Have You Heard …?

Here’s the low-down on what’s up around town:

A Darien Recycling Center post on Facebook:

 

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Kindergarten and first grade classrooms at Holmes Elementary School recently became living laboratories through the High Touch High Tech program.

Students learned about the five senses with hands-on experiments and interactive investigations led by scientists Mr. O and Mark Goldstein.

Other students learned about the forces of gravity, friction and magnetism by doing hands-on experiments led by High Touch High Tech scientist Stacy Smith.

The kids discovered how much they rely on their senses and how easy they are to fool using pencils, flashlights and sandpaper. High Touch High Tech has provided enriching science experience to students for the last decade.

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These donations recently were given to Person-to-Person:

• a $10,000 grant from Westport-based Newman’s Own Foundation to support the Norwalk Emergency Assistance Program
• a $20,000 grant from the MBIA Foundation, which will fund four years of college for a Mentoring4Success Scholar. P2P Executive Director Ceci Maher points out that many of the agency’s programs not only address immediate need but also endeavor to provide long-term solutions and future opportunity. “From budget counseling to job training, P2P is dedicated to supporting a client’s journey toward self-sufficiency. The P2P Scholarship Program helps college students from low-income households realize that goal by bridging the gap between what each can earn and save and the amount needed to attend college.”

For more information on the “Undies Project” (see the photo just above) see this website.

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This past Christmas season, the Community Fund of Darien’s Youth Asset Team and Middle School Youth Asset Team spent an afternoon with Seniors at Atria bringing cookies, holiday cheer and technology support to seniors at Atria.

When asked how they want to serve their community, one middle school student said, “We want to bring joy to people!” Future service projects for these groups include visits to Inspirica, Darien Nature Center and New Covenant Center.

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Lithos restaurant has closed and the owners (who also own the next-door Darien Diner and some other diners) are looking for a tenant or a buyer.

 

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“The safe house was a large, unloved Colonial located in the rolling hills outside the town of Darien in the Connecticut countryside one hour north of New York City. The house needed paint and a new roof, but it would be just fine for the summer, provided it didn’t rain too much. The leasing agent had called it a steal at $3,000 a month. The tall, vaguely Asian gentleman with the vaguely German name who signed the papers offered no comment. He didn’t mind the flaking paint or the leaky roof. What interested him was the home’s isolated location, the endless back yard that ran into a glade of elms, and the fact that the nearest neighbor lived 500 yards away, with a steep hill to separate them.” page 259, opening of Chapter 64 of Christopher Reich’s thiller, “The Prince of Risk” (2013), just bought at the Darien Library book sale.

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Editor’s note: We’ve stolen the idea for this “Have You Heard … ?” feature, lock, stock and both barrels, from NewCanaanite.com’s “Did You Hear … ?” feature.