News from Regional School District No. 6

I hope that you had a wonderful New Year and I wish you all joy for 2012. My New Year's wish came a little late because I spent the first week of 2012 very ill - that was no way to ring in the New Year. In any event, I am happy and healthy and looking forward to 2012 with great optimism for Wamogo. As a school, we have come a long way, and I know we will continue to make great strides in the future.

Please make sure to check out our website @ www.rsd6.org for events and activities.

Wishing you all the best,

Bill Egan

Connecticut Scholastic Art Awards Competition

The Wamogo Fine Arts Department is proud to announce that the following students have had their work entered into the Connecticut Regional Scholastic Art Awards competition:

Kailey Truczinskas, gr 7, painting

Addison Keilty, gr 9, drawing

Zachary Shemms, gr 10, drawing

Elliott Hall, gr 11, photograph

Robin Carlson, gr 10, drawing

Hayley Gravel, gr 12, photograph

Brooke Bittel, gr 12, Art Portfolio

Erin Thoms, gr 12, Photography Portfolio

Scholastic Art Awards is the largest and most prestigious secondary school art competition of its kind. Just to be chosen to send one's work to Scholastic is an honor in itself. Each art teacher can choose only 4 students to submit work. In a typical year, over 1300 pieces of artwork are submitted from most of the middle and high schools throughout Connecticut. About 25% are chosen for awards, and in the case of portfolios, students can earn scholarships. Students who win Gold Keys at the Regional level have their work forwarded to the National competition in New York City. Wamogo has had National winners in the past, such as Jennifer Miller '06 and Candace Breakell '07.

Robin Christopher and Wendy Costa, Wamogo Art Teachers

Please click on Ms. Costa's Website to see this year's artwork!

Robotics Team #1784

First Robotics Competition Kick Off was held Saturday, January 7 at Farmington High School. Students from Wamogo and Litchfield High Schools attended as one team, along with many other teams from our region. The students on our collaborative team (#1784) worked side by side to create the base structure and electronics board for this year's difficult challenge "Rebound Rumble." Additionally, they attended workshops on CAD/CAM design with Auto Desk and programming with JAVA. Our building/programming sessions will begin this Monday and will run from 2:30pm - 6:00pm Mondays through Fridays. This schedule is designed to accommodate participants' busy lives. Students can arrive any time during this block and stay for as long or as little as they are able. Each week we will try to keep you posted on our progress. If you get a chance, please come by and check it out for yourself. If any parents are interested in sharing their professional skills with our team as a mentor, we would be honored to have you. Please contact Lori Dight, Wamogo's Team Adviser at ldight@rsd6.org. Go Team #1784!

Ag-Ed News

Friday, January 13th: Making wearable floral arrangements with Morris sixth graders

Permission slips and money for the Farm and Forest Expo trip are due by January 13th - tomorrow!

Guidance News

College Goal Sunday

GET FREE HELP FILLING OUT THE FAFSA!

At College Goal Sunday, students and parents can talk to experts and get in-depth help filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

In addition to receiving assistance in filling out the FAFSA, participants will receive general information regarding state and federal financial aid programs. To register for this eventand to find out more information about this opportunity, visit the website http://www.collegegoalsundayct.org.

The next event will take place on Sunday, January 29, 2012, 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m at many sites throughout the state. One site is Naugatuck Valley Community College. Visit this website to find more locations:(http://www.collegegoalsundayct.org/locations).

Music/Tech News

Wamogo Morning News

On Wednesday January 25, 2012, Wamogo's Video Production class will be premiering it's Morning News program. The show will be anchored by Steven Santovasi and Ashley Cotnoir with Brendan Roden covering sports. Erin Thoms will be producing and Colin Truczinskas and Matt Yoelsen will be filming and editing the show. The show can be viewed directly from the Wamogo homepage at www.rsd6.org . A preview of what is in store for the first episode is available as this week's "video of the week." The show will be filmed and aired every other week, at first, with plans to run more frequently by the end of the school year. If anyone has any school related topics they wish to be covered, please feel free to contact Mr. Siegel at csiegel@rsd6.org.

Middle School Regional Music Auditions

This past Saturday, 26 6th-8th grade Region 6 music students auditioned for the Northern Region Middle School Regional Festival at King Philip Middle School in West Hartford. All of the students did a wonderful job and based on their scores, a select few will be chosen to represent Region 6 in the upcoming Regional Festival in March.

High School Regional Music Festival

This Friday and Saturday, January 13 and 14 , Clare Burke, Isabel Exstein and Ella Johnson will be traveling to New Britain High School to perform in the Northern Region High School Regional Music Festival. These students were selected to represent Wamogo based on their auditions this past November and have also qualified to audition for the Connecticut All-State Festival this April.

Congratulations to these three young ladies!