I write in support of Stacey Tie’s candidacy for a seat on the Board of Education. Stacey has so many qualities that will make her an ideal BOE member. Topping the list: integrity. Stacey’s decisions will be principled and rooted, above all else, in what’s best for our children. Stacey brings to bear a unique array of relevant experience that will guide her service on the BOE.
We’ve all sought out new activities during the pandemic as we’ve all had so much more free time at home. For me, I spent more time paying attention to our local government. Zoom enabled viewing town council and school board meetings with an ease that didn’t exist before. Mostly, I was interested in how the pandemic was affecting Darien, and especially how town officials were managing and planning school activities. I’m not a particularly political person, and when we moved to town a decade ago I was impressed by the moderate pragmatism that defined both the Democratic and Republican politicians in town.
I encourage all my fellow Darienites to support Julie Best for the Board of Education. I have known Julie for over a decade and have seen first-hand her dedication to our town, its families and schools. Since 2009, Julie has served our town in many capacities. She has traveled to Hartford more than once to advocate for our schools and students. Most recently, she served for three years as co-chair of the Council of Darien School Parents.
The Darien Republican Town Committee on Monday issued a statement condemning an expression of bigotry recently found in graffiti in a boys bathroom at the high school, and it called on town residents to keep calm. “The Darien Republican Town Committee vehemently condemns all expressions and acts of hate and intolerance,” the statement said. “Nobody in our close-knit community should ever be made to feel unwelcome, unsupported or scared. And when it comes to our children, we feel even more strongly.” The graffiti included a threatening comment about gays and insulting comments about females.
Darien Schools Superintendent Alan Addley told parents in a 3 p.m. email Sunday that they should expect school buses to be running normally on Monday — because the drivers all got their vaccines or are getting tested, as mandated. “The drivers for Darien’s bus company, First Student, have complied with the executive order to be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing and we are not anticipating a disruption to bus transportation tomorrow,” Addley wrote. Addley noted that there have been news reports that drivers in some districts might not be showing up for work Monday because they’ve refused to either get the vaccine or the tests, as mandated by an executive order from Gov. Ned Lamont. Across the state, about 350 bus drivers are expected not to report for work Monday morning, according to a Friday report by WTNH-TV news. The Hartford Courant says only about 200 in Connecticut are expected not to show up.
Community leaders on Friday denounced graffiti found this week in a boy’s bathroom at Darien High School that insulted women and threatened gay people. They also denounced an anti-Jewish comment made in an online Darien chat group. “The incidents this week have been reported to the Darien Police Department, and the [school district] administration has aggressively used all the tools legally available to conduct its investigation,” the leaders said in a letter sent to parents and staff in Darien Public Schools. “There is no place for sentiments of hate, bigotry, anti-Semitism or religious discrimination of any kind in our schools or community,” the letter said. “These behaviors are very disturbing and unacceptable.
For its rapid and broad response in providing live virtual science lessons to schools suddenly thrust by COVID-19 into online learning, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is being honored for the best educational initiative in 2020 by any zoo or aquarium in the country. — an announcement from The Maritime Aquarium
The Aquarium’s implementation of — and the global reception to — a new slate of STEM-based virtual programs received the top award for education on Wednesday, during the annual conference of the 241-member Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA). In presenting the 2021 award, the AZA judges said, “This program has impressive reach and is connected to many diverse communities around the world with its inclusive approach of different languages and abilities.”
Since the pandemic hit in spring 2020, The Maritime Aquarium has live-streamed standards-fulfilling lessons on animals, conservation, habitats and other marine-science topics to more than 38,000 students and individuals in 44 states and on five continents — North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. “This national award confirms the quality of our programs,” said Aquarium President Jason Patlis. Tom Naiman, the Aquarium’s vice president of education, said it’s significant that this is the first time the AZA has presented a top education award for a virtual program.
Home-schooled kids can take an educational “dive” into the marine world through discounted admission and grade-appropriate programs Friday, Oct. 1 at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. — an announcement from The Maritime Aquarium
“Homeschool Day” makes available to homeschool students many of the educational classroom programs regularly presented to traditional school groups by Aquarium educators. Options on Oct. 1 include story times for preschoolers and a selection of classroom programs for kids in all grades, from K-12.
The new school year is upon us, and understandably, for some it can be an exciting but anxious time. New Canaan Country School psychologists Rebecca Comizio and
Jackie Britt-Friedman offer the following tips to help reduce stress around the
transition. — This article is from New Canaan Country School
1. Open up space for dialogue
Children benefit from knowing the adults close to them are there to listen. There will be a myriad of feelings as the first day of school approaches: excitement, apprehension, anticipation, worry.
Seven Darien High School seniors have been named semifinalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program. “We are so proud of this exceptional group of students and wish them well as the process moves forward,” DHS Principal Ellen Dunn said. The seven Darien semifinalists are Quinlan Daly, Andrew Lin, Tam-Hao Nguyen, Margaret Russell, Lucas Smith, Alexander Sutanto and Preston Yao. They are in a group of 16,000 high school students nationwide have been recognized as National Merit semi-finalists. These academically talented students have an opportunity to continue in the program for National Merit Scholarships that will be offered next spring.
Hindley School won’t be in session tomorrow because the school’s electric system broke down (causing the fire alarm to go off) due to Tropical Storm Ida, Superintendent Alan Addley said Thursday in a message to parents and staff. Students and staff were evacuated from the building. The electrical system — specifically something called the “generator transfer switch” — wasn’t able to be fixed Thursday, Addley said, because there is so much demand for repair work in the area — again, due to Ida — that a licensed electrician wasn’t available Thursday to fix the problem. By the time the long Labor Day weekend is over (lengthened by a day because of the Rosh Hashanah Jewish holiday on Tuesday), Hindley should be open with the rest of the schools in the district on Wednesday, Addley said. The lost day will have to be made up later in the school year, because state rules mandate that school days lost for weather-related reasons don’t count toward the minimum number of days schools must be open in each school year, the superintendent said.
Connecticut’s 6.35 percent sales tax on clothing is eliminated during Sales Tax Free Week (through Saturday, Aug. 21) for clothing and footwear priced at less than $100 per item. Darien students return to schools in town on Monday, Aug. 30, a week before Labor Day. Something to keep in mind: Since sales tax is calculated after the use of any coupons or discounts, if the final price per item is less than $100, the sale is exempt from taxes.
The Board of Education, at its meeting Tuesday night, will discuss a proposed plan for COVID-19 regulations in Darien schools when they reopen for the upcoming school year, and members of the public can tell the board what they think about the plan. In a message to parents on Friday, Schools Superintendent Alan Addley described highlights of the district’s plan, called the “Safe Return Plan” or “SRP.” The plan follows mandates and guidelines already sent out by the state government, along with recommendations from the federal government, Addley said. Those mandates and guidelines often change, he said, especially now in response to the Delta variant. “Preparations are well underway to welcome all of our students back to school in the fall,” the superintendent said. Remote learning will only take place with students in quarantine, he said.
Darien High School’s 2021 graduation ceremony combined congratulations on getting through high school during the COVID-19 pandemic with the regular high school graduation themes — life advice, thankful appreciation and assurance that the graduates have what it takes to succeed in the future. The 321 graduating seniors had a sunny late spring day and blue sky to accompany speeches filled with hope and optimism. In a speech that focused on gratitude, Valedictorian Eleanor Chase offered the audience a cookbook-like “list of ingredients you’ll need to make a high school graduate,” including “one awkward fourteen year old,” 30 teachers, two bus drivers and a supportive family. “Put the 14-year-old in a brick building for four years at approximately 70 degrees: decorate with cap and gown.” She added: “But, between all the congratulations and cords and handshakes of today, I hope we all remember everything else on that ingredient list.”
Here are the full texts of the speeches boy Valedictorian Eleanor Chase and Salutatorian James Strong speeches, as prepared, at Darien High School’s Wednesday graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2021:
The speeches were provided by Darien High School. At the bottom of this article, you can watch the full graduation ceremony video from DAF Media.)
Valedictorian Elanor Chase
The recipe for a high school graduate isn’t easy to pull off, but with a lot of time, a lot of love, and an ungodly amount of patience, it can be done. I’ve assembled a list of ingredients you’ll need to make a high school graduate:
● 1 awkward fourteen year old
● 30 teachers
● 10 administrators
● A dedicated maintenance staff
● 2 bus drivers
● a dozen friends, and
● 1 supportive family
Put the 14-year-old in a brick building for four years at approximately 70 degrees: decorate with cap and gown. Making a high school graduate is often seen as a singular feat of achievement for the graduate. I mean, going from that awkward 14-year-old who can’t even tell the difference between the B wing and the F wing, and is too embarrassed to even ask directions until they’re completely lost and on the brink of tears, to an almost fully-functional adult?
