single most painful thing I have ever done, yet I still had so much fun!” she exclaimed. Luckily, no medical attention was needed during or after the plunge took place.

To bring the school together again, she hopes the Scrabble speed race, taking place sometime in March, will be just as successful and exciting.

Songs of the Halls

Mrs. Hoffman — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:26:47 +0000

When walking through the halls of RHS these past few weeks, one just might find themselves a bit more cheerful. That’s because, thanks to the collaborative efforts of Mr. Forte, Mr. Borofsky, and Mr. Baim, music can now be heard over the intercom before and after school, and during passing time. The idea was first established by Forte and Borofsky, who read in a popular academic magazine that “by playing music in between classes, other schools were successful in improving student/faculty morale, changing (for the positive) the school’s image, and decreasing the number of tardies to classes.” After talking things over with Mr. Baim, the three decided that Rockville could use a little something to brighten each day, and music could do just that. Forte and Borofsky sat down together one day to choose good songs that were appropriate and acceptable to play for the entire school. They also asked for student input, and accepted mix CDs from a number of different students. “The only problem we found was that kids really only listen to the radio right now, so each CD we received had the same fifteen songs on them,” recalls Forte.

However, the two have been able to pull things together. The Student Council purchased an iPod Nano and a docking device to play the music through over the intercom a few times each day. “I’ve been enjoying it. It gets me pumped and ready to go every day,” says senior Kelly Falkowski. Some days even have themed music. “Who doesn’t want to hear Loverboy’s “Everybody’s Working for the Weekend” on a Friday morning? Who doesn’t want to hear Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” right before they have to take an exam?” reasons Forte. Entirely logical. And the school seems to agree.

RHS and Foodshare Team Up

Mrs. Hoffman — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:22:53 +0000

Empty Bowls was held on December 8-9, 2009. The event was held in Mrs. Gilmore’s food room, where faculty was welcomed to attend. Students sponsored the event by making the food and bowls. Mrs. Gilmore and Mrs. Bengston ran the event that would raise just over $1100 to help end hunger.

According to the Foodshare website, “[the organization] will work to end hunger as a part of the overall community effort to alleviate poverty in Greater Hartford.”

Foodshare is located in Bloomfield, CT. Their purpose is to end hunger by collecting and distributing food to pantries in the area. They collect their food from local farmers, restaurants, stores, and individuals. This food is taken to the warehouse, sorted, and redistributed. Money raised by Empty Bowls is given to Foodshare which is used to pick up and drop off the food items. Every dollar donated is ten dollars worth of food provided to people in need.

The purpose of holding Empty Bowls is to raise money for community hunger. Mrs. Bengston’s class provided the bowls, while Mrs. Gilmore’s class provided the soup and bread. Several batches of eleven different soup recipes were handed out in the bowls as take-out, in the classroom; which was turned into a “restaurant”, and refills.

Rockville’s Empty Bowls event raised just over $1100. $500 of that will go to Hockanum Community, and the balance to Foodshare to be used to help other communities in the state.

“It was steady. Many people were repeat customers. I think there is greater potential to include more staff.” comments Mrs. Gilmore when asked about the turnout.

Check out the Foodshare website at www.foodshare.org.

Environmental Science Class Keeps Children Alive

Mrs. Hoffman — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:17:07 +0000

A beautiful thing is occurring at Rockville High School; students are working hard to save children millions of miles away. And they have been doing their best to encourage their classmates to help in the struggle as well.

Mr. Edward Argenta has been teaching Environmental Science at RHS for quite some time and has spread his enthusiasm for the course to his students, which is probably a leading cause as to why so many underclassmen choose to take the class. The class is open to any junior or senior who has successfully completed Biology at a college or honors level.

Part of the Environmental curriculum at Uconn is participating in a community service project; it could be anything from picking up trash at a park to fundraising for a charity. Since the block one class at the high school is based on this program, the students here must also complete a project. A project can be completed by an individual or by a whole group, and when the Environmental class at Rockville realized it may be too cold to be cleaning up the outdoors during the chilly first semester months when their class runs, they decided to complete the project together. They have decided to sell bracelets as a means of gathering money for the Keep a Child Alive Foundation sponsored by Alicia Keys.

“It brings people all over together in an effort to help those truly in need,” Bobby Waggoner, a senior enrolled in the class, stated.

The foundation gives 90% of its proceeds to villages and communities in Africa for resources like medicine, food, clean water and constructing buildings meant for the complete treatment of those suffering with HIV and AIDS, including therapy and women empowerment groups.

Mr. Argenta researched possible charities the class could give money to and approached the students with this idea. The Environmental class watched a documentary about Keys’ time in Africa with the people she is doing so much to help; it brought tears to students’ eyes, and they knew this was the foundation they wished to contribute to. Children as young as months old with no parents, living with only older siblings in tiny, cramped huts, and infected by the disease cried on camera, believing their situation cannot be changed. The students hope to change all that.

“We all felt really strongly about wanting to do something to make life better for these people,” another senior Environmental student, Valerie Woodruff, said.

The foundation is also very excited about the work being done. They sent four hundred bracelets to the class to begin selling before the winter vacation as well as posters.

All the teens have taken home bracelets to sell to their families and friends and, so far, many have been very successful; people seem to be responding well. The class sold bracelets outside of lunch waves accompanied by a giant sign with the foundation’s name, but they are not done yet. The students want to reach every single classmate and they will continue to sell as long as they have interested peers. Anyone can feel involved by purchasing one of these bracelets for only one dollar.

Failure is not an option for the block one Environmental students. The moment they laid eyes on the amount of change they could cause and the lives they could better, failure became inconceivable.

When asked what his ultimate goal was in being involved with Keep A Child Alive, senior Steve Monaghan replied enthusiastically, “To save lives!”