Education

Letter: DHS Principal Thanks Some Pillars of the Darien Community

Darien GOP Caucus Endorses McCammon & McNamara, Registrar Visi and 8 JPs

Darien Public Schools Do Well in Recent Health Inspections

DHS Engineering Students Customize Vehicles for Kids with Cerebral Palsy

Update: FOUR Darien Students Named National Merit Scholars

Darien High Student Katie Tsui is Named U.S. Presidential Scholar

Police Officer Partners with Holmes School for a Book Drive Benefitting a Bridgeport School

Students, 50 and Over, Find Forgotten Family History in NCC Genealogy Class

Sleep Experts to Parents: Teen Sleep Deprivation is a Public Health Issue

Board of Education Names New Principal for Hindley School

Darien Team Participates in International Energy-Efficient Vehicle Contest

Around the World Festival at Royle School

Honorees Accept Going For Green Awards from Darien Chamber

With State Aid Threatened, Board of Finance Tightens Town Belt and Votes to Raise Taxes

Mural at Middlesex Middle School Shows Opportunities There for Students

Summer Picnic Series | End of Summer Family-Friendly Celebration at Grace Farms

Events Calendar

Community Organizations

By David Gurliacci | May 24, 2016

Education

By David Gurliacci | May 23, 2016

Education

By David Gurliacci | May 20, 2016

Education

By David Gurliacci | May 13, 2016

Education

By David Gurliacci | May 12, 2016

Education

By David Gurliacci | May 10, 2016

Education

By David Gurliacci | May 5, 2016

Around Town

By David Gurliacci | May 4, 2016

Education

By David Gurliacci | May 2, 2016

Education

By David Gurliacci | April 27, 2016

Education

By David Gurliacci | April 26, 2016

Education

By David Gurliacci | April 26, 2016

Business

By David Gurliacci | April 23, 2016

Education

By David Gurliacci | April 18, 2016

Education

By David Gurliacci | April 12, 2016

Name: Summer Picnic Series | End of Summer Family-Friendly Celebration at Grace Farms
Start: 2022-08-19T17:30:00-04:00
End: 2022-08-19T19:30:00-04:00
Location: Grace Farms

Schools and educational activities

To the editor,

Darien High School would like to thank the many donors within the Darien community who offer generous scholarships to our graduating seniors. The scholarships were recently awarded at the Darien Community scholarship ceremony to deserving seniors enabling them to achieve their college dreams. The generosity of the Darien community means so much to the students, their families, and Darien High School. We offer our sincere thanks to the following civic organizations, groups and families:

Darien Arts Center
Darien Chamber of Commerce
Darien Community Association
Darien Education Association
Darien High School Class of 1974
Darien Junior Football League
Darien Kiwanis Club
Darien Little League
Darien Masonic Club
Darien Old Timers
Darien Police Association
Darien Rotary Club
Darien Youth Hockey Association
Noroton Fire Department and Henry Bennet Family
Post 53
Royle School and Roger Tamburro Family
Southern Fairfield County Retired Teachers’ Association
The Blue Wave Booster Club and James Girard Family
The Bruno Family The Clem Miner family
The Dana Family
The Depot
The George Nelson Family
The Ginny Wright Family
The MacMannis Family
The Meloy Family
The Myles Beringer Family
The Piedmont Associates
The Shannon Dunleavy Family
Tokeneke School and MaryLee Fisher Family

With gratitude,

Ellen L. Dunn Principal, Darien High School

Dorothy J. “Jill” McCammon, who is ending her term as co-chairman of the umbrella organization of town parent-teacher organizations has been nominated by Republicans to fill an uncontested seat on the Board of Education. McCammon joins board member Christa S. McNamara, who was nominated to run for re-election this year, and a Democratic candidate. Board members David Martens, a Republican, and Callie Sullivan, a Democrat, are stepping down. (McNamara was not at the caucus — she’s in Sri Lanka at a sailing event, according to caucus members.)

McNamara and McCammon, together with Republican Registrar John Visi will be on the ballot this November, together with eight candidates for justice of the peace: David Anthony Brown, Eugene F. Coyle, Janet F. Grogan, Cathy A. Hauck, Eric H. Joosten, Brian J. Rayhill, Jayme J. Stevenson, and state Rep. Terrie E. Wood. “I think that our school system is in a tremendous amount of transition, and I want to be a part of that,” McCammon said after the brief GOP Caucus in Town Hall Monday night.

All seven Darien public schools received high ratings when they were inspected by the Darien Health Department in recent weeks. At four of the seven schools, visiting inspectors found no problems whatever, and each of those schools received a perfect 100 score on the state scale. In three schools, inspectors found a single problem, but the inspection results were still excellent, and all the schools were deemed “Good” — the highest rating in the separate town ratings system. The inspections were conducted from May 4 through May 17. The most recent inspection results

In the list of health inspection results, below, information is listed by name, address, date of inspection, Darien rating, state score, inspector’s comments that led to the state rating and additional remarks on the inspection report.

Cerebral Palsy DHS CCSU GoBabyGo! 5-13-16

Five youngsters got to take home a new customized car recently courtesy of a unique collaborative between Darien High School (DHS), Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), and the organization GoBabyGo! The cars — retrofitted Toys R Us vehicles — were modified for the children, all of whom have Cerebral Palsy which affects body movement and muscle coordination. The new customized rides now serve as a tool for mobility and as a form of physical therapy. They are also meant to be fun to drive — something the youngsters got to try out on the DHS track recently with their families. “This is giving high school students the unique opportunity to learn from and connect with these amazing and strong kids, and empower them to be their best and most confident selves,” said DHS teacher Jeromy Nelson, coordinator for Technology Education.

Two Darien High School Seniors and two Darien residents attending Regis High School in Manhattan have been named National Merit Scholars, each winning an award for $2,500 in college tuition. One of the National Merit Scholars, Katie Tsui, was just named a Presidential Scholar. The others named are Chloe Zhou of Darien High School. At Regis, Andrew Aoyama and Charles Burke also are National Merit Scholars. Tsui is interested in pursuing a career in neuroscience; Zhou, in mechanical engineering; Burke, in finance; Aoyama, in the foreign service.

The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars is pleased to announce that Katie Tsui, a senior at Darien High School, has been selected as a 2016 U.S. Presidential Scholar. The United States Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by Executive Order of the President, to recognize and honor some of our Nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors. Each year up to 161 students are named as a U.S. Presidential Scholar, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students. Ellen Dunn, Darien High School principal, said, “We are very proud of Katie Tsui. She is an outstanding student and a wonderful member of the Darien High School community.

Darien Police Officer Louis Moura has partnered with Holmes School in a book drive for Cesar Batalla School in Bridgeport. Moura, a former Bridgeport police officer and current school liaison officer to Holmes School, learned of this opportunity and immediately petitioned the Police Department for assistance. Moura has worked with Holmes School Librarian and Student Council Advisor Dyan Gonzales, who began the effort under the direction of the Student Council. The books will be delivered to Cesar Batalla School on May 6.

By Carol Wilder-Tamme

Twenty “Genealogy & Computers” students took part in Moving Up ceremonies on Monday, May 2, in recognition of the eight weeks of study they undertook starting in March at the non-profit Lifetime Learners Institute at Norwalk Community College. The students received certificates from the chair of the Curriculum Committee of the Lifetime Learners Institute, Richard Di Vecchio, and the facilitator for the “Genealogy & Computers” classes, Janeen Bjork. The popularity and the diversity of students in the pilot “Genealogy & Computers” course in fall 2015 convinced the LLI curriculum committee that it was time to offer both Beginner and Intermediate level classes. Beginner students were introduced to the fundamentals of Genealogy through classroom instruction and homework while also improving their computer knowledge and ability. The Intermediate students requested and received six weeks of training in advanced newspaper research techniques.

At a talk by teen sleep experts on Tuesday night, about 100 parents filled the auditorium at Eastern Middle School in Greenwich. Experts included Dr. Judith Owens from Boston Children’s Hospital; Dr. Craig Canapari, a pediatrician at Yale-New Haven Hospital; and Toni Lyn Salvatore, medical director of pediatrics at Greenwich Hospital. Dr. Owens talked about napping strategies (napping is not a long-term substitute for getting enough sleep on a long term basis.) She talked about caffeine, referring to it as a potential gateway drug because teens grow to rely on it. ____________

— This article originally was published by Greenwich Free Press. Darienite is republishing it here with permission.

The Darien Board of Education appointed DJ Colella as Principal of Hindley School at Tuesday night’s board meeting. The appointment is effective July 1. Mr. Colella is a graduate of Rutgers University, received a master’s degree in education from Manhattanville College, and a second master’s degree from Bank Street College of Education from their Future School Leadership Academy. ___________

— This is an announcement from Darien Public Schools. ___________

Mr. Colella was a 5th grade teacher for ten years, a 6th grade science teacher for five years and has served as the assistant principal at the Somers Middle School in Somers, N.Y. since 2010.

Shell Eco-Marathon hydrogen fuel cell vehicle 4-26-16

The DHS Principles of Engineering Class placed third in their division of the Shell Eco-Marathon competition last weekend in Detroit, Michigan. Thanks to a grant from the Darien Foundation which provided funding for a hydrogen fuel cell, the team was able to compete with hundreds of colleges, universities and high schools from the U.S., Canada and South America. […]

The announcement above is from the Darien Foundation for Technology & Community on Facebook. Darienite.com has more information below:

“Shell Eco-marathon challenges student teams around the world to design, build, test and drive ultra-energy-efficient vehicles,” according to the website for the competition. The Darien High School team competed against a team from Queen University in Canada and the Wheat Ridge High School team, from Colorado in a division for hydrogen-fueled prototype vehicles.

Third grade students at Royle Elementary School took a trip around the world without leaving the building this month. As part of an interdisciplinary unit, all Grade 3 students researched a country of their choice. Using the information from the research, students created presentations – slide shows, poster boards — to demonstrate a “Day In The Life” of a student living in that special place. As a culminating activity, students put together a booth or station with artifacts and food to represent their country. They then shared their new learning with parents and staff (pictured above).

On Thursday, April 21st , in preparation for Earth Day, The Darien Chamber of Commerce awarded the winners of the 9th Annual “Going for Green”awards. The event promotes environmental awareness and this pledge:
“I pledge to the community to make “Going for Green” part of my way of doing business and making lifestyle choices in Darien. As I make decisions for my business, or my life, I will consider green options to help make Darien and the Earth, a safe and hospitable home for present and future generations.”
This year “Going For Green” was sponsored by First County Bank, and the awards reception was held at the Darien branch on the Post Road. _________

— This is an announcement from the Darien Chamber of Commerce. _________

Chamber members, Estias: Back Porch Café and Meatball & Company generously provided delicious appetizers for the reception.

Reacting to Gov. Dannel Malloy’s proposal to cut state aid to towns, including $1.1 million to Darien, the town’s Board of Finance at a special meeting Monday replaced the state funding with budget cuts and tax increases. Under the board’s proposal, which now goes to the Representative Town Meeting for final approval, taxes would increase by an additional $515,425, and the mill rate would go from the $15.73 in the proposed budget passed earlier this month to $15.80 — a tax rise of 2.93 percent from last year (the budget proposal passed earlier this month would have raised taxes 2.48 percent). _________

Editor’s note: More information from Monday night’s discussions will be published later Tuesday by Darienite.com, when this note will be removed. _________

The state aid cuts aren’t certain to take place. (The RTM can cut the budget further, and therefore cut taxes, but not increase spending.)

The board adopted a proposal from its chairman, Jon Zagrodzky, who offered what he called a “balanced” plan to cut something from the Board of Selectman’s budget ($250,000 for a generator for Town Hall, to be used during power outages), and $530,000 in a proposed a set of cuts in capital projects for the Board of Education budget.

Along the first floor hallway at Middlesex Middle School (MMS), the finishing touches are being made to an out-of-this-world installation. Students in Art teacher Rebecca Stern’s 8th grade class are completing the first-of-its-kind mural for the school. The mural, which does not have a name yet, has the planet Earth in the center.

Students representing all the teams and activities orbit the planet. At MMS, students are grouped into teams — four per grade level — which are named by color, such as Red, Yellow, Aqua, Purple, and Green.

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