New Boston News : Kids & Family

Hillsborough County Fair is Sept. 5 to 7

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:20:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

For yet another year, visitors will flock to New Boston for the annual event that showcases the popularity of agriculture in the Granite State.

The Hillsborough County Agricultural Fair will set up shop from Friday, Sept. 5, through Sunday, Sept. 7, for its 51st year, with an estimated attendance of between 10,000 to 15,000 visitors.

Janell George, secretary for the fair’s Board of Directors, said the fair appeals to visitors because of its variety and value. “It’s overall family fun without a huge price tag. It’s a good family entertainment value. It’s very important to offer a wide range of interest. This year especially, families are being very selective in what they’re doing,” said George. “The fair gives a lot of options and things to see and do for a fairly low cost compared to some other types of entertainment.”

George said one of the most popular events at the fair each year is the giant pumpkin weighoff, which happens Friday, as well as the horse and oxen pulls that take place both Saturday and Sunday.

Having activities for people of all ages is something the fair’s organizers take pride in, said George.

“We try to make it a full family affair from age 0 to age 100 and 0,” she said. “We don’t want rides just for teenagers or tractors for the older crowd. We’re not trying to appeal to just one sector of the population, but all of them.”

Although the fair takes place in the fall, the process of preparation goes on throughout the year.

“We work on it all year long, and as it draws closer to the event, the anticipation and excitement are higher. We know what we have planned, and we’re not sure exactly how it’ll turn out, so that’s an excitement builder,” said George. “We try to offer new things to attract new people who haven’t been before. It’s exciting for us to see what works and what we can bring in.”

Even though it is a technology- run time, George said it is important to show New Hampshire residents how important agriculture is.

“It’s part of the heritage of the fair. With a huge emphasis on agriculture for the area, with keeping that aspect of it, we can show that New Hampshire isn’t turning into a giant Boston,” said George. “We still keep that rural feel and have people with the access to that agricultural world. Right in their backyard is rural New Hampshire, they don’t have to travel too far to see the countryside.”

The admission price for one day is $10 for adults and $5 for children 6 to 12. A three-day pass is $24 for adults and $12 for children 6 to 12.

Libraries offer adult reading programs

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:19:00 GMT

BY CAROLE KLEMENT HUXEL

Many times, adults may ask themselves, “Why should children be the ones having all the fun?” Well this summer, the adults are the center of attention at the Goffstown and New Boston public libraries.

Both libraries already have adult programs in place for their patrons. Book discussion groups take place inside the libraries and online. Audiobooks are available on cassette, CD, iPod Shuffle, direct download and a new audio format called the Playaway. There are enrichment programs during the day and in the evening to accommodate a variety of schedules, and the Goffstown Library offers a monthly writer’s group called The Blank Page.

Patrons don’t look for adult-themed summer reading programs, yet they are very receptive to the idea once it’s offered.

“We knew there would probably be an audience,” said Sandy Whipple of Adult Services and Outreach in Goffstown.

Pat Fickett, assistant director of the Whipple Free Library in New Boston, said, “A lot of the moms are mentors for their child’s reading program,” so the initial audience was already built into the library.

The Whipple Library has nearly three dozen adult readers signed up for their program, even though summer is considered a slow time of the year.

The librarians in Goffstown wanted to do a Medieval theme program for a long while, and director Dianne Hathaway had no problem deciding on Readers of the Round Table for summer 2008.

“A Medieval theme is so rich with material and potential,” said Whipple. The summer began with a Medieval Faire, complete with period costumes and entertainment, and carried through many of the family programs in July.

Whipple Free Library in New Boston chose Basking in Books as its adult theme, reminding patrons that summer reading should be, “A time to bask in books, follow an author, an interest or just dabble in the delights of reading whatever you desire.”

Both libraries are holding raffles that encourage adult readers to enter their name in a weekly drawing each time they finish a book or attend an event. Prizes contributed by many local restaurants, gift shops, gas stations, spas, flower shops and bakeries, among other well-known establishments, are going out to several people each week.

Among the many scheduled events in Goffstown were a program on the American Ballad, featuring John Perrault, former poet laureate of Portsmouth, and an introduction to labyrinths with local artist Diane Ryan.

“We started talking about this last year and wondered, ‘Why not?’” said Whipple. “We began providing adult programs almost monthly in January, and we’ve been focused outward on the entire community,” not just children.

This year, 2008, is an important year for the Goffstown Library, as they have opted to participate in the Finlay Challenge.

The Finlay Foundation has challenged every public library in New Hampshire to increase their cardholders, and the library with the biggest percentage growth will win $25,000. The Readers of the Round Table summer reading program was already well in the planning stages when the challenge was announced, but the staff in Goffstown are using every opportunity to win that reward.

Three New Boston skiers breathe rare air of regionals

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:49:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

One by one they took their turn: three skiers from one school, all representing one town at one exclusive event.

Though their ages and ethnicities varied, Goffstown High School’s Julie Clark, a junior; Milos Bohonek, a junior foreign-exchange student from the Czech Republic; and Thomas Joy, a freshman, were the only three Division I skiers to participate in the Eastern High School Alpine Championships (EHSAC).

The three New Boston residents joined 21 other Granite Staters competing at Cranmore Mountain from March 14 to 16. To get there, each had two top-10 runs, in a combination of slalom and giant slalom, at the Meet of Champions at Gunstock on Feb. 21.

To have three skiers reach the EHSAC is unprecedented at Goffstown High School, said coach Elizabeth Moody, who started the team in 1994 when her son Ben was a student at GHS. “I don’t know if it’s anything in particular we’ve done (as a program),” said Moody. “Probably, we’re just lucky having three skiers that came in that have skied quite a lot.”

At Cranmore, Clark finished 16th overall on slalom with a tworun combined time of 1 minute, 49.29 seconds. Her second-run, 52.34 seconds, was ninth best among over 200 starts. On giant slalom, Clark took 56th with an overall time of 2:02.48.

For the boys, the second run was canceled in giant slalom, which gave Joy a 15th-place finish with a one-run time of 51.26 seconds.

On slalom, the freshman earned a 28th-best time of 48.82 seconds in his first run, but faltered on his second attempt and came in 82nd with a combined 2:02.48.

Likewise, Bohonek’s 53.35- second run took 28th among second attempts, but he did not finish the first try.

Clark has been on the GHS team since her freshman year and has reached the Meet of Champions each season. The berth at Eastern Nationals is her first. A National Honors Society student, she has been skiing since she was 3 and has competed since she was 8.

Clark’s father is a diehard skier and coach, so her affinity for the sport is not a stretch. “My dad used to race in college, and my older sister used to race too, so it’s just a family thing,” she said.

In fact, Clark’s sister, Abby, along with Moody’s son, Ben, are the only two Grizzlies to reach Eastern Nationals prior to this year, said the coach “Julie’s just a much stronger skier than most girls her age,” said Moody. “She’s probably got a lot more mileage … She’s just so strong on the slopes.” Clark said her two male teammates really impressed her this season.

“Thomas is very good skier, especially for being so small and young,” she said. “And I think Milos is a really strong kid. He’s done very well for himself coming over from the Czech Republic.” Like Clark, Joy and Bohonek have been skiing nearly their entire lives.

Competing at Pat’s Peak since he was a child, Joy’s transition to the high school circuit was relatively painless.

Moody said Alpine skiing is one of the few sports where a freshman can be just as successful as a senior, though she added that Joy is an exceptional talent. “It’s kind of different being up there (at Cranmore) with all seniors and juniors knowing I’m one of the youngest kids,” said Joy. It’s a lot of fun, just different for me.”

Joy said he trains nearly every day, from first snowfall through the final melt.

Though raised half a world away, Bohonek’s upbringing wasn’t much different.

“My parents and my grandparents spent a lot of time in the mountains,” said Bohonek. “My parents are more climbers, but for some reason they decided to teach me how to ski. I started when I was 3.”

The transition to New England skiing was easy, he said, as conditions are much like those he experienced in the Czech Republic.

During the fall, however, he and his family took several trips to Austria to get an early start on the season.

The difference in countries, he said, is roughly the equivalent of skiing in New Hampshire vs. Colorado.

Bohonek said his home school only has a club program, so the opportunity to compete at the varsity level made the school year in New Hampshire more than worthwhile. The fact he’s met so much success makes it all the better.

NBCS tries new approach to student behavior

Goffstown Editor — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 14:47:00 GMT

By Rod Hansen
Staff Writer

Recognition can work just as well as punishment in creating an orderly school environment.

That’s the guiding theory behind PBIS, an approach to education that centers on recognizing good behavior as a means of creating an orderly school environment.

Educators at New Boston Central School have adopted PBIS, or Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, as a means of improving student behavior this year.

The strategy provides staff and students with clear and consistent expectations, and praises children who meet behavioral standards, said Assistant Principal Tori Tuthill.

“It’s an opportunity to work together on expectations for both staff and students,” Tuthill said.

The program will focus on several areas of concern throughout the year, beginning with hallways, she said. Specifically, the program will first concentrate on unstructured time in the hallways, such as when children are walking to use the restrooms.

Expectations for hallway behavior are posted throughout the school, Tuthill said. Students seen following the rules are given a ticket in recognition of their good behavior. Students to receive 10 tickets are given a colored bracelet for their achievement.

School officials hope to award 80 percent of the students with bracelets, Tuthill said, and ordered enough bracelets for all of the school’s 526 students, she said.

To keep expectations consistent throughout the school, rules for behavior are also posted in teachers’ areas, Tuthill said.

“We (teachers) need to be quiet in the hallways too,” Tuthill said. “It allows for consistency, that teachers follow the same rules as students.”

Other areas to be covered throughout the school year include bathrooms, recess, cafeteria and work completion, said Principal Rick Matthews.

The school’s participation in PBIS originated with Matthews, Tuthill and school board member Audrey Schneider attending a workshop on the subject last October.

Following that, Eric Mann of the Bedford-based Southeastern Regional Education Services Center gave a presentation on the subject to the staff of the New Boston School District.