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For now, Housatonic indoor track faded when last year’s seniors graduated, but all it takes are enough students with a passion for running and the team could easily be revived.
As the bright leaves fall off the trees and Housatonic’s exciting fall sports seasons come to a close, winter sports are ramping up with some big changes ahead for HVRHS’s indoor track, swim, and boys basketball teams.
The first and most notable change for many HVRHS students interested in running is the absence of the recently established indoor track and field team. While indoor track had been offered somewhat inconsistently by the school in past years, Housatonic alumni Kyle McCarron and Patrick Money decided to try and start it up again in their senior year in the winter of 2024.
McCarron and Money were both Berkshire League champions across many events, and McCarron would go on to run D1 for Quinnipiac University, so it was only natural that the pair would want to continue to run during the winter season.
With the help of athletic director Anne Macneil, Housatonic’s winter track and field team was brought back last year, and a team led mostly by seniors competed at meets across the Berkshire League.
But only four people signed up before the Dec. 1 deadline this year, meaning there weren’t enough people to run a team. Track and field and former winter track coach Alan Lovejoy explained what’s changed.
“Last year, we were real senior heavy,” Lovejoy said. “I just think we have smaller numbers … I talked to a few kids and they just don’t like running in the cold.”
However, this isn’t the last Housatonic will hear about winter track. Senior Silas Tripp continues to represent HVRHS at indoor meets, while continuing to practice with the Lakeview indoor track team. For now, Housatonic indoor track faded when last year’s seniors graduated, but all it takes are enough students with a passion for running and the team could easily be revived.
An intriguing development for Housatonic’s swim team comes with the many underclassmen joining the team. In past years, the team has flown well under the radar, leading to many students being unaware that the school even hosted a swim team at all.
“[The swim team] was always really small … and almost always girls, like last year there were only two boys,” senior Anna Gillette said.
While the team has suffered from a lack of people in the past, the future of the team is looking brighter with the high number of underclassmen. Four freshmen and three sophomores are new to the swim team.
Freshman Phoebe Conklin is one such swimmer, having swam and competed for various club teams since she was three years old. “I’ve heard that it’s just … not a very competitive program at the moment,” Conklin said. “But I think [the underclassmen] are gonna improve it … I’m excited.”
Another notable change comes to one of Housatonic’s most popular sports, the boys basketball team, as former coach Kurt Johnson hands over the leads of a commanding team of seniors to Bobby Chatfield.
Johnson teaches Chemistry at the school, and coached the boys basketball team at HVRHS for four years. Johnson cited the large time commitment as the reason for his resignation before the start of the season.
Chatfield, Johnson’s replacement, has coached basketball and baseball for the Region One middle school programs since 2020, and this year he started coaching for HVRHS’s basketball team. But this is far from the first time he’s played with this team, as only a few of the students on the team are players he hasn’t coached previously.
“I think we’re gonna do pretty good, pretty competitive … [Berkshire League] and State Tournaments are our two team goals,” Chatfield said. “We’re senior heavy, so that bodes well for us.”
Coach Chatfield believes the team’s athleticism is one of the biggest strengths, a sentiment echoed by many on the team such as seniors Wesley Allyn and Anthony Labbadia.
“I think our biggest strength is gonna be our size and our speed,” Labbadia said. “In the four years that I’ve been here, this is easily our strongest year.”
The HVRHS girls basketball team is set out for success this year, with aspirations to win the Berkshire League title and compete at states.
“I’m feeling very optimistic,” said senior Victoria Brooks. “Our strength is definitely going to be our dedication this year.”
Last but not least is the HVRHS Ski team, a small team that competes at Mohawk Mountain against private schools from around the area. Having lost the talent of various seniors, the team of six is looking for new talent to break through and give the team an edge against more formidable private school teams.
“Last year, we finished third in the League, and we’re looking for new talent,” said junior Danny Lesch. “We’re a bit short staffed … but we’re really excited.”
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At the back of HVRHS sits the ag-ed wing, where chocolate milk sells and holiday spirit flourishes every year thanks to the FFA’s Holiday Store.
The greenhouse transforms into a storefront selling over a dozen products, some locally sourced. Notable among the selection are the blue spruce and fir trees from Canada, poinsettias, Cabot dairy products — including cheese, eggs and the popular chocolate milk — and homemade wreaths.
“The Holiday Store has been around since the 1940s,” said David Moran, one of the ag-ed teachers and coordinators for the event. “It was created to align with common standards that students need, that they’re able to practice in a way that is connected to the community.”
Ag-ed students make up most of the staff at the store, and they must go through extensive training before participating in the event, said Housatonic Valley FFA President Riley Mahaffey. “Training starts roughly two weeks in advance for our students,” Mahaffey said. The four ag-ed educators — Ms. Boardman, Mrs. Lloyd, Mr. Moran and Mrs. Melino — lead the training. “They go through five stations of training. Knowing what to expect from the unit, identifying the plants, running the register, working with customers outside,” Moran said.
The Holiday Store is a true group effort. Every student in an ag-ed class participates, as the event takes up a majority of class time in the winter. “Class time is definitely devoting 95% of our time towards the Holidays Sales and Marketing because of how much we actually get out of it,” Mahaffey said. “You’re learning the aspects of your class through Holiday Store.”
Students are expected to spend at least eight hours working in the store during the month it operates. How serious they take that time commitment is up to the student. “It’s open until 4:30 after school, so I know some students do it after school before sports, during flex blocks, and during their class time they can use as well,” Mahaffey said. Students can also work in the store on weekends. “On the weekends we’re open all day,” she said.
While students are required to spend at least eight hours in the store, there’s no cap for those that want to contribute more time. “The average student spends 8 hours, but you have those excelled students that go for 16, 20 hours, and then some of them it’ll be three or four,” Mahaffey said.
Moran said students build a multitude of skills staffing the Holiday Store. “Mainly communication, problem solving — that’s constant — a lot of times the students have to encounter all kinds of problem solving,” Moran said. “When they meet with customers and serve people, they gain a lot of confidence, and you can just see the confidence grow as they work through the unit.”
There are also specific professional and business skills incorporated. “They learn the business aspect of it while getting a grasp of everybody in our program and working as a team,” Mahaffey said. Mahaffey explained students track their time using a digital system. “Responsibility and accountability with our clock in system, making sure that you’re being accountable for your time and honest with your time.”
After the Holiday Store closes, students are graded on their performance and knowledge. “Their summative is based on how well they produce, how well they sell, their work ethic, and the time that they invest,” Moran said.
Profits from the Holiday Store are donated to area food banks and a nonprofit chosen by a vote of the student body. “The five food banks come in at the end of the unit in January, and we present them significant funds and also a nonprofit,” Moran said. “It’s been the Jane Lloyd Fund … a fund for women that are living with cancer and want to stay in their homes. It covers some of their everyday expenses.” The amount given differs, but it usually stays within a certain range. “The last couple years they’ve given $4,000 to $6,000 away,” Moran said.
Reception of the Holiday Store is generally positive — among student participants and customers. “It has a very good reputation, and for some people, it’s their only interaction with the high school from the community,” Moran said. “We have celebrities come in, and they really connect with those students in front of them and do something to serve the community.”
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These skills that are developed with animal care transfer to owning personal animals or a career that works with animals.
— Madison Melino, 2025-26 Housatonic Valley FFA Historian
HVRHS’s agriculture education program is abundant with unique experiences and opportunities for students, one of which is the barn. This barn, located next to the Science and Technology Center, has seen a wide variety of animals; from the typical sheep and goats, to the occasional heifer, alpacas and miniature ponies.
This barn looks a little different, however, when the grass dies and the wind turns frigid.
Care for these animals during the more ideal seasons is split between a couple of the ag-ed classes. “Students in agriculture classes learn about all aspects of animal care in the classroom and take shared responsibility over weekends and breaks for the care of the animals,” said Madison Melino, the 2025-26 Housatonic Valley FFA Historian. While both the teachers and the students are involved in the animals’ care, students lead in most of the work. “Teachers buy the supplies for the animals, but I would say it’s mostly students feeding and caring for them all year round, not just in the winter,” said Hannah Johnson, the 2025-26 Housatonic Valley FFA Vice President. “These chores are delegated mostly to students in the Vet Science class.”
Students even organize who does what chores among themselves. “They take care of the animals and everyday they volunteer to do the different tasks necessary.”
While the delegation of these chores remains the same throughout the year, the supplies and care plans used differ. There is one main priority in the winter; keep the animals warm. “In the winter we have to really make sure that [the animals] water is not frozen, so they always have something to drink. We also have to make sure that they have enough hay to keep them warm,” Johnson said.
Winter care also requires additional supplies — leading to higher costs through the season. “Additional costs include bedding material like shavings and straw,” Melino said. “They go through more hay in the winter which is an additional cost,” Johnson said. In addition to extra straw and shavings, Melino said barn animals can require heat lamps, water heaters, blankets and extra bedding to stay warm in the cold.
For the sheep specifically, it’s important that they go into winter with extra weight to keep warm. “In the winter we check the body condition of the animals every week to ensure a healthy weight,” Melino said. “It is always a good idea to go into winter with a few extra pounds on the sheep.”
“The number one priority … ensuring that they don’t get frostbite,” Johnson said. Blankets and extra bedding can help, but snow gets in the way of animal care in more ways than one may think. “The biggest struggle in the winter is the weather if it gets extremely cold or a lot of snow is on the ground preventing the opening of the stalls,” Melino said. “Closed stalls are hard for humans because it takes additional work to keep the area clean inside.”
Winter brings some benefits along with the challenges, FFA members said. “One benefit during the winter is that there’s little to no mosquitos and bugs which creates less worry about disease transmission,” Melino said. There is also little impact on the animals’ general lifestyle. “For the animals we have at the school they are pretty acclimated to the winter from past seasons so we don’t really notice a change in behavior,” said Melino.
Students learn valuable lessons and skills while taking care of these animals. “Students learn about nutrition, health, vaccination schedules, behavior, breeding, and more,” Melino said. “These skills that are developed with animal care transfer to owning personal animals or a career that works with animals.”
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Peter Vermilyea, right, teamed up with sophomore Logan Miller in a game of dodgeball during the Turkey Olympics on Friday, Nov. 21.
Simon Markow
The senior class at HVRHS won the Turkey Olympics on Friday, Nov. 21, the week before thanksgiving. Unlike previous years, the competition against the seniors was minimal as the three other grades all had fewer than 10 representative students each. The teachers had about the same attendance as usual, while also adopting the single sophomore that came to represent his entire grade.
The Turkey Olympics is made up of a collection of games from dodgeball, tug-of-war, knockout, and more. All of the games took place after school and the grades competed against each other in each game, trying to win the most points. First place wins five points, and last place wins one point. At the end of the afternoon, the student government tallied up the points and declared an overall winner.
Even with the senior population dominating the event, the other classes represented to the best of their ability.
The biggest competition this year was between the juniors and seniors. Representatives from those classes dominated the competition, with either a junior or senior winning every challenge. Back and forth they went, until eventually it was clear that the seniors would be the ones to take the glory.
Seniors Hannah Johnson and Celeste Trubucco wrap up Katherine Crane with toiler paper in the mummy contest. Simon Markow
HVRHS students offered some explanation for the lackluster participation from underclassmen.
“I think that the underclassmen did not show up because there was some lack of advertising and the upperclassmen had already been involved previously,” said Celeste Trubucco, a member of student government. “Next year they should work towards advertising more in advance so that people, specifically the underclassmen, can plan.”
The student government made fliers, instagram posts, and school announcements. But the efforts didn’t seem to drive more underclassmen to the event.
Senior Anthony Labbadia makes a dunk in a game of knockout.Peter Austin
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