Dear New Canaan High School Families,

It has been a busy and productive first month at NCHS, and October promises to be just as productive. 

October is often equated with change. The seasons change, the leaves change, the days get shorter and cooler.  What hasn’t changed is the positivity, enthusiasm, flexibility, and eagerness our students have shown to get back to a new “normal,” and it’s refreshing. We are thrilled to see students adapting well and actively engaged in the classroom.

Please join us on Zoom to hear Sue Carroll, College and Career Center Coordinator, and Ann Vernon, Guidance Counselor, talk about the various ways to research colleges and plan your upcoming college road trips. Also, they will discuss what is new on the college admission landscape and the college admissions timeline. Q&A will be addressed at the end of the discussion.

EVENT LOCATION: Click HERE for the meeting link. 

Please join us at a gathering for families new to the NCPS district and/or who have recently moved to New Canaan. Meet other new parents and members of the PFA Board. We look forward to seeing you there!

EVENT LOCATION: Waveny House

New Canaan CARES and NCHS PFA present "Reflecting, Reviving and Revising" with Dr. Michelle Albright. As a new school year begins, parents and teens may want to make up for lost time, while others may be cautious to re-engage. Join Dr. Albright for an interactive discussion that will touch on the importance of maintaining family time and connections, remembering the lessons we've learned over the past year, and setting the pace for fall with tips and strategies to keep your family dynamics on the right path.

EVENT LOCATION: Virtual via Zoom. Link to follow.

Have a list of questions about life at NCHS that you'd love to get answers to? Attend our informative 9th grade networking session!

EVENT LOCATION: TBD

Grab your 10^th grader and tune in for an instructive webinar that features an important panel discussion on teen driving. Our experienced panel includes Marie Trant from Lewis School of Driving, Officer George Caponera from the New Canaan Police Department, and Tim Brown from Brown,Thayer and Shedd Insurance Company. We will discuss how to be successful on the driving test, safety on the roads, tips on keeping your insurance rates down, what to do in the event of an accident, and more. 

Please contact 10th Grade Networking Chairs Mary Lydon and Kristin Reed with any questions.

EVENT LOCATION: Virtual via Zoom. Link to follow.

10/2     SAT* 

10/16   PSAT* for class of 2023 

10/23   ACT 

11/2     SAT 

12/4     SAT 

12/11   ACT* 

* Denotes NCHS as a testing location 

Register for the SAT at www.collegeboard.org

Register for the ACT at www.actstudent.org

Mark Your Calendars!  The 7th Annual SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT COLLEGE & GAP YEAR FAIR is on Tuesday, October 5 from 4 PM - 8 PM at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater in Bridgeport. 

For more information visit https://www.ctcollegefair.com.

EVENT LOCATION: Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, Bridgeport

The School Counselors invite you to join them at Financial Aid Night. All are welcome to attend, especially if your child is a member of the Class of 2022. 

For more information, please contact school counselor Lori Keen.

EVENT LOCATION: Virtual via Zoom. Link will be sent on Oct 14.

A virtual PSAT will be offered to sophomores who wish to take it. This online version of the practice test, offered by Summit Educational Group, will give students the opportunity to get a sense of the test and the type of questions to expect when they take it as juniors. 

There will be a testing window from October 14th to the 21st and a link will be provided via email closer to the testing window. Because this is a practice test, results are not shared.

The PSAT will be offered at NCHS on Saturday, Oct 16, 2021 for registered juniors. The test is 2 hours 45 minutes long and will begin at 8:00 AM. Students will check in at 7:30 AM and should remember to bring their masks that they will wear for the duration of the test, sharpened pencils, calculators, and a photo ID. Phones should be left at home or POWERED OFF.

Seniors may attend college visits and hear first-hand the latest news from colleges in which they may be interested. They must register for the visits on Naviance and ask for permission from the faculty to miss class. 

Students who are unable to meet with the reps should stop by the CCC BEFORE the visit time and fill out a form indicating their interest in the visiting school. Attendance is taken at these sessions, which are either in person or via Zoom. 

The visit schedule may be viewed through Naviance and on the NCHS School Counseling page.

The NCHS Senior Internship Program is looking for organizations and companies to host senior interns the last four weeks of school for Spring 2022.  The seniors intern during the school day approximately 25 hours per week. The internships can be remote, in person, or hybrid. 

Please contact Heather Bianco for more information.

The Fall Sports Season is in full swing. It is great to see our students and coaches operating in a near-normal fashion. I suggest you try and attend a game, meet or match this fall. If you can’t make it to cheer on our athletes, you can watch all varsity games on Dunning and in the Main Gym via NCTV on their YouTube Channel or via a stream from our HUDL camera on our own NCHS Athletic Channel. Click HERE for links to game coverage.

Congratulations to our RAMS of the WEEK for the past 2 weeks with outstanding performance:

• Lily Stevens (Volleyball)
• Mark DeGaetano (Golf)
• Zoey Bennett (Field Hockey)
• Milan Afshar (Boys Soccer)

Winter registration is open on Family ID. Click HERE to register now so we can prepare for the upcoming season and provide you up-to-date information. 

The Turkey Bowl will be held on Thanksgiving Day at Dunning Stadium. Stay tuned for information about getting tickets.

Go Rams,
Jay Egan

Don’t miss out on NCHS Theatre Department’s hilarious production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream! Set with a Steampunk twist and with a royal wedding on the horizon, watch as Puck, the mischievous fairy, creates chaos between lovers in the forest with her magic. While the King and Queen of the fairies feud, a group of lowly mechanics rehearse a play to be performed for the Duke, only to have one of the actors end up with the head of a donkey and a night he’ll never forget. 

Tickets and more information can be found on the NCHS Theatre Department website. See you there!

EVENT LOCATION: NCHS Auditorium

At the first BOE meeting, New Canaan High School Principal Bill Egan reported that NCHS welcomed 1,290 students back to the building full time this fall. He shared the excitement from the first week of school. Highlights included:

• NCHS is using a rotating block schedule this year to allow greater depth in each subject, less time in the hallways, and more time for students to engage in learning with their teachers and peers. 
• Freshman study halls are being offered. 
• All studentshave “sleep-ins/leave earlies,” however NCHS is requiring permission for Freshmen to sleep in and leave early.
• NCHS introduced Ram Time, a new block every Tuesday afternoonfor any student needing extra help.

Mr. Egan thanked the PFA for its continued support and involvement in the school. He also thanked the Administrators and the BOE for their support. 

The upcoming BOE meetings are scheduled for October 4 and October 18. Click HERE to access the BOE meeting minutes and videos.

New Canaan Rotary Club's 36th Annual LobsterFest will be on Friday and Saturday, October 15 and 16 from 4pm to 8pm at the Waveny Pool. Click HERE for tickets. Purchase by September 30th for a 10% discount.

Choose from lobster, grilled salmon or fried chicken with your choice of curbside pickup, dine in poolside with reservations, or home delivery for orders of 8 or more. Online orders only, no tickets sold at door. Gift cards available or donate a meal to a first responder!

EVENT LOCATION: Waveny Pool Pavilion

Offered in partnership with the Town of New Canaan, New Canaan Abuse Prevention Partnership, and Domestic Violence Crisis Center (DVCC), this interactive workshop will teach participants how to safely intervene when they see or hear something problematic. Leave with the tools and confidence to say something when you see something.

EVENT LOCATION: First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan

Filling in the Blanks fights childhood hunger by providing children in need with meals on the weekends. Filling in the Blanks delivers their Weekend Meal Bags in 80 schools across 10 towns in CT & NY. 

During the holidays FITB provides kids in their program with a new backpack filled with food and gifts. 

How you can help