Hyde-Woodstock: 18

The Roxbury-Latin School: 48

                Roxbury-Latin has always had a strong wrestling program, especially since they begin coaching many of their kids in the 7^th grade through their lower school program.  Although we did not win this match, the Wolf Pack wrestlers showed really toughness and many forced their opponents into decisions rather than giving up pins. Cullum Thompson ’12, Ben Errera ’12 and Andreu Cullere ’12 held their own against tough opponents and did not give up the 6 points each of their opponents desired.  The 18 points scored for our side came from the pins of Marcos Mercado ’13 and Mike Kanda ’12, as well as the decisions of Kevin Smith 12’ in a 10-3 win and Graham Davidson ’13 in a 5-0 win.  A big moment for the team came with Post-grad Mike Kanda ’12 hitting a tough arm throw on his opponent and pinning him in 17 seconds!  This was a move learned the day before in practice and he was obviously excited to give it a try.  The coach of Roxbury-Latin remarked at the toughness of Hyde wrestlers and is excited to keep us in their regular rotation in the years to come.

Hyde-Woodstock: 48

Marianapolis Preparatory School: 34

                In our rematch against Marianapolis, the Wolf Pack won many of the same matches as before but there were a few surprises on the day.  For example, Ben Errera ’12 earned a pin against his opponent who had bested him in the prior match with a 5-3 decision.  Also, Alex Katz ’15 earned his first pin and win of the season against his opponent who had pinned him in the previous match.  Although not a victory,Cullum Thompson ’12 went the distance against his opponent who had pinned him earlier in the season, and forced him into a 12-2 decision.  This toughness is appreciated on the mat and by the team since it is the difference between giving up 6 points for a pin and 3 or 4 points for a decision.  Other highlights included pins by Graham Davidson ’13, Kenrick Vincent ’12, Marcos Mercado ’13, Kevin Smith 12’, Peter Markham ‘13 and Mike Kanda ’12.

All in all, the day was a success.  It was great to see wrestlers beat an old rival or hit a new move on the mat.  It was also great to see our 113lb. wrestler earn his first win of the season.  We have a lot of work to do in preparation of the coming weeks, especially with the NNEI, Class A and NE Tournaments on the next three weekends.  Wish the men luck and hopefully we will bring home some medals in the coming weeks.

Thanks,

Coach Jenkins

The Hyde Dance team travelled to the Westbrook Performing Arts Centre on Saturday morning to participate in the Chinese New Year festivities. This is the second consecutive year that the Hyde team has been invited to the celebration. The team presented a sword dance with ribbons to an audience of over 700. Choreographed by Fan Luo, this dance is inspired by a folk tale about how Chinese people would fight off a monster named Nian (Year). In this tale, the fearsome monster would destroy villages on every eve of Chinese New Year. One year, a little boy discovered that Nian was afraid of the color red. He told his fellow villagers of this discovery and helped them to avert the annual destruction by dancing with red ribbons on sticks. Since then, the villagers have always performed a ribbon dance in honor of the brave warriors who conquered Nian. Follow the link below to see pictures in the Portland Press Herald. Special thanks to Kat Wren (Chris Moreau ’13) and Kate Fusco (Ben Fusco ’13) for attending.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/imagine-_2012-02-05.html

Wheeler: 38
The Girls Junior Varsity Basketball team had a home game this past Saturday against St. Andrew’s.  The girls came out in the first half with a lot of enthusiasm, however, struggled to stop one of St. Andrew’s key players from driving to the basket.  The Hyde defense started to come back together towards the end of the first half as the Wolfpack began guarding the ball and became more aggressive when protecting their basket by always having their hands up.  Offensively,Yoomi Ji ‘13 took charge and consistently drove the ball to the Hyde basket.  Although the ball did not fall, she was fouled by a St. Andrew’s player and made one of her free throw shots putting Hyde on the board!  The girls started the second half with a strong determination to start taking more shots at the basket.  Tina Zhang ‘13, came out and put two additional points on the board for Hyde.  In addition to Yoomi and Tina, Molly Giordano ‘13 was able to make two baskets in the closing minutes adding four points to Hyde’s score.  In the coming weeks, the girls will continue to focus on boxing out in order to get the rebound both offensively and defensively as well as make personal skill and athletic goals.

Coach DeAngelis

Hyde Schools founder Joseph Gauld, under the Hyde chandelier

The deep reason America is in imbalance and decline seems obvious: We have educated ourselves to value achievement and wealth over character and purpose. As a result, the present character of our leadership, economy, and culture cannot sustain the greatness of our nation.

Since the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik in 1957, we have chosen to seek only academic proficiency in our schools. And more than 54 years of reform efforts have failed.

The basic purpose of education should be character development, where learning is centered on values derived from the family. Family-based character education is clearly superior to the education practiced in our schools today.

Studies such as one in 1998 by Lawrence Rudner, then the director of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation, show home-schooled students significantly outscoring public school students on assessments and going on to do well socially, in college, and in life.

Over the years, making academic proficiency the purpose of American education has shifted the benefits of learning away from students and families, onto schools, colleges, businesses, and the education industry itself.

For example, “No Child Left Behind” is a bogus slogan. The concern of that federal legislation is how schools, districts, states, and the nation are doing compared with one another. It is not how the individual student is doing. Within a school, it is commonly known that those students close to being proficient, and not the weakest students, are given extra attention. Why? Because schools are being measured by how many students reach proficiency on a test. The students “on the bubble” (those nearing the proficiency mark) are given the most attention and the most strategies to improve. Struggling students receive minimal, leftover resources.
For a nation committed to the individual, how did we develop such an educational system?

Here’s how: In the 19th century, our agrarian state and the McGuffey Reader made American schools more character-centered. From 1836 to 1960, some 120 million McGuffey Readers—books that mixed character lessons with academic work—were sold. Those texts confirmed family life (and ethics) as an integral part of the educational process.

But the rise of the industrial age defined education primarily as a route to commerce. The McGuffey-family influence slowly waned, and with it, the emphasis on character development.

As a teacher-coach in 1962, I experienced a crisis of conscience when I realized I was part of an education system that was failing to properly prepare American kids for life. By 1966, with the help of others, I was able to found the Hyde School in Bath, Maine, to explore the premise that every student is gifted with a unique potential, a belief I sought to support with a new college-preparatory curriculum built on the development of character—courage, integrity, concern, curiosity, and leadership.

In 1974, by tracing the progress of Hyde graduates in college and life, I realized we also needed to address parental growth and family issues on a regular basis to truly develop individual character. Hyde slowly became a community of parents, teachers, and students working together toward the same goal: individual excellence.

Today, Hyde is a network of seven public and private schools, serving more than 2,000 students, 80 percent of them from minority groups, with 98 percent of Hyde students matriculating to college. Hyde’s focus is on family-based character education and individual understandings of courage, curiosity, concern, leadership, humility, and integrity, which reaffirms the power of the American character and the American family.

After World War II, American colleges were flooded with returning soldiers receiving tuition through the GI Bill. Some university presidents strongly opposed the bill, with one saying unqualified GIs would turn our colleges into “educational hobo jungles.”

In fact, these GIs went on to become in many ways the most admired college students in American history. These Depression-era young people had just one thing going
for them: character. With that, they were able to restore and maintain greatness for America.

We need to commit our public schools to developing the American character. Since in character development, parents are the primary teachers and the home the primary classroom, this action will begin to restore the American family and begin a powerful partnership between family and school.

As home-schooled families have proven, this partnership should produce significantly improved academic students. More important, it will produce leaders, professionals, workers, and citizens with character, who will restore this nation’s integrity—and its greatness.

Joseph A. Gauld is the founder of the Hyde Schools, a network of character education-focused schools, with headquarters in Bath, Maine.

PSA: 35

The Wolfpack 3rds Basketball Team faced Putnam Science Academy on Friday, January 27^th. With a hard week of practice the team was confident in a victory. Lead by Apache He (’12) at Point Guard, the Wolfpack took control of the court from the first whistle and they did not lose that control until the final buzzer sound. All of the hard work and determination exemplified by the 3rds basketball team landed them a victory over PSA 49-35. Apache He (’12) lead the team with 19 points followed by Jack Yan (’13) with 11 Points and Nick Davis (’13) with 10 points. The team will head back to practice to begin preparation for their game on Wednesday against St. Andrews.

Coach Gaines

Marianapolis 54

Hyde School 26

On Monday, the Wolfpack J.V. took on Marianapolis trying to do better than the 27 point loss earlier this season. The boys came out strong a kept the game close and trailed by only 6 at the half. The Golden Knights were once again able to pull away in the second half for a 54-26 victory. Although Hyde showed great improvement on the defensive end early, turnovers and defensive lapses hindered their ability to keep the game within reach.

Scoring was as follows: Dan Weintraub, 7; Joey Fan, 1; Jason Zhao, 2; Sam Finkenstaedt, 2; Mason Spector, 3; Paul Pan, 2; Stanley Yao, 6; and Kevin Ge, 3. The loss puts the record at 3-4 on the season.

Wednesday, 1/25

Worcester Academy 38

Hyde School 24

On Wednesday, Hyde hosted Worcester Academy which was sure to be a tough contest. The team answered the challenge and played confidently and intense in the first half and trailed by only 1 point at the half, 16-17. However, defensive lapses and scoring struggles stalled out their momentum and W.A. was able to pull away for a 14 point win. Player of the game was sophomore John Nelson, for his great inside play, rebounding, and hustle.

Scoring was as follows: Dan Weintraub, 5; Parker Vaughn, 4; Sam Valentine, 3; Mason Spector, 7; and Stanley Yao, 5.

The team record stands at 3-5 and the boys hope to get back on the winning track this Saturday at Wheeler School (RI), for a 2pm start.

Coach Saucier

Hyde-Woodstock: 46
Chase Collegiate School: 18

We first faced off against the host school, Chase Collegiate School.  This was not one of our usual opponents during the season, and was newly added this year.  We came out strong against their squad, only losing two matches of the 14 weight classes.  The wrestlers who earned pins for this match up were Peter Markham ’13 and Graham Davidson ’13.  Ben Errera ’12 went into overtime against his opponent after a 9-9 tie after the third period.  Errera ’12 not only broke the tie, he stuck his opponent in the first 30 seconds of the overtime period.  In the tougher matches, Hyde wrestlers refused to quit and went the distance with their opponents.  Marcos Mercado ’13 won a 6-3 decision, Kevin Smith ’12 won a 14-4 decision, and Andreu Cullere ’12 won a very close 10-9 decision.  With so many great matches, it was the momentum our team needed to take on The Gunnery.

Hyde-Woodstock: 54

The Gunnery: 24

After our win against the host school, we turned our sights to The Gunnery.  This is another new match in our season schedule, and we knew little about the team.  We proved to be a much stronger team and only allowed them to earn two wins by pin and two win by forfeit.  Peter Markham ’13, Ben Errera ’12, Kenrick Vincent ’12, and Graham Davidson ’13 all earned pins against their opponents, while Cullum Thompson ’12 won a close 11-9 decision and Kevin Smith ’12 won a 9-2 decision.

After ending the day 2-0, we celebrated with some well-deserved McDonald’s and a ringing of the victory bell upon our return.  What made today different was the toughness of the wrestlers in each and every match.  It is apparent that the work in practice is paying dividends, and the cheering on the sidelines was inspiring to see.  These young men show true concern for one another both on and off the mat.  A special thanks goes out to the families that were able to make it to the match.  Your support is always a great addition to these competitions.

Thanks,

Coach Jenkins

Hannah Peters, Jenna Dubinsky and Katherine Hagood deserve a huge star for giving up their Sunday to make Violets birthday party a huge success. They decorated the room, played with all the guests and did a phenomenal job making our work that day fun and easy! Thanks from Lexi, Violet, Tina and Mr. Freebody.

I would like to nominate Yang Yi (Joy) for taking time out of her afternoon to sit down with Miss Atwood and LiYuan (Justine). She spent a long time helping LiYuan (Justine) express herself so that her Discovery Group leaders could better help her. We really appreciated the leadership and concern Yang Yi showed. For this she is a star of the week!!

I’d like to nominate Emily stern for being a very dedicated member of the varsity drama team! When others are goofing off, she is there to tell everyone to be quiet and listen.

I would like to nominate Steve Wang for his efforts in the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration. Hope that it goes well.

I would like to nominate Ethan Thoms for going above and beyond the call of duty by sitting in on Ms. Turner’s class to play the role of a senior proctor in a class which struggled.  He is giving up his free time to help out a faculty member, thus exemplifying the senior faculty partnership we strive to have at Hyde.

I think Sean-Michael McCrystal should be a star nominee because he is very mature during wresting practice and has worked very hard to get to a varsity level.

Boys J.V. Basketball

Pomfret 64

Hyde 35

On Wednesday, the boys J.V. hosted neighboring Pomfret School. Ultimately, the Griffin’s size and sharp shooting proved to be too much for the Wolfpack. At halftime, the game was still in reach as Hyde was down by 13. The second half saw Pomfret pull away and secure a 29 point win. It was a learning experience for Hyde and the boys learned the importance of tougher defense and discipline on the court.

Scoring was as follows: Griffin Davidson, 4; Paul Pan, 5; Mason Spector, 15; Dan Weintraub, 6; Rob O’Connor, 2; and Sam Valentine, 3. The team’s record is now even at 3-3. They play again on Monday when they host Marianapolis.

Coach Saucier