Hinsdale High School Shows ELOs Offer Exciting Opportunities

CONCORD – Hinsdale High School held its ELO Exhibition Day on May 18, 2018, at the school’s campus in Hinsdale. Twenty students gave one-hour presentations as part of the event during morning and afternoon sessions. ELO is an acronym for “extended learning opportunities,” a program which gives students the chance to learn a skill and acquire knowledge outside of a traditional classroom setting, while also working with mentors and teachers.

Assessment panels – featuring teachers, community members, and parents – were also in attendance to evaluate the students' learning and competency in their fields.

The exhibitions ranged from police and firefighting training to construction and engine repair, child nutrition and school safety, veterinarians, nursing, and other professions.

The theme of this year’s exhibition was Use Your Voice; Tell Your Story. ELO Program Coordinator Karen Thompson hoped the students would define their own learning while presenting their new skills while using real-world applications. She noted that about 50 percent of the school’s seniors were involved in some sort of ELO program this year. Next year, more than a third of the students at the school were expected to be involved in an ELO.

Deputy Commissioner Christine Brennan of the New Hampshire Department of Education viewed the morning presentations and congratulated the students for their exhibitions and hard work.

"After listening to the students, I was impressed by how engaged and reflective they were about their learning," she said. "These ELO students experienced opportunities that will allow them to make good decisions as they move forward into their futures."

The exhibition included:

• Rachael Girroir checking the fetus of a pregnant cow;
• Kelsi Clement performing an examination on a beagle;
• Peter McCosker presenting tools and details of his family’s home that he helped to build (he has work lined up due to the apprenticeship);
• Trevor Cloutier showing his intricate motor cleaning and repair work;
• Maggie Barcomb performing a nursing exhibition (she is now a registered LNA);
• Kramer Marshall Tasing a padded off-duty police officer during a mock domestic incident;
• Brandon Denno and Jesse Levasseur constructing a trophy case that was donated to the school;
• Lauren Southwick presenting her training so she can become a teacher;
• Carter Finnell and Alexis Johnson working as journalists;
• Ion Handelman assisting at the Applewood Rehabilitation Center;
• Brandy Phillips-Tacy interning at the Winchester Town Hall;
• Victoria Gassett and Zachary Gassett securing the scene of a hypothetical gas leak;
• Lily Burke helping children prepare healthy snacks;
• Kirstin Ames working in a childcare center and learning about brain development;
• Becca Thomas speaking about improving school violence prevention plans;
• Gabby LeClair and Caleb Steever working in physical education classes.

Congratulations to all of the students at Hinsdale High School as well as their mentors, coordinators, and teachers.

• Extended Learning Opportunities