On December 15, 2011, Mr. Tusa of the Social Studies Department guest lectured on the history of racism in America in Mrs. DePoto’s AP Language and Composition class. The AP class is studying nonfiction works on a variety of themes this year; Mr. Tusa volunteered to bring a historical perspective to a piece the class was studying by Thomas Jefferson called “Notes from Virginia”. The class was able to trace the history of philosophical movements that impacted some of the earliest writers of our nation and are to see the connection between their ideas and various contemporary figures such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Future collaboration between the Social Studies Department and the Language Arts Department is planned.     

New Milford High School is obviously a place where students feel safe and comfortable while they are here as our students. This can be seen each year as former students come back to visit, work as substitutes, and in some cases even get hired as teachers. For two days this December, in Mrs. Collentine’s Global Perspectives in Literature Honors classes, NMHS class of 2005 alumnus Jonathan Silver was a “guest” speaker/teacher/actor and taught and performed Shakespeare’sHamlet for Mrs. Collentine’s students. Jon, who is currently serving as producer and director of this year’s NMHS spring musical, is a professional actor. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a degree in Dramatic Performance, Jon was thrilled to teach for two days when Mrs. Collentine asked if he would come into her classes. Jon spent a summer in London studying Shakespeare and even performed on the famous and historical Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts stage. He is a natural and a force to be reckoned with as he brought a palpable passion to Mrs. Collentine’s classes. He discussed why Shakespeare is so challenging for young adults, he gave them techniques in terms of approaching the text, and he logically compared the analysis and reading of Shakespeare to math problems like calculus and trigonometry. His booming voice took on the roles of Hamlet, the Ghost and King Claudius. The kids read with him and he joked and laughed with them as he compared Hamlet’s world to the world of today’s teenager: Britney Spears was mentioned and the word “emo” was as well, along with other 21^st century references. As hard as English teachers work to bring any text to life and off the page, there is always a welcome burst of energy when a professional actor comes to town.