Education
Darien High School DHS 9-13-16

Brenner: No Danger Found After Rumors and a Threatening Message, Rumor About a Gun in School Is False

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Update, 5:42 p.m.:

Rumors that a gun was at the high school on Friday are false, Schools Superintendent Dan Brenner said in an email to parents and teachers about the two incidents involving a threatening message on Friday and rumors of one on Wednesday. In part of his 4:38 p.m. email, Brenner said:
It has come to our attention that there was a rumor that a gun was present at school today.   This is absolutely false.  Please be assured that these incidents have been found to have no substance and that there was no threat present at any time.at 4:38 p.m.
Here’s Brenner’s entire message:

Dear School Community,

It has been an unsettling couple of days at Darien High School as a result of two unfounded threatening messages that were reported to the administration.  I understand how upsetting this is to the entire school community. Our training suggests the best way to manage these situations is to be timely and forthright with information and to immediately dispel any rumors that may be circulating.  With that in mind, I would like to reiterate the following facts:

On Wednesday, several students reported they heard there was a written message in a bathroom that said, “do not come to school on 3/23.”

The police, who were at the high school, investigated and assured us that DHS was safe; and,
Following our internal protocol, we emailed parents about the incident. This afternoon, a student reported that the following statement was written on a bathroom wall, “gonna shoot the school per. 6.

Education
Darien High School entrance

Brenner: Rumor of Threatening High School Message Determined to be Unfounded

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Darien High School administrators determined Wednesday afternoon that there was no foundation to a rumor that a seemingly threatening statement written on a boys’ bathroom wall, Superintendent of Schools Dan Brenner announced in a news release. The rumor was that someone had written “Do not come to school on 3/23” (Thursday), according to Brenner. Administrators at the high school checked all the bathrooms and didn’t see the message. “Administration [staff] conducted a complete investigation, includin questioning a number of students, and after consultation with the Darien Police, we are confident this rumor is unfounded and that there is no threat to our school or any of our students,” the news release said. The news release concluded:
As always, please know that the safety of our children is our highest priority and we are committed to ensuring the wellbeing of our school community.

Education
Middlesex Middle School wikipedia 5-25-16

Re-opening: Darien Schools Back on Wednesday Morning, on a Two Hour Delay

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Darien public schools will re-open on a two-hour delay Wednesday morning, Superintendent Dan Brenner said in an emailed announcement at 7 p.m.

Here’s the announcement:

The Darien Public Schools will operate on a two hour delay, tomorrow, Wednesday, March 15. We will continue to monitor road conditions throughout the night to make sure a two hour delay is sufficient to guarantee safe travel.  If road conditions deteriorate during the course of the evening we will contact you no later than 6 a.m. to indicate that schools will be closed. Just a few reminders:

Wednesday, March 15, elementary school parent conferences will be postponed. Students will have a normal dismissal time.

Education
Darien High School Entrance at Night 02-13-17

Darien Schools on a Two-Hour Delay, Wind Advisory Issued for Area

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Darien Public Schools, like other school districts in the area and some private schools, have announced a two-hour delay in the start of today’s school day, the district has announced. _________

— This article will be updated as more information comes in about any Darien or nearby weather delays or closings. _________

LIST OF AREA DELAYS
These schools or other institutions are delayed two hours Monday morning, unless otherwise noted:

Holly Pond School will open at 10 a.m., the Darien YMCA announced. St. Luke’s School in New Canaan is on a 90-minute delay
New Canaan Country School
Norwalk Community College
University of Connecticut campuses across the state will open at 10 a.m.

There are two-hour delays for New Canaan, Norwalk, Westport, Wilton and Weston public schools as well.

Education
Brenner budget meeting 01-09-16

Superintendent: Hire 6 Middle/High School Dept Chairs for $265,000

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At Darien High School and Middlesex Middle School, 12 teachers coordinate six different academic departments in each school, spending about 20 percent of their time doing it. But a better system would be for the school district to hire six department chairs, each of whom would spend 80 percent of the time running an academic department across both schools, and 20 percent teaching a class, Schools Superintendent Dan Brenner says. He wants to change to that system in the next school year. It would cost about $265,000 more each year. Brenner introduced the proposal to the Board of Education and the public during the marathon, all-day budget meeting of the board on Saturday.

Education
Chromebook student by Jeff Billings 912-28-16 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PVUSD_student_using_GoogleApps.jpg

350 Chromebooks Going Out to All Grade 8 Students From Jan 4 to 6

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Darien Public Schools will be distributing Chromebooks to all Middlesex eighth graders in early January as part of the district’s 4-year technology plan. ___________

— This article is a slightly edited version of  a Dec. 19 announcement to parents of Grade 8 students from Darien Public Schools. ___________

As part of the plan, Darien Public Schools started issuing Chromebooks for home-school use to Grade 6 & 7 Middlesex students. Through a district-wide redistribution of Chromebooks, a complete set of devices became available for Grade 8.

Education
Hour of Code dps 912-08-16

Darien Public Schools Join ‘Hour of Code’ Events This Week

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Throughout this week (Dec. 5 to 9), Darien students across the district have joined a worldwide event to celebrate the field of computer science — and have some fun along the way. The Hour of Code, hosted by code.org, was started to demystify “code” and show that anybody can learn the basics. It has since become popular across the globe and will involve tens of millions of students across 180 countries this year. This is the second year all Darien schools are participating in the Hour of Code.

Education
Music no copywright wikimedia commons 912-06-16

Darien Schools Winter Concerts Announced

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The Music Department of the Darien Public Schools has announced its lineup of school Holiday Winter Concerts.  

 

For additional information contact the Darien Music Department at: 203-655-3981 ext: 2250 or visit the Music Department blog.

Education
Darien Public Schools

Report: Darien Public School Enrollment Down by 50 Students This Year

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A report to be presented to the Board of Education Tuesday evening shows Darien Public Schools enrollment this year down 50 from last year at this time, with 4,797 students, compared with 4,847 in 2015. Enrollment in Middlesex Middle School — which went from 1,167 students on Oct. 1, 2015 to 1,134 as of Sept. 14 — accounts for two thirds of the drop, or 33 students. The grade school population went from 2,322 to 2,309 in the same period — 13 students.