It’s in Mr. Clay’s Intro to Computer Science that some really progressive things are taking place. Atypical of most high school courses, students in his class are required to play games. But that isn’t all. First, they have to make them.

The Physical Education department at Rutland High recently purchased some thirty heart-rate monitors to use in their wide array of personal fitness courses. These high quality monitors were purchased with a $9000 federal grant the department received earlier this year. Ours was one of three lucky schools in the state to receive the grant.

Mrs. Filskov, now in the second semester of her first year at RHS, has been a teaching French in Vermont high schools the past five years, but she started her career headed in a very different direction “I worked in business,” she tells me. “I spent several years specializing in Luxury Goods as an Equity Sales Assistant on Wall Street.”

Making the leap from equity sales assistant to high school French teacher was no small feat, yet she describes her decision to change careers as a simple, serendipitous moment of spontaneous realization. “This may sound like a cliché but…I just woke up one morning and suddenly knew I wanted to be a teacher.”

The sweet melodies and dulcet tones which emanated from the chorus room during mid-term exams were not accompanied by the voices of the room’s typical occupants; for those couple days a new class had taken up residence within it’s soundproofed walls: AP US History.

Creative Structure II students engaged in hands-on learning to develop problem-solving skills, creativity and knowledge of art history.

Selections from the students of Rutland High School’s Advanced Placement/ Art Portfolio class. Fred Lower, instructor.

A joint effort between the RHS Driver’s Education program and the Rutland City Police Department helped to educate RHS students on the risks and consequences of driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Mrs. Tetzlaff’s B block Real Meals class and Madame Filskov’s B block French 2 class teamed up on Tuesday, December 22, 2009. The purpose of the collaboration was for Mrs. Tetzlaff’s class to bake viennoiseries – a type of French pastry, and for Madame Filskov’s class to research the history of the pastry and share their findings with Mrs. Tetzlaff’s students. All students participated in a dégustation – that is, a tasting of the treats.

Mr. Peterson’s combined AP US students took a field trip last Tuesday without ever leaving the classroom.

His C and E block classes came together for a virtual field trip, a personal presentation on the Hudson River School of art by a guide from the Albany Institute of History & Art.

On Tuesday, October 20th, Mr. Stannard’s Earth Science class left the confines of RHS for a little field experience. These students traveled to Blissville, Vermont (South Castleton) to a world famous slate quarry, owned and operated by the Camara Family, of Fair Haven.

In Ms. Kravitz’s World History I, students recreated the Battle of Thermopylae from the Persian Wars. Reenacting the Persian War Battle of Thermopylae helps World History I students understand how geography affects warfare. During the battle, Persians were trying to get through a narrow passage between the sea and steep mountains. In the reenactment, the Persians were trying to attack the Spartans, but the Spartans – fewer in number – had the advantage with the gym on one side and a hill on the other. The Spartans successfully defended their territory because of the geography, until a spy told the Persians about how to get around the hill. Just as in history, this spy changed the battle’s outcome. It became clear in debriefing the reenactment that students recognized the importance of geography and how unfair battles can be – either because of geography or spies.

In the summer of 2009, Mr. Eisenman participated in the Korean Studies Workshop, a two week intensive program for U.S educators sponsored by the Korea Foundation and hosted by Yonsei University in Seoul. An article about his experiences in South Korea will be published this January 2010 in the academic journal Foreign Policy. It was also recently published online as a featured piece by the National Council for Social Studies as part of its National Day on Writing project. Click here to view article.

The annual Bowling Ball Grand Prix helps Rutland High School physics students begin to understand how forces acting upon an object affects the motion of that object. Students must navigate a bowling ball through a course using only the bristles of a broom.

Hearing the staccato rhythm of Leonard Bernstein’s “America” played by the Rutland High School string orchestra through an open stage door was all it took to put the wheels in motion for an in-house mini field trip. The new American Voices class is an interdisciplinary course combining English and U.S. History.

The RHS Audio Visual Communications class, who deliver the daily announcements to the student body via closed circuit TV, had the opportunity to hear and learn from Fox 44 Weather Anchor, and 2004 RHS graduate, Kerrin Jeromin as she visited their class on Friday, October 9th.

In the RHS senior class Civics and Economics, students are studying the Law of Diminishing Returns. The concept refers to the notion that as more unit of input is added to a production line, productivity increases up to a point. At some point though, the change in output generated by one more unit of input declines.