Mrs. Browning's Real World Writing students have been hard at work again this week, reporting on Heritage happenings. 

April 28 through 30, Heritage qualifiers competed against several other schools at the GISA state track meet in Albany. The Heritage boys placed twelfth overall, and the girls finished in sixth place. JP Weaver, team coach, commented: "it went well [and] we look forward to next year."  Although there were no first place finishes, several personal best times were set.

Aleisha Khan and Joel Prock were both finalists on Thursday morning's events. Khan ran the 1600m run in 6:19.62 minutes, putting her in 7th place overall for the girls. Prock also ran the 1600m run in 5:22.23 minutes, placing 6th overall for the boys.   Coach JP commented:  "I was very proud of both Aleisha and Joel's times. Aleisha finished out the season with a very strong time, and Joel had just previously gotten a personal best time in the 3200m race."

Friday's events consisted of finals for all field events and the finals for the 800m run.

The athletes started the day out well with the 800 meter dash.   Sophomores, Mackenzie York and Will Thompson, achieved personal bests in the 800 meter dash, and Aleisha Khan placed 8th overall with a time of 2:45 in the girls 800 meter run. York placed 11th with a 2:48, beating her previous best by 5 seconds. Thompson placed 12th with a 2:25, beating his previous best by 4 seconds.

Freshman, David Bready, placed 6th in the high jump with a height of 5 feet, 4 inches. This tied his previous best jump before slamming his elbow on the upright on his last jump of the day. Sophomore, Chase Parker, also placed 4th in the high jump with a height of 4 feet, 10 inches which topped her previous best by 2 inches.

Senior, Logan Kimball, placed 2nd in the shot-put, throwing an amazing 43 feet, 7 inches. This beat his previous best by a full 2 feet 6 inches. Sophomore, Mackenzie York, also threw shot-put, placing 13th with a throw of 23 feet, 6 inches.

Senior, John Veal, and Junior, Julie Thames, placed 10th and 13th, respectively, in the discus with throws of 91 feet, 5 inches and 57 feet, 10 inches.

John Veal placed 4th in the boy's 110 meter hurdle race on Saturday with a time of 18.09 seconds.  John also competed in the 300 meter hurdles and came in 10th place with a time of 47.99 seconds.

In the 400 meter dash, David Bready came in 5th place with a time of 56.02 seconds for the boys. On the girls side, Mackenzie York placed 6th with a time of 1:07.24.

For the girl's 100m hurdles, Chase Parker came in 2nd place with a time of 16.33 seconds on Saturday.

The men's 4X4 relay finished in eighth place, with a time of 4:00.61. The team consisted of freshman, David Bready, sophomore, Will Duke, eighth grader, Trevor Sawyers, and senior, John Veal.
 
The Heritage Lady Hawks 4x400 relay finished in seventh place. Team members were sophomore, Chase Parker, senior, Aleisha Khan, sophomore, Mackenzie York, and junior, Julie Thames.  The team finished in 4:44.34, a new best for the girls relay.

By eighth grader, Tripp Brown, senior, Mary Grace Gillmann, juniors, Corey Roberts, Neil Kirkland, and Kaitlin Pepper, and sophomore, Donald Breyne

On Wednesday,  fifth grade students graduated from the S.A.F.E. program. This twelve-week program, led by Lt. Stephen Crook, taught students the importance of staying drug, alcohol, and violence free.   Students also learned about internet safety and the dangers of peer pressure.  Each year, students write an essay pledging their commitment to stay drug and alcohol free.  Lt. Crook and his staff choose two essays that they believe best represent the S.A.F.E program.  This year's winners were Jenna Bridges and Mitchell NeSmith.  Both students were presented with medals for their achievement and were asked to read their essays at the graduation ceremony.  This year's Leadership Awards were presented to Allie Browning and Ean Lawrence.  This prestigious award went to two students who showed hard work and dedication throughout the entire program.  The teachers would like to thank Lt. Crook, Ms. Griffith, and the parents for their support.   

The French Department is excited to offer a trip to France and Switzerland next Spring.   Departing March 28 and returning on April 6, 2012, students will spend the first three days in Paris, where, in addition to visiting popular tourist sites, students will go to an "'Ecole Boulangerie," where they will learn to bake bread in the traditional French style.  They will also dine at "58 Tour Eiffel, " a restaurant which is located in the Eiffel Tower.

From Paris, students will head to Geneva, Switzerland, and then back to Chamonix, France, in the Alps.  In Chamonix, they will compete in a scavenger hunt to learn more about the culture of this alpine town.

From Chamonix, the students will head to the Riviera, visiting Nice and its beaches and the beautiful town of Eze.  They will also visit the famous Fragonard perfume factory where they will be able to create a custom perfume scent.

This trip is open to all Upper School students and their parents.   The cost of the trip is $3,231 for travelers who sign up with a $195 registration deposit by June 30.  Students with airline flight privileges may participate in the trip for a price of $2,424 if they register by June 30.  These costs include everything except lunch on each day of the trip.  Interested travelers may also elect to set up a monthly payment plan for the trip through the tour company, ACIS.

For more information, read the flyer.  Please contact Alice Browning at abrowning@heritagehawks.org with questions.

Thanks to an extremely generous donation from Andy's Nursery, coupled with the hard work from Co-Presidents Hannah Smith and Kaitlin Pepper, the Garden Club has successfully installed its vegetable, herb, and perennial garden.  Andy's Nursery's truck pulled up at the school loaded with all the plants the Garden Club requested.  Students continue to water, monitor, mulch, and stake the plants that are growing beautifully beside the Lower School playground.  The Garden Club members are excited to continue to watch it grow and are looking forward to the harvest time this summer.  Come take a look!  We are growing tomatoes, blueberries, peppers, squash, eggplant, cucumbers, and zucchini, alongside mint, basil and rosemary.