A Year Of
Achievement At Gilford High School
Submitted By Anthony
Sperazzo, Principal, Gilford High School
GHS students engaged in a STEM activity in the library with
their advisory
On behalf of the students and staff at
Gilford High School, I want to thank you for your continued support
of our programs. There have been some tremendous achievements that
we feel you should know about you.
We are thrilled by the journey our
students take after high school. 82% of the Class of 2015 attended a
two or four year college, 14% went into the workforce, while 4%
enlisted into a branch of the military. One of the reasons we feel
our students are prepared for their next career path is based on the
course offerings we provide to our students through a rigorous
curriculum. Our goal is one that personalizes education for each
child so we meet the needs for their future career. Our Advanced
Placement (AP) program continues to challenge our most motivated,
academically-prepared students who are likely to benefit most from
AP coursework. We continue to increase our AP course selection and
now boast ten AP courses where students can gain college credit. It
is our belief that by providing this level of academic rigor, we
better prepare students for the challenges of college as well as
developing the skills and academic background necessary to succeed
in the twenty first century. We are proud to report that 85% of GHS
students that took the AP exam in 2015 scored a 3 or better (3 or
better means the student has proven himself/herself capable of doing
the work of an introductory-level course in a particular subject at
college).
Five-Year AP Comparable Data Results
% of total AP students with scores 3+
Year/Group GHS NH Global
2015 85.0 74.3 60.6
2014 87.9 76.0 61.3
2013 82.2 74.9 60.9
2012 83.7 75.7 61.5
2011 77.8 76.6 60.2
GHS students continue to exceed state and
national Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) results. Students that took
the SAT in 2015 scored an average of 531 in reading, 544 in
mathematics, and 511 in writing.
Group/Exam Score Avg Reading Mathematics
Writing Gilford High School 531 544 511 New Hampshire 524 530 512
United States 497 513 487 GHS Top Individual Scores
(800 possible points) 720 800 720
The cast members in “Eurydice” qualified
to perform at the 2015 New England Theatre festival after moving on
at the New Hampshire State Theatre festival. In the fall, the
community was treated to the musical, “A Chorus Line”. Not only was
the drama department recognized for their outstanding performances,
but three students qualified for the All New England Band festival
out of 400 student musicians. GHS also had one student accepted into
the New Hampshire All State Jazz Festival and two students
auditioned and were accepted to the New England Music Festival.
Eamon Aldridge was one of 17 students
nationwide to win a National Gold Key Medal in photography through
the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Aldridge was one of 7,000 that
competed for this coveted medal. Aldridge’s work was exhibited at
Carnegie Hall in New York City and he also received a scholarship
for $10,000 towards pursuit of his artistic studies. GHS students
received a total of 29 awards from the New Hampshire Scholastic Art
Awards.
There were also five state titles won at
GHS in eight state championship appearances in 2015. The following
teams were crowned state champions: boys tennis, ice hockey, boys
cross country skiing, volleyball, and boys soccer. The girls alpine
ski team, girls basketball team, and field hockey team reached the
state championship game as well but could not overcome their
opponent. This is the first time in 20 years that GHS won five state
titles in a year and first time in school history GHS appeared in
eight title games!
GHS students continued to give back to
their communities. Sean Walsh’s woodworking class and Steve
O’Riordan’s business class worked collaboratively on a project that
developed a business plan to raise money to build flag shadow boxes
for the New Hampshire Veteran’s home in Tilton. All the money raised
in the business class went towards the costs of designing 60 flag
cases so that they could be given to Veterans’ family members after
they pass. WMUR was on hand to video the presentation when the
students presented the cases. This will be an ongoing project that
students will be exposed to.
We also continue to expose our students to
making connections with other cultures. We have a deep tradition of
exchange programs through our Modern Language Department. This year,
we hosted 21 students from Granada, Spain. They arrived on Labor Day
and stayed with student-host families for two weeks. The students
from Spain learned about our culture and we learned about theirs. In
2016, our students will travel to Spain to immerse themselves in
their culture. Twenty seven French students attended an exchange
program through Paris this past April.
Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts,
and Mathematics (STEAM) have been a major point of emphasis for
Gilford High School. Over the past year, our high quality staff has
provided opportunities for our students to be involved in promoting
these areas. They support our goal of preparing our students with
21st century skills so that they can be college and career ready. We
want students to analyze, collaborate, think critically, develop,
create, and problem solve so they can tackle any obstacle they are
faced with in the future. Some activities that have been organized
are the development of a tower for which a marshmallow must sit atop
while being the tallest free-standing structure. Another activity
was assembling a puzzle with their advisory made up of about 10-12
students in a matter of minutes. These activities continue to
provide our students with 21st century skills.
As you can see, the towns of Gilford and
Gilmanton have much to celebrate through achievements made by our
students. Please check the GHS website and click “GHS Happenings”
for an inside look at our school. I have used the famous quote many
times to describe Gilford and Gilmanton before, “It takes a village
to raise a child”. THANK YOU for your continued support for our
students at Gilford High School.
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