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‘The Positive Side of Social Media’ Presentation at Darien Depot

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YWCA Darien/Norwalk Parent Awareness invites parents of 5th through 8th grade students to attend an upcoming program entitled The Positive Side of Social Media, a free event at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 9 at the Darien Depot. — an announcement from YWCA of Darien/Norwalk

The program will show how teens can use social media for good. In an age where we primarily focus on the negative aspects of social media, YWCA Parent Awareness has invited three Darien High School teens to come and speak about how they have successfully used social media to make a positive impact on our community. During the event, parents will learn from them how and why they made their decisions, and also learn from them about different decisions they would make now versus when they were in middle school. This small roundtable-style discussion, moderated by teen psychologist Dr. Tara Levinson, is designed to teach parents that social media, used properly, can be a powerful tool.

Auditions

Young Composers Asked to Submit Music for the Young Composers Concert

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Attention Young Composers! The Music Department of the Darien Public Schools will be sponsoring the 22nd annual Young Composers Concert at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 6 in the Darien High School Auditorium. The deadline for submissions is March 14. — an announcement from the Darien Public Schools Music Department

This program is open to all students currently enrolled in the Darien Public Schools. It is a great opportunity for students to compose their own original music and share it with an audience.

Darienites
DHS Arts Award recipients state 2022

Two DHS Seniors To Receive Arts Awards From Connecticut Association of Schools

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Darien High School seniors Cosmo Amatruda and Thomas Cleary will be honored with Arts Awards from the Connecticut Association of Schools in April, the high school announced. Amatruda will receive an award in the music/performing arts category; Cleary, in the visual arts category. The awards will be given at the 27th annual High School Arts Awards banquet in April.

Darienites
Four Presidential Scholarship Program candidates DHS

Four DHS Seniors Are Candidates for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program

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Four Darien High School seniors have been selected as candidates for the United States Presidential Scholars Program. Anastasia Carey, Tam-Hao Nguyen, Katherine Wolters and Preston Yao have been recognized based on broad academic achievement and having scored exceptionally well on the SAT or ACT. — an announcement from Darien High School

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 Presidential Scholars, one of the Nation’s highest honors for high school students. Those selected Presidential Scholars don’t get scholarship money.

Community Fund of Darien 2021
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‘The Pressured Child: Helping Your Child Find Success in School and Life’ Presentation, Thursday Night

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New York Times bestselling author Dr. Michael G. Thompson will speak Thursday, Nov. 18 at the Middlesex Middle School auditorium at to speak about “The Pressured Child: Helping Your Child Find Success in School and Life.” Dr. Thompson’s presentation, one of a series of events to address student mental health and substance use from the Thriving Youth Task Force (TYTF) in response to its recent student survey findings about Darien 7th-12th grade students’ mental health and substance use. “The Pressured Child” presentation is recommended for “pressured parents” who have forgotten what school is actually like for children and who may mistakenly believe that there is a one-to-one correlation between school performance and success in life. Dr. Thompson will remind adults that children are almost never judging themselves by grades: they are always monitoring their own development and constantly searching for three things: connection, recognition and a sense of power.  Each journey has its own different pressures, and every child is constantly developing strategies for coping with the pressures that they feel.

Sports
Poster 1 Knights for Aces Norwalk Grassroots Tennis 2021

‘Knights for Aces’ Tennis Tournament for Kids and Teens, Aug 22 in Darien and Norwalk

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Kids and teenagers of any skill level are invited to play in the Knights for Aces tennis tournament, coming Sunday afternoon, Aug. 22. — an announcement from Grassroots Tennis & Education
The competition, from 1 to 6 p.m., features round robin doubles tennis matches, starting on the courts of four clubs in Darien — Middlesex, Tokeneke, Wee Burn and Woodway. Participants are asked to arrive by 12:45 p.m.

After matches are played, the winning doubles team in each division will play in the finals at Grassroots tennis courts in Norwalk. Players and spectators are invited to enjoy pizza and refreshments, and winners will take home trophies and t-shirts. 
Finals and food will be  at the William Rippe Tennis Center at Springwood Park, 11 Ingalls Ave.

Darien High School 2020-2021
Something Rotten! image Theatre 308

Theatre 308 to Perform ‘Something Rotten!’ Musical in Courtyard, Online, Memorial Day Weekend

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Theatre 308 is proud to present the hit Broadway musical Something Rotten! Memorial Day weekend at Darien High School. For the first time in school history, the DHS’s spring musical will take place outdoors in the courtyard. — an announcement from Theatre 308
The show goes up for live, in-person performances on May 27 to 30, 2021, with all shows starting at 7 p.m.
Set in the 1590s, Something Rotten tells the tale of brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom, who are desperate to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rock star known as “The Bard.” When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing, and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first musical. But amidst the scandalous excitement of opening night, the Bottom Brothers realize that reaching the top means being true to thine own self, and all that jazz.

Art Exhibits
TL Duryea dress

Art Exhibit, Family Event in New Canaan to Promote Girls’ Confidence

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The Carriage Barn Arts Center will open an exhibit, May 27, “She Is Rising,” a celebration of women of various ages, backgrounds and ethnicities — some captured from life, and others imagined — who represent female power. — an announcement from LiveGirl

LiveGirl, a co-sponsor of the exhibit, also will host a “celebratory event” outside the Carriage Barn on Friday, June 4. “Family Fun Friday” is a “celebration of female power and the arts” featuring carnival games, an art scavenger hunt, cocktails, Flaco’s Taco Truck, Darien artist/activist TL Duryea “completing a masterpiece,” live music by Melissa Wasserman. Family Fun Friday runs from 5 to 7 p.m., June 4. Tickets are $25 and available here, on the LiveGirl website.

Coronavirus 2021
COVID-19 Vaccine Coronavirus

First Selectman’s COVID-19 Update: Where We Stand in Darien, What Lies Ahead and Advice on What To Do

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Parents, consider getting your teenager, 16 or older, to a vaccine clinic to join 55% of Darien residents who have already got at least one shot. Community Health Centers clinic at the Long Ridge Road parking lot of the former Lord & Taylor store in Stamford will welcome Darien students, 16 and older, for their first shot on Saturday May 1 and their second on May 22. That’s part of the advice and news update from First Selectman Jayme Stevenson’s message to the town late Thursday. Darien residents of any age older than 16 are welcome at the scheduled Town Hall clinics — Wednesdays in May from 9 to 3 p.m. Again, no appointments needed. And there’s this consideration for high school students: “As we move closer to end of year activities like prom, graduation, performances, sports activities and other town events, we encourage all students 16+, with parent permission of course, to consider getting vaccinated.

Lindsay Smith Claes Nobel Future Female Leader scholarship

Lindsay Smith of Darien Receives Claes Nobel Future Female Leader Scholarship

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Lindsay Smith, a Darien High School student and EMT with Darien Emergency Medical Services, has been awarded the Claes Nobel Future Female Leader Scholarship. Of nearly 600 applications, Lindsay was one of 10 students who were selected to each be awarded a $1,000 scholarship, which was by the National Society of High School Scholars (a nonprofit organization founded in 2002 and not related to the National Honor Society). — This article is based on an announcement from the National Society of High School Scholars. The scholarship was established to encourage and empower young women to assume future leadership roles in their higher education, careers, and communities and to become mentors for the young women following in their footsteps. Lindsay is a nationally registered EMT and volunteer in Darien’s Emergency Medical Services group, Darien EMS Post 53, the only high school student-run EMS program in the U.S.
She spends countless hours there each month, including multiple 24-hour first response shifts and 48-hour second response shifts.

COVID-19 2021

DHS Seniors Can Register for COVID-19 Vaccinations; One Fully Vaccinated Darienite Caught COVID

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Darien High School seniors can now register to get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on May 1, and the second dose on May 22 at the parking lot of the former Lord & Taylor store in Stamford, Darien officials announced. “We anticipate opening the registration link to all students over 16 years of age or older by next week,” the announcement from schools Nursing Director Alicia Casucci and town Health Director David Knauf said. In a separate announcement, First Selectman Jayme Stevenson said Darien has had 58 new cases during the two-week period since April 2. “We are tracking information about folks who are fully vaccinated who then contract COVID,” Stevenson said in her regular, weekly COVID-19 update. “Only one such case has occurred in Darien so far.”

Community Organizations
YWCA Darien/Norwalk Stand Against Racism

YWCA Darien/Norwalk Launches ‘Stand Against Racism’ Essay, Poster, Poetry Contest for Grades 6 to 12

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The YWCA Darien/Norwalk is launching an Essay + Poster Art + Poetry Youth Contest to provide Darien and Norwalk students in Grades 6 to 12 an outlet to explore racism in a safe, accessible manner. — an announcement from the YWCA Darien/Norwalk

The contest invites students from Norwalk and Darien to use their creativity as a tool to Stand Against Racism. All students in Grades 6 through 12 are eligible and encouraged to participate by responding to the prompt: #How I Take A Stand Against Racism. It is the hope of the YWCA Darien/Norwalk that within the context of local and national events students take some time and reflect on what they are seeing in the world around them and demonstrate through their creativity how they can have an impact. The contest’s goal is to highlight how students take action when faced with challenges resulting from racism, and to encourage students to share their experiences and ideas with the community.

Healthy Living
If They Had Known documentary poster

Online Documentary for Teens, Parents on Combining Prescriptions, Alcohol: Online Wednesday

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“If They Had Known,” a 35-minute documentary about an accidental death that shouldn’t have happened, will be presented online, for free,, by New Canaan Cares and Silver Hill Hospital. The documentary, recommended for teens age 13 and up and their parents, will be available online starting at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 14. A discussion will follow with Dr. Frank Bartolomeo, Silver Hill Hospital director of adolescent services. Partying in high school and college is nothing new, but how kids party these days has changed. To attend this virtual program, you can register here.

Parents & Kids
Darien Scouting

Darien Scouting Open House Saturday Afternoon, Oct 3

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Families with boys and girls are invited to stop by the Scout Cabin at 140 West Ave. on Saturday Oct. 3 from 2 to 5 p.m. to see the scouts in action, participate in fun activities, and learn more about the Darien Scouting program. — an announcement from Darien Scouts

While many youth activities have gone virtual or been cancelled altogether due to the pandemic, Darien Scouting has continued to provide programs for local youth to enjoy fun outdoor activities, build leadership skills, make lifelong friends, and provide valuable community service, all while following COVID-19 safety procedures. Darien Scouting has programs for grades K-12 including Cub Scouts for boy and girl elementary students, separate boy and girl Scout BSA troops for middle and high school students, and the first-in-the-nation coed STEM Venture Crew for high schoolers interested in developing and teaching STEM-based curriculum.

Education
Darien High School DHS 9-13-16

DHS Principal: Here Are Resources for High School Students on Racism and Police Violence

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With many high school students concerned about the recent police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and dramatic events sparked by it, Darien High School sent an email Thursday morning to parents with web links to information geared toward students on racism and police violence. SEE ALSO: DHS Principal’s Recommended Source for Reading About Racism Denounced on National Fox News Show (June 6)

DHS Principal Ellen Dunn sent the email. Among the resources it points to are several that her message emphasized, including links to:

— an interview with “a clinical psychologist at the University [of Pennsylvania] studying racial literacy and racial trauma”

— a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, has detailed materials for educators and families on teaching about race, racism, and police violence

— three links to Web pages with information “for educators in how we can proactively help children think about and process these difficult ideas” from the National Association for School Psychologists, which was being used by the school district for guidance in addressing the topics with students. 

“As events unfold around the country, the Darien Public School District joins other organizations and individuals in the call to action to address and end systemic racism. […]
“As a District, we are sharing resources with the community that will guide our work moving forward in the race conscious education of our students and support your discussions as families.” […]
“Engaging in difficult conversations is a critical step in fostering acceptance and embracing differences.