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Charlie Castellanos, left, and Allegra Ferri, right, sitting in the HVRHS library to talk about their experiences in the U.S.
Anna Gillette
“I would say if you are thinking about doing the program, do it because you get out of your comfort zone and learn so many things...” —Charlie Castellanos
Every year, Housatonic Valley Regional High School welcomes foreign exchange students to attend classes through the AFS Intercultural Programs. This school year, two students traveled to Northwest Connecticut to immerse themselves in American life and culture. Allegra Ferri, a 17-year-old from Italy, and 16-year-old Charlie Castellanos from Colombia sat down to reflect on their experience at HVRHS. As the academic year is coming to an end, they shared a few highlights of their time in the U.S. and offered advice to prospective exchange students.
What has been your favorite part of your exchange experience?
Allegra: “My favorite part of this exchange year was coming here and experiencing an American high school.”
Charlie: “My favorite part is coming to high school and living the American dream and probably going to ski [for the first time].”
What extracurricular activities have you been involved with?
Allegra: “I played volleyball in the fall and I really liked it because everyone was so nice. Then during the winter, I was part of the crew for the musical and now I’m doing tennis. I really enjoy it because it’s a good team. I love how American high school has sports and activities after school.”
Charlie: “I did soccer in the fall, which was my favorite. I did the play in the winter and right now I’m doing track and field. We don’t have school sports in Colombia. This is one of the things I’m going to miss the most.”
What would you say to someone considering doing an exchange year?
Allegra: “I would say do it because living in another country is a great experience to grow and improve another language. It improves your skills of being by yourself.”
Charlie: “I would say if you are thinking about doing the program, do it because you get out of your comfort zone and learn so many things like culture, language and it’s just a completely new experience. It will stay with you your entire life.”
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Mountaineers take second place in WCLC
May 30, 2025
WATERTOWN — Housatonic Valley Regional High School girls lacrosse played Watertown High School for the Western Connecticut Lacrosse Conference championship Wednesday, May 28.
The cold, rainy game went back and forth with three ties and three lead changes. Watertown was ahead when it counted and earned a 6-4 victory to claim the league title.
Under the lights in Watertown, both sides displayed defensive discipline in a hard-fought match. It was the third meeting between these two teams this season and Watertown completed the sweep in the title game.
Watertown scored first in the opening minute. Housatonic quickly evened the score when freshman Annabelle Carden tucked a shot past the goalie on a fast break. The first quarter ended 1-1.
Freshman Annabelle Carden, no. 9, scored the first two goals for HVRHS in the title game May 28.Photo by Riley Klein
HVRHS pulled ahead with another goal from Carden in the second quarter. A few minutes before half time, Watertown tied it up again at 2-2 going into intermission.
Watertown regained the lead in the second half before HVRHS answered with a goal by senior Tessa Dekker. With seconds left in the third quarter, the Warriors went up 4-3.
As the sky darkened and rain intensified in the fourth quarter, Watertown built a lead. They scored twice in a row to start the final period and entered clock-management mode to drain time. Senior Lola Clayton scored once more before time was out and the game ended 6-4.
Housatonic's defense held Watertown to six points in the championship game. Watertown, the number one team in the WCLC, averaged more than 12 goals per game this season.Photo by Riley Klein
The championship’s most valuable player award went to Malia Arline of Watertown. HVRHS had five players chosen to the 2025 all-league team: Lola Clayton, Lou Haemmerle, Mollie Ford, Neve Kline and Georgie Clayton.
“Incredible finals. Incredible game to watch,” said HVRHS Coach Laura Bushey to her team post-game. “You should all be very proud of yourselves.”
“Holding a team to six points is something to be really, really proud of. Especially a team that’s as good as these guys,” said assistant coach Erin Bushey.
HVRHS qualified for the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class S lacrosse tournament. The Mountaineers got matched against Wolcott High School in round one, Friday, May 30, 5 p.m. at HVRHS.
Lou Haemmerle created offensive opportunities for HVRHS in the league final.Photo by Riley Klein
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John DeDonato
Class of 2027
“Some I prefer are the grilled cheese. Pizza’s okay with some sauce. Hamburger too, I guess. The least favorite that I’ve tried is probably the hot ham and cheese. I don’t like that. I’ve started to see that they’re doing French fries, which I kind of like. They should probably start doing more of that.”
Abram Kirshner
Class of 2026
“My favorite lunch is probably the mac and cheese and popcorn chicken. I’d like to see it more frequently. Grilled cheese, cheese quesadilla, french toasts sticks, and chicken fajita
can all go.”
Georgie Clayton
Class of 2027
“My favorite is beef nacho grande. My least favorite is probably the fajitas.
I wish we had chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes more often.”
Celeste Trabucco
Class of 2026
“General Tsou’s chicken is my favorite lunch. Also, the popcorn chicken and mac and cheese.
I really don’t like the French toast sticks or that we have pizza every Friday. We need some more variation.”
Photos by Ibby Sadeh and Mia DiRocco
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Housatonic Valley Regional High School
File photo
As the 2025 school year concludes, so does the first full year of the Bias Education and Response Team being utilized at Housatonic Valley Regional High School.
This team, or BERT for short, is a team made primarily of students, with staff to supervise, that respond to incidents of bias in the school. This program was presented as an opportunity to combat and respond to incidents of bias and educate the students and faculty on what bias is.
BERT was introduced with a presentation from two counselors and educators outside of the HVRHS community, Carolyn Corrado and Karen Garrity. They taught the school about the Bias Incident Reporting System, or BIRS, which is a google form that anyone from the school community can fill out, reporting bias that they have seen or heard. Then, students on the team respond to these incidents. This system aims to create a positive school environment through addressing bias.
Students and faculty involved with the program traveled to Shepaug in October for the Youth Climate Summit, an event where high schools all over Connecticut came together to discuss ways to improve their schools. The entire team gave a presentation on BERT, the work they’ve been doing, and how to utilize the system. “By seeing and potentially utilizing programs that other schools have implemented and found successful in ours could make the schools climate far better for all students and faculty members,” said Silas Tripp, a member of BERT who attended this summit.
On April 3, three of the team members — Maddy Johnson, Silas Tripp and Ayden Wheeler — and the principal, Ian Strever, made their way to Nashua, New Hampshire, to give a presentation at the New England Association of Schools and Colleges Conference. This was a huge success for the team, Wheeler said, “the presentation seemed to be received well with some school representatives coming up to us and wanting to integrate it into their schools.”
“The goal is to make our school a safe environment for all and to make the students feel at home at our school and I truly believe our attendance to these gatherings are helping us reach this goal,” Tripp said. The team also has plans for reaching out to the regional middle schools and making a presentation in the fall to promote lessons of kindness and equality in grade K-8, said Johnson, the subcommittee lead for this objective.
Richie Crane, Carmela Egan, and Georgie Clayton, the members of the “Who We Are” subcommittee, created an instagram account where they post educational information and videos to spread the word about BIRS and what bias is, which you can follow @hvrhs.bert on Instagram.
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