S t a r s of Keene High School

Mr. Chmiel has been doing some form of staff recognition since he has been a principal.
The STAR clock started two years ago at Bethel High School, Bethel, Ct. to recognize staff members who go above and beyond to improve the academic or cultural atmosphere of the school.
Mr. Chmiel strongly believes, “Little Things, Make A Huge Difference,” and when we recognize these accomplishments by our staff members, it makes a big difference to them and validates
their accomplishments to the entire group. At each month’s faculty meeting, House Principals,
CCC Director, H.S. Principal can award a clock for something they have noticed and should be recognized.

Mary Striffolino - Ex. Sec.
Producing the first edition of “Blackbird Beacon.”
Shannon Perry - Fine Arts
Adding the “Blackbird Beacon" and the weekly calendar to the KHS Website.
Natalie Ahnert - Mathematics
Renee Stout
- Special Ed.
Organizing the freshman orientation program.
Suzanne Sharon -Special Ed.
Smooth start to the school year in the Special Education Dept.
Alan Chmiel - Principal
Facilitating the use of hyphenated names to First Class.
Brenda Dunn - English
Revision of the Professional Development book.
Sonja Leslie - Mathematics
Working with her department to remove the Math Dept. from AYP.
David Dauphin - Ind. Tech.
Randy Burns
- Indust.Tech.

Working with the Alstead donated home, delivered on October 9th.

Kelly Budd - Media Gen.
Transition of the yearbook and a great start as the new KHS librarian.

Ray MacLean – Special Ed.
Working with students on their state portfolio assessments.
Linda Merrill – Business
Producing business cards for staff members who requested them, over 50 requests.

Rachael Summe-Leonard -
Social Studies
Filling in for Bob Morse in gold house during his extended absence.

Jane Rokes - Red House Administrative Assistant
Helping Peter Benson get off to a smooth start as Red House Assistant Principal.

Mindy Hill - Athletic Dir.
and Main Guid. Admin. Asst.

Staying beyond her regular hours to get the job done.
Lori-Jean Baker - Gold House Administrative Assistant
Kendra DiLegge - Gold House Guidance Counselor

Keeping things running in Gold House during the asst. principal’s extended absence.
Diane Paquette - Mathematics
Outstanding classroom instruction - student/parent responses.
Michele Gates - Green House Guidance Counselor
Remarkable attitude towards students & staff each day.
Laurine Parker - Life Ed.
Jen Antosiewicz -
Life Ed.
Presenting a CPR class for staff.
Bill Derry - English
Receiving the NH Sportsmanship Award this season for the Girls Cross Country Team.
John Rokes - Hall Monitor
Tom Fowler -
Indust. Tech.
Developing and manufacturing the plexiglas informational signs in the building.
Scott Rogers-Life Education
Working with students, staff and community in promoting KHS in the Cheshire Room Restaurant.
Cliff Lerner - Science
Named Conservation Teacher of the Year from the NH Assn. of Conservation Districts.

Tom Sintros - Science
Selected to attend a national training program on global warming led by former V.P. Al Gore.

Kelly Goller - Green House Guidance Counselor
Getting the KHS VHS Pilot Program off
and running while the VHS Coordinator interviews were being conducted.

Leslie Farmer-Athletic Director
Introducing the first “Scholar Athlete
Awards Night” for the fall sports season.

Jon Perry - English
Organizing the community service project & the Saturday clinics for younger students with his boy's basketball team.
Tony Eastwood - Technology
Hard work, patience and perseverance in
providing KHS with thoughtful and effective technical support, and for his witty and superb "how to" messages.
Bob Milliken - Technology
Assistance with computer repairs after flooding in the Cheshire Center.
Tina McLaughlin - English
Organizing the “Empowering Women”
workshops.

Jodi Ballaro-Social Studies
Facilitating her class’s $500 fundraising for “Keep a Child Alive."

Jen White - Social Studies
Receiving an outstanding email compliment from a parent regarding a student’s new found interest in history.
Julia Imbarrato - Science
Heading the Student of the Month Committee with Linda Merrill.
Barbara Lake-VHSCoordinator
Conducting the parent information night to
14 members of the Parent Advisory Group. This session was coordinated with a student.
William Harris
Asst.Princ. to Blue House

Opening the PowerSchool Parent Portal
to a pilot group of over 40 parents.
Sandy Stockton - Special Ed.
Outstanding work in the Special Education Department.
Rick Manchester - Monitor/Para
For his work as a monitor and all he has done for the school.
Rob Tiebout - Math Teacher
For his work with the statistics classes in preparing charts and diagrams of the Holocaust for David Faber's visit.
Irene Cheek - English Teacher
For her unsung work with the promoting of staff activities with Staff Support.
Kim Baker - Director of Guidance
For her work in updating, revising, and accelerating the schedule process for the 2007-2008 school year.
Terry Manahan
Tracy Jillson
Sue Weinert
Linda Proulx
Sue Silk
Dean Joyal

For organizing the recent college/career fair.
Gayla Tardie
For her work on the school evacuation drill.
Ginny Knapp
For her work on the recent French foreign exchange trip.
Paula Cunningham
For her help in Athletics and Special Education Departments.
Traci Truncale
For her work with the Math hiring committee which lasted over one and a half months.
Dean Robinson
For his quick response in completing a safety assessment at the request of the high school administration.
Joe Goodhue
for announcing all the games this year, especially the varsity baseball games.
J.J. Convoy
For volunteering in the weight room after school on a regular basis.
Lisa Boursso
Mr. Chmiel rec’d 7 e-mails from parents in the last three weeks complimenting her on the help with their son/daughter.
Peg Barnes
For arranging the quick reference bio sheet on every Art candidate that was interviewed last week. Each bio was to the point and had enough information that you understood the candidate before they entered the room

Ellen Jernberg
For her help with the freshman orientation program and her daily positive contact with everyone she meets in the communications office

Peter Benson
From Alan Chmiel - Principal- for his organization and the extras he created for the freshman orientation session in the auditorium.
Christine Lane
From Rachael Summe-Leonard, Blue House Asst. Principal for her help in the transitions with a new administrator in Blue House.
Lacey Budd-Senior Student
From Alan Chmiel - Principal- for the informational DVD she produced for the freshman orientation session in the auditorium.
John Kersey & Jillian Trask
From Alan Chmiel - Principal- for for meeting with the first year teachers during their first after-school workshop day to review ideas on planning and what makes a first year teacher successful.
Chip McMaster-
From Rachael Summe-Leonard-Blue House Asst. Principal- for organizing the Spanish Exchange activities
Bob Lund-
From Leslie Farmer- A.D.- For being a long time supporter of KHS athletics, and the "Voice of the Blackbirds"
Sonja Leslie, Kim Baker & Beth Hansel-
From Jim Logan & Alix Bond - for their help and cooperation during their recent NECAP testing.
Jim Logan & Alix Bond-
From Alan Chmiel - Principal- for their work in organizing and following through each morning during the recent NECAP testing.
Amy Chapman-
From Alan Chmiel - Principal- for ther lesson plans on the book Nineteen Minutes being selected as models on the SimonSays website of Simon & Schuster.
Chris O'Reilly-
From Alan Chmiel- Principal- For increasing the number of VHS students in the second semester to twenty-five students
Harriet Davenport & Laurine Parker -
From Rachael Summe-Leonard- Blue House Asst. Principal- For their community volunteer work at the Colony Mill on women's health issues
Jeff Blanchet, Kim Simpson & Jillian Trask-
From Alan Chmiel - Principal- for their work in organizing the February pep rally and reviving the Winter Carnival
Tina McLaughlin & Tricia Sears-
From Alan Chmiel - Principal- For helping secure funds for additional staff training and implementation of the Reading Recovery Program.
Michelle Ells-
From Alix Bond -Green House Asst. Principal- for tabulating the junior NECAP test results for final exam test exceptions for students in proficient and proficient with distinction categories

Andrea Walker-Brown- From Bob Morse- Gold House Asst. Principal- for her work on leading the KHS Safety Committee

Jessica Hoyt-
From recommendations Mr. Chmiel received from several students- for her work with the play and securing props

John Ohlson- From Alan Chmiel - Principal- For all he does for each staff member in the automotive section of the Cheshire Career Center

Bresca Gagnon- From Alan Chmiel - Principal- For receiving a parent phone call thanking her for the gift cards she had given their child following a family disaster

Kim Robinson & Natalie Ahnert - From Alan Chmiel - Principal- Kim Robinson for administering the Heimlich maneuver to a choking staff member in her classroom and to Natalie Ahnert for handling the phone communications during the entire incident

Leslie Swift- From Alan Chmiel - Principal- For completing the SAU 38 student enrollment requests for Winchester students one week ahead of schedule

Officer O’Donnell– From Peter Benson- Red House Asst. Principal-For all the work he did this year to make KHS a safer community

 

Mr, Keith Nord- From Alan Chmiel - Principal- Mr. Keith Nord, our workshop speaker on August 19th, who worked with over 140 students. Several coaches and students who attended the conference recommended the star award

 

Patrick Lagace, Kim Simpson & Jillian Trask- From Alan Chmiel - Principal- for the outstanding job with the Freshman Orientation day.

 

Ms. Melanie White, Mrs. Christine Gillis, and Mr. Jeff Minahan- From Alan Chmiel - Principal- for volunteering their time to meet with the new teachers on two different occasions.