Parent/Teacher Conferences (Corrected Links)

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Thursday, March 17, 2016 is Parent Conference Day.  Please note that these conferences are only held in the afternoon, not in the evening.  Parents/Guardians should sign-up for a conference prior to March 14th using www.signupgenius.com. The directions for using SignUpGenius are attached here:  ​SIGNUPGENIUSSpring2016.pdf 

Parent/Teacher Conf., Progress Reports, TEDx & AP Exams Info.

Progress Reports

Progress Reports will be available for viewing in the community portal at 3:00pm on March 4th.  

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Thursday, March 17, 2016 is Parent Conference Day.  Please note that these conferences are only held in the afternoon, not in the evening.  Parents/Guardians should sign-up for a conference prior to March 14th using www.signupgenius.com. The directions for using SignUpGenius are attached here:  ​SIGNUPGENIUSSpring2016.pdf 

A reminder that Thursday, March 17th is a 1/2 day for conferences. Dismissal is at 10:50am.

AP EXAMS

It is time to order AP exams.  All registrations and payments are Due March 18th

AP Exam Information:  Click here

AP Exam Registration:  Click here

TEDx

Connor Meeds' Very Impressive "Design I Project"

Connor Meeds provides a well-written explanation of his impressive "Monster Project" for Design I class.  

The first real project of Design I is called the Monster Project, and the objective is to essentially push a photograph of yourself as far as you can using Photoshop. As an already self-taught user of Photoshop, I wanted to convey a deeper, abstract message, to the best of my abilities. 

Senior year is a time of academic closure before the real world; a time where years of hard work finally has rewarding payoffs, and this influenced me to create a picture representing the materialization of thought in its manipulation of our surroundings. 

Using a simple scene of writing, I was able to illustrate the thought that occurs within ourselves with the extension of rock above my head. As it continuously builds, pieces of rock break off, leaving footprints of our academic path. Individual strands of thought can become very powerful as they lead the 21st century in the creation of groundbreaking technology and innovation, thus, I illuminate this through branching jungle vines with the power to elevate surrounding desks. I hope to send a message to those throughout their academic career that thoughts have the ability to supersede the classroom walls to an eventual point of immense, materialized, impact. Work your hardest, and things will always payoff.

Question 1: (4-5 sentences)   What is going on in your “monster piece?”   How did you get your idea?   Did your idea change as you worked?

In my monster project, I transform a simple scene of writing - an internal fabrication of thoughts, into an abstract depiction of the internal through its materialization. I really wanted to convey learning's expanding characteristics through literal tampering of objects. Thus, my thoughts are portrayed as an almost paranormal-like rock form that appears to be constantly expanding to the point where pieces are breaking off as it becomes larger. The rock is unified with jungle vines, representing individual strands of thought, which branch out and grab my surroundings to express thought's elevated characteristics. At first, I wanted to portray my thoughts that centered around moving from Groton into a big city, however, I found that the portrayal of thought itself would be more abstract and unique as I went on. I initially created a double exposure picture, but I didn't think that was enough, so I expanded its black and white elements into a much more "crazy" work where many more things are going on.

Question 2: Explain how you made your piece.  What images did you use?   What demos/other research were needed to make this happen?   What were the most challenging technical aspects?   Which technical effects are the most successful? 

Before creating my first attempt, I browsed the design website you shared to scavenge some artistic elements that stood out to me. This abstract photo manipulation really grabbed my attention as it seemed almost paranormal-like: http://www.photoshoplady.com/photoshop-tutorial/create-unique-abstract-photo-manipulation/. However, I wanted to expand on this abstract depiction of the mind further than the tutorial's combination of it with city images. I harnessed the material on this guide to find the perfect rock photo. It offered the same wide view shot of a side of rock, and I cut out a piece which I thought looked best. I took around 30 photos of myself to fit the character of this scene. I found that the action of writing on a desk was a scene that surrounded my daily life as well as fitting the quality of invoking thought. To offer the gravity-breaking effect, I decided to take multiple pictures of the same desk from different angles. 

The other main image I used was a picture of vines: 

http://img01.deviantart.net/821f/i/2014/269/f/c/vines_flowers_growing_on_a_wall_stock_photo_2__png_by_annamae22-d80mkeu.png. I had to carefully cut out portions of these vines and warp them around the rocks in a realistic way and expand them to grasp onto the multiple desks around me. This was definitely the most challenging aspect of my work because it took careful consideration of which vines to use and careful warping of them without unrealistically modifying them. Another challenging part of my work was the necessity to add some brush spots for added effect. I believe I did a decent job, but it was challenging to find/make realistic brush patterns to accommodate for the style of my work. Plus, my white sweatshirt is not the best partner for grey brush marks - I should have wore a darker shirt to blend them better. In regards to what I was most successful with, I enjoyed adding multiple levels, curves, and black/white layer filters, and I like how they look. I made good use of clipping masks to remove the black/white filter on my face to add a sparkling effect, and also to apply a dim yellow color around the edges of the rock for color depth. Though I've never used the crystallization filter, I discovered it through the online tutorial and I really like how it blurs portions of the image to create a surreal scene, especially when layered over the clouds in the background. Overall, I loved every second of this project and can't wait to create more unique projects.

GD Robotics (The Robotomies)

Groton Dunstable Robotics Team 2016 Competitions to be Held in March

By Ginger Vollmar, Publicity for the GDRHS Robotics Team

The Groton Dunstable High School Robotics team, fondly known as "The Robotomies", will be participating in the 2016 FIRST Robotics “FIRST Stronghold” competitions in March. The team has been working hard and meeting almost daily for the last six weeks to design, build, program and test their robot.

After the 2016 challenge was announced, the team spent time working on a design and trying to decide which aspects of the challenge to focus on. A major decision had to be made about whether to use treads or pneumatic wheels on the drive train of the robot. They used a grid weighting system to make the decision but in the end the cost of buying treads and the time needed to ship and manufacture them eliminated treads as a possibility. The other major components of the design are the swing arm and the articulating arm (which is double jointed), which are to be used for maneuvering through defenses on the “field of battle” which is the team’s main strategy for scoring points in the competition.

The first competition will be held at WPI’s Harrington Auditorium on March 12th – 13th (100 Institute Rd., Worcester, MA. Saturday 8:00 – 6:00 and Sunday 8:00 – 6:00).

The 2nd competition will be held at the Providence Career and Technology Academy on March 25th – 26th (41 Fricker St. Providence, RI. Friday 8:00 – 6:00 and Saturday 8:00 – 6:00).

The competitions are very exciting events and we hope to get more spectators to come out and cheer on the team this year. You can come for part of the day or the entire day. The actual schedule for the days of the competition is not known ahead of time but our team will have a number of matches during each of the days.

You can visit our web site at team1277.org for more information about the Robotomies or like us on Facebook at “GD Team 1277”.

All funding for the Robotics team is privately raised. The Robotomies are thrilled to have gotten more sponsors this year. 

We would like to thank all of our current sponsors who provide funding for the entrance fees for the FIRST competitions and for materials. 

Thank you to: Justin J. Maynard Memorial STEM Innovation Scholarship; The Department of Defense STEM Program; The Society for American Military Engineers; Raytheon; Ted & Connie Lapres Fund; Mercury Systems; Groton Board of Trade; IBM Northeast Community Grant Program; GE Oil & Gas; Solidworks; the Webber Restaurant Group; Harris Corporation; MJR Engineering Co.; the Hughson Family; and the Adams Family. 

Additional sponsorships are always welcomed and appreciated.

If you have questions or would like to help support the Robotics team, please contact Mr. Mark Rocheleau at mrocheleau@gdrsd.org

Open House, Superintendent's Presentation & More

Open House & Superintendent's Presentation

Open House will be held on Thursday, March 3rd at 6:00pm.  Parents and guardians will run through a typical school day following the schedule of their child.  Please arrive with schedule in hand.

All high school parents are invited to hear the Superintendent's presentation about the district's needs assessment findings and how this will impact the 2017 district budget request. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions.

5:15 - 6:00 Superintendent's Presentation in the Blackbox Theater
6:00 - 8:00 Open House

Election Process

The Advisory Committee and the Social Studies Department is working hard to get the students excited about the election process.  The level of enthusiasm suggests a large percentage of the student body is engaged in the process.  Mr. Villagomez and students in his AP Government class are in the midst of a week-long on-campus campaign to energize the student body.  Tomorrow will feature a mock debate with 5 candidates represented.  

Hillary (led by Sophia Cronin)

Trump ( R.J. Murry)

Bernie (Cam Glennie)
Rubio (Brent Emerle)

Cruz (Gavin Gamache)

We will hold a mock election on the 8th of March.  

Crusaders Heading to Playoffs!

Boys Basketball (11-9)	Boys Hockey    (13-3-4)	Girls Basketball (16-4)
GD (#6) v. Marlboro (#3)	GD (#2) v. winner of North Middlesex/Wachusett	GD (#2) v. winner of Wayland/ Auburn
Thursday, March 3 at 7:00 p.m. Marlboro High School	Tuesday, March 8 at 5:30 p.m. Wallace Civic Center, Fitchburg	Friday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m. Groton Dunstable High School
Click HERE to see the Central Mass D2 Boys Basketball Brackets	Click HERE to see the Central Mass D3 Hockey Brackets	Click HERE to see the Central Mass D2 Girls Basketball Brackets

Attention Parents: Activities Survey

Extra Curricular Activities

We are trying to gather data about clubs and activities at our school. Your answers will help us assess which activities are currently running, how many students are involved in each activity, and how many activities each student participates in. Thank you for your time and attention.

Extra Curricular Survey

February 2016 Athletes of the Month

February 2016 Athletes of the Month

By Michael McCaffrey

Hockey – Ryan Dodge

Coach Brendan McCann on Ryan Dodge, “Ryan capped off a successful 2015-2016 regular season with a fantastic month of February, where he scored three goals to finish the year with a team leading 11. Asides from his offensive output, he also excels on the defensive side where his line continuously shuts down their opponents' offense.”

Boys Indoor Track & Field – Benjamin Hauk

Coach Angus MacDonald on Benjamin Hauk , “Benjamin has improved leaps and bounds over the course of this season.  He was our top distance scorer and led the team in the 2mile, mile, 1000m, and the 4 by 800m split.  Benjamin recently made it to the division 4 all state meet and was the first GDRHS distance runner to ever do so.”

Boys Basketball – Tyler LeClerc

Coach Greg Gilllette on Tyler LeClerc, “Tyler LeClerc. Tyler is always one of the first and last players at practice. He has a tremendous work ethic which has paid off late in the season. Tyler has been extremely clutch for us down the stretch both defensively and offensively.”

Girls Indoor Track & Field – Brianna Fischer

Coach Colleen Naboicheck on Brianna Fischer, “Brianna's enthusiastic, positive attitude and energy is prevalent at every practice and meet.  It's contagious and motivates her teammates.

Gymnastics – Auste Subaciute

Coach Bill Kane on Auste Subaciute, “Captain Auste finished her high school gymnastics career being the gymnast that contributed the most number of points for our team for the second year in a row.  She represented GD at the Senior Super Bowl and also qualified for high school State individuals!  She has been a great leader on our team and she will be missed next year!  We all wish her great success next year in college!

Varsity Girls Basketball – Jordan Wynn

Coach Mark Hennelly on Jordan Wynn, “Jordan is second in rebounding average (6.2 RPG) on the 16-4, Mid-Wach B League Champion Crusaders. Her 17 points helped propel the Crusaders to an upset of Belmont High School in the Spartan Classic over February vacation. Jordan is a tenacious, unselfish, intelligent young lady who will fulfill any role that is asked of her and is a constant source of encouragement/support for her teammates at all times.” 

Girls Alpine Ski - Alissa Johnson

Coach Rick Temple on Alissa Johnson, “Girls Team Captain Alissa Johnson has finished up her High School racing career by qualifying for the Massachusetts State Championship Race. She exemplifies leadership and positive attitude, and will be missed by her team and coach.”

Boys Alpine Ski – Will Premru 

Coach Rick Temple on Will Premru, “Boys Team Captain Will Premru finished up his Junior year by qualifying for the Massachusetts State Championship Race. His hard work and dedication has paid off with outstanding results.”