Noted
for its variety of programs and extra-curricular activities, Trumbull High offers
incredible opportunities for young people to extend their academic horizons. During
the 2003 - 2004 academic year, three of Trumbull High School's academic teams
demonstrated an outstanding level of knowledge and a competitive spirit, winning
competitions at the district, state and regional levels. Building on the rich
heritage established by these three academic teams, there are two high school
clubs that are emerging and developing as academic teams and may make their mark
on the region in the near future: the Model United Nations Club and the Debate
Club. In addition, Trumbull High School boasts two student publications that have
achieved recent first-place status: the Trillium yearbook and the Eagle's Eye
newspaper.
We the People
We
the People...The Citizen and the Constitution, a nationally acclaimed program,
challenges high school seniors to expand and demonstrate their knowledge and understanding
of the United States government and constitutional principles. Former Supreme
Court Justice Warren Burger commemorated the 1787 writing and signing of the Constitution
by instituting this learning challenge for our nation's high school government
students. These students have the opportunity to evaluate, take and defend positions
on relevant historical and contemporary issues through competitions that take
place on the district, state, and national levels.
Trumbull High School has enjoyed remarkable success in this program. For the 13th
time in the 17 years since its inception, the 2004 THS We the People team won
the state competition and the right to represent Connecticut in the national finals
in Washington, D.C., where students "testify" before panels of expert
judges. The 2003 team was the third THS team to win "Top Ten" honors
at nationals.
Each year, the 24
THS team members, under the guidance of advisor Peter Sullivan, are divided into
six major units, each addressing a constitutional topic. All members of each unit
participate in initial four-minute speeches, then contribute their opinions during
the six-minute question and answer sessions with the judges. Many of the team
members consider participating in this highly challenging competition to be the
experience of a lifetime.
Fed
Challenge
The
Fed Challenge, a national competition for high school economics students, requires
them to analyze the current state of the economy, provide a near term forecast
and suggest a course for interest rates.
The Fed Challenge competition was founded by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
in 1996, and THS joined in the challenge in 1997. THS teams have been quarterfinalists
every year.
Students provide
a 25-minute, performance-based assessment at the participating Federal Reserve
Bank, in this case the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This performance consists
of two parts: a 15-minute presentation based on the work of the Federal Open Market
Committee (FOMC) and a ten-minute question and answer session. Federal Reserve
Bank officials and staff members judge the performance.
The team, coached by advisors Gerald McCloghry and John Makarewicz, consists of
five presenters and two alternates.This year's team started out their first round
of competition at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on March 22 as one of 108
teams and advanced to the semi-finals as one of 26 on April 1st. They won a seat
in the top six and competed in the District Finals at the FRBNY on April 25. Trailing
only two New Jersey teams, they finished third in these finals. This is the farthest
that any Connecticut high school team has advanced in this competition.
The
Trumbull High School Math Team is comprised of students in grades 9 through 12
who enjoy learning and competing in mathematics. Members of the team meet with
advisor Bill Wilkes on Wednesdays after school throughout the academic year. They
are taught faster, more insightful techniques of problem solving, study more advanced
topics, and gain both an understanding and appreciation of mathematical proof
and development of theorems and formulas.
These students compete as a team against 16 other schools in the Fairfield County
Mathematics League. Teams that qualify are invited to participate in the Connecticut
and New England competitions. In addition to these contests, students also participate
in the American Mathematics Competition. Students who do well enough are asked
to take the American Mathematics Exam.
This year, Trumbull's results were impressive in both test scores and competitions.
Two-thirds of the team was invited to take the American Invitational Mathematics
Exam, and Steven Chiou made Trumbull history by becoming one of only six students
from Connecticut to advance to the U.S. Mathematical Olympiad. In addition, each
year 40 students from Connecticut are chosen to compete in the American Regional
Mathematics League competition. This year 10% of them were THS students.
In team competition, while Hopkins and Choate won the small- and medium-school
division championships, the Trumbull students won the large-school Connecticut
title. This earned them a place in the New England competition where they defeated
every large school from five states, finishing seventh behind six extremely competitive
Massachusetts teams.
Trillium
Trumbull
High School students create an annual record of the people and events of their
school year, setting forth an award-winning yearbook called the Trillium. Under
the advisorship of Susan Berescik and Andrea Kremzar and the leadership of student
editors-in-chief, 30 to 50 students from all grades contribute to the yearbook
and help to make each year's edition unique with its own theme and flavor.
Producing
award-winning yearbooks has become something of a tradition at THS. The 2003 "Gold
Mine" won several outstanding awards. Its theme showcased the merits of the
school as it prepared for the 10-year New England Association of Secondary Schools
and Colleges (NEASC) evaluation. The New England Scholastic Press Association
awarded the Trillium "Best Book All-New England." It was recognized
for its excellence in editing and publishing and ranked "Highest Achievement"
for Class I, schools with an enrollment of more than 1,000 students. "Gold
Mine" also earned special awards for Best Feature Photo in a yearbook in
New England and Best Feature Story for a two-page spread. The American Scholastic
Press Association also awarded the Trillium first place with a perfect score in
creativity. The National Scholastic Press Association recognized the Trillium
with a first-place honor rating and a mark of distinction for photography.
The 2004 yearbook theme, "Swinging on a Star," captured the "inherent
sparkle" created by the students and faculty early in the year when the NEASC
evaluation was conducted. Nearly everyone in the THS community had an opportunity
to shine in this year's edition with a page count of 320 and an additional 56-page
spring supplement. Student editors and staff put in an estimated 8,600 hours of
energetic work, writing and rewriting copy, taking pictures, designing page layouts,
editing and making phone calls, all with the collective goal of producing an outstanding
publication. This year's editors will find out next year if they too have created
an award-winning yearbook. Based on the public's reaction, they have nothing to
worry about!
The
Eagle's Eye, THS's student newspaper, is an example of how our local students
have put forth great effort in improving upon the past and striving for excellence.
This year the expanded staff and experienced editors produced six issues of the
Eagle's Eye. Their efforts were rewarded when, upon submission of monthly issues
for judging to the American Scholastic Press Association, the Eagle's Eye tallied
930 points out of a possible 1,000 in the areas of content, creativity and overall
plan and received a first-place award, recognizing it as an exceptional student
publication.
During homeroom and
in English classes students grab the latest editions of the Eagle's Eye to become
better informed about current issues, school happenings, upcoming and past club
activities, local sporting events, and current music and movies. The newspaper
is divided into five sections: News, Opinions, Features, Entertainment and Sports,
each with a designated editor and a team. Advisor Jacqueline Hennessey incorporated
articles written by students in her Journalism I and II classes, making these
students staff members. The larger staff led to new features, reorganization of
page layouts, and more journalistic coverage.
Model
United Nations
This year, the
newest addition to the academic extra-curricular activities at Trumbull High School
is Model United Nations, a group that brings global perspective to students.
Driven by the enthusiasm of John Sakakini, a junior who was active in the Model
UN chapter in his former high school in Austin, Texas, the student body and administration
of Trumbull High responded enthusiastically as more than 40 members joined within
the first month. These students were intrigued by the opportunity to become more
aware of the current crises facing the world and the powers working to solve them.
True to the name, the Model UN emulates the procedures of the United Nations.
Pairs of students role play as representatives from UN member nations, discovering
firsthand the trials and tribulations of keeping peace throughout the world. After
weeks of poring through newspapers and avidly watching the news, "delegates"
took part in mock conferences. With advisor Sean Cafferty's guidance, they flaunted
their breadth of knowledge through orations, some riveting and others tinted with
humor. Delegates attempted to persuade peers that certain resolutions were the
best way to settle dilemmas, all within the parliamentary procedure of the UN
headquarters.
Student leaders are
currently working to help THS Model UN become more active in the region. In the
future, all of the "mock conference" practice will pay off as the group
participates in real conferences, with fellow Model UN members from area schools.
This club shows promise for success within the regional Model United Nations community.
Debate
Club
The Debate Club also shows
promise for the future. Guided by advisor Keegan Finlayson, it meets every other
week to debate such controversial topics as censorship of student publications,
whether the European Union is the new world superpower, the Partial Birth Abortion
Ban Act of 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom and same-sex marriage. Members take responsibility
for researching the topics prior to a meeting. The day of the debate, they are
separated into small groups to defend either the affirmative or negative position.
While the club has 15 regular and active debaters, more than 50 students are members
of the club and participated in club-sponsored debates throughout the year. This
year THS sent two teams to compete at the State Capitol in The Great Connecticut
High School Debate, co-sponsored by the Connecticut Consortium for Law and Citizenship
Education and the Office of the Secretary of the State. The Debate Club also sponsored
two seminars on public-speaking open to the THS student body, as well as a school
debate tournament.
According to
Club President Chad Ciocci, the club is in the process of forming an official
debate team for interscholastic competitions, recruiting students and coaches
committed to the study and practice of the fine art of debate. Expect to see a
good showing next year from this young and promising team.
