On April 25th, 2026, 17 Farmington High School students met at West Woods Upper Elementary School where they took a bus to the Academy of Sports and Medical Sciences in Hartford. These students were invited to represent Farmington High School (FHS) at the 2026 IGNITE conference hosted by Ellington High School and the Academy of Sports and Medical Sciences school in Hartford.
“We selected a group of student leaders from across our school community, representing grades 9 through 11. The process included input from faculty members to help identify students who demonstrate leadership potential in a variety of settings,” shared Martorelli.
The IGNITE conference is a student led conference focusing on fostering the next generation of student leaders. The acronym IGNITE stands for Inspire, Give, Navigate, Innovate, Transform, and Empower. Four faculty members chaperoned the event: Mr. Martorelli (Director of Athletics), Mr. Loomis (Student Activities Director), Mr. Russell (Assistant Principal) and Ms. Carrozza (Choir Teacher).
“[The goal was] to bring a group of FHS Student leaders to a conference that helped them come together as a group to help shape what we can do at FHS to make each student’s experience better everyday when they walk in the front doors,” shared Loomis.
Before the day officially commenced, the schools proceeded to gather in the gymnasium to participate in a series of games. One student representative from each school randomly selected an activity for a team of students from their school to participate in.
Four Farmington students competed in the “Head, Shoulders, Knees, Poms Poms” activity, designed to test their listening skills. Two students, Katie Kowalchuk and Brooke Hacker, were the last students standing, advancing Farmington into the final game, the Mattress slide. Fourteen students from the group collaborated to slide their mattress the farthest, the fastest. Freshman Thomas Wagner made the final jump, pushing Farmington’s mattress to victory and securing first place. Their victory was made possible due to active listening, collaboration and planning. This activity set the tone for the rest of the day.
After the morning games, students headed to the breakout sessions outlined on their schedules. Each breakout session was run by Ellington High School students and focused on different aspects of leadership. The presentation’s topics ranged from communication skills to accountability. In these sessions, students were handed participation tickets if they actively listened and contributed to their breakout session. These tickets livened up the lunch period by giving students the opportunity to win different prizes.
After lunch, groups traveled to one of the gyms where they participated in different activities centered around collaboration. These games taught students valuable communication skills in a fun and engaging manner.
“The group was able to have many laughs while working incredibly hard throughout the day. The group was made up of student leaders that represented the many amazing things we do at FHS,” said Loomis.
At the end of the day, the schools reconvened during their collaborative time block. Students were expected to share the information learned in their sessions to bring back to their group later in the day in order to curate their presentations for the presentation challenge.
The FHS students focused their presentation on the problem of academic dishonesty. They proposed various solutions such as student tutoring, more days of Hawks Nest, and intrinsic motivation. Each student had their own part to present. This format was strategically picked by the students so everyone could share their voice. The presentation was a success, with the students hard work translating to a first place victory.
“Their actual presentation was awesome, but the process in how they developed that presentation was even better. Each student stepped up to contribute to the work and they flawlessly worked together to create a well thought out presentation that brought home the gold,” said Russell when asked about his favorite part of the day.
This group of students’ work isn’t stopping here. Last fall, FHS hosted the CAS-CIAC empowerment conference. Over 900 students and faculty traveled to FHS to hear about ways to empower students and incorporate social justice initiatives in their schools. Although the day involved student leaders, the structure of the day wasn’t based on student input. The group of student leaders who attended IGNITE will serve as the council to plan the CAS-CIAC conference next year.
“What stood out most to me was how engaged and thoughtful our students were throughout the entire experience. They took pride in representing Farmington High School and showed a genuine commitment to making a positive impact. It was a great reminder of the leadership potential we have in our building every day,” shared Martorelli.
