Bow News : education

Team finds its roots in Latin

Bow Editor — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:03:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Most people use Latin every day without even realizing it.

A group of Bow High School students use it every day and know it.

Bow High School’s Latin team members Glenn Walton, Jason Langevin and Tyler McDonough took part in the New Hampshire Student Classics Day at Saint Anselm College on May 9, beating out five other teams to win the competition.

Students were asked questions in multiple rounds about mythology, history, culture and grammar. Bow took the lead early in the competition and never relinquished it.

Kat Braden, the high school’s Latin teacher, was impressed by her team’s performance. “I had a team win some years back, and that was very sweet. We hadn’t had a team win since then. I decided this year that we would really prepare,” she said. “I had them working most of the year on Latin trivia, so it was a very sweet victory. I was proud of the three boys and also the other students. It was a teacher’s dream.”

Walton said the hardest part about the competition was not being able to see the words on paper.

“When he started asking questions in Latin, it was hard because I’m not used to speaking it, just seeing it,” he said. “I was really happy that all of the hard studying paid off.”

Latin is the root of many words in languages throughout the world, something Walton finds beneficial. “It’s great for your English or any other language vocabulary. A lot of things are derived from it. It’s cool to see everything behind it,” he said.

Students taking Latin are continuously learning, according to Braden. “From my own experience, I am almost every day seeing a word for the first time and realizing where it came from and what it means,” she said. “It keeps on giving. Latin also strengthens the mind.”

Braden also said students who study Latin have an advantage heading into their future endeavors.

“You have to be able to think quickly, analyze and put the facts in a row. It’s really rewarding, and it trains students to think better in everything they do for the rest of their lives,” Braden said. “I’ve heard from students who said it helps them all over.”

The language’s background was something that drew Walton’s interest. “I like the language because of the history and culture behind it. I started always thinking about all of the historical people who spoke it and how important it was to some people,” Walton said.

Money delays charter school opening

Bow Editor — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 17:38:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

HOPKINTON/BOW – For nearly three years of work by Bow, Hopkinton and Kearsarge Regional school district superintendents, the Crossroads Learning Community Charter School in Contoocook was awarded official charter status.

Though the school was recognized by the New Hampshire Board of Education in December, a problem receiving grant money from the state will prevent the school from its expected opening in January.

Jan Williamson, the agency supervisor for NFI North, the organization running the school, said she hopes the charter school can still open this fall when school reconvenes.

“The grant was larger than we thought in terms of the application and filling that out,” Williamson said. “As far as how much money we’ll receive in terms of the budget, we will need outside funding and determine where we are going to go with this.”

The problem is not exclusive to the Contoocook charter school, however. New Hampshire’s federal grant for charter schools runs out in June and, Williamson said, the state cannot reapply until October, potentially leaving all Granite State charter schools to figure out their own funding for several months.

“We just want to make sure when we get into this we have our budget figures and our money in order, and make sure we are going in the right direction before we move forward,” she said. “We’re in the process of applying for the charter grant money from the state and we’ll be meeting with superintendents from the three school districts next week to determine funding.”

Moreover, Thomas Brennan, superintendent of the Kearsarge Regional School District, said he will meet with the commissioner of the New Hampshire Board Board of Education for clarification on the state’s fiscal obligation.

Still, the school, which may still open in the fall, received its charter at a New Hampshire Department of Education meeting in December, when Chairman David Ruedig also awarded charters to the New Hampshire Equestrian Academy Charter School in Rochester and Surry Village Charter School in Surry – bringing the state total to 12 charter schools.

A press release from the New Hampshire Center for School Reform describes the new charters as “... creating examples of entrepreneurial schools that provide new opportunities for New Hampshire public school students and planning budgets at 40 percent less than the statewide average.”

The plan is for Crossroads Learning Community Charter School to enroll up to 20 students from the three school districts the first year and work its way to 40 students the fifth year. Those enrolled will come from grades 7 through 12. The curriculum is intended for students that “the current system cannot reach, despite best efforts,” and will design individualized learning programs for students.

“I believe that for many years we, as superintendents and school districts throughout the state, have struggled with identifying where students who struggle in school can go – kids who are dropping out or who aren’t engaged in a typical school setting – we want somewhere for these students to go,” said Brennan.

Unlike other charter schools, the new Contoocook facility will attempt to close the gap and maintain communication between the charter school and the homeschool, and allow students to go back to their schools in some cases with someone from the charter school shadowing them.

Moreover, the charter school will also offer a professional development curriculum for teacher from the Bow, Hopkinton and Kearsarge school districts to receive training on working with different types of students.

More information on New Hampshire charter schools, can be obtained from www.nhschool reform.org.

Holt resigns: District seeks new head of schools

Bow Editor — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 17:28:00 GMT

By Ryan O’Connor
Staff Writer

After three years as head of the Bow School District, Superintendent Kathleen Holt will be leaving at the end of the school year.

“I’m not leaving for any bad reasons,” Holt said. “It’s a great school district. The people here are great, the staff is great, the school board is great, the parents are wonderful. It’s a really good school district. It has nothing to do with anything negative.”

Holt said she would rather not disclose all the reasons for leaving, but her main motivation is retirement. She notified the school board about her intentions in August.

Taking over in July 2003, Holt said she proud to have reached many of her goals she set out to accomplish such as instituting a new district-wide math program and a pilot program for student assessment that does not make distinctions off one score, but rather tracks a student’s progress throughout school.

Within the SAU, Holt said some highlights include starting a district newsletter and developing strong relationships with faculty and staff.

“I’ve worked really hard to build bridges with the staff and build trust and respect,” she said. “I hope they feel the same way and will continue to maintain a strong relationship with the SAU when I’m gone.”

The Bow School Board is forming a search committee for a new superintendent for the 2007-08 school year.

The committee will need two community members-at-large in addition to others from the district.

Interested residents should send letters of interest, including contact information, background and the reason why they want to serve to: Superintendent Search Committee. in care of Gayle Theos, Bow School District SAU 67, 32 White Rock Hill Road, Bow, NH 03304, or by e-mail to gtheos@bownet.org.

All applications will be reviewed by the school board and selections made based on information provided.