Board of Education Chair Katrina Parkhill said during Tuesday’s public hearing before the Board of Finance that she is “hopeful that we will achieve a start time closer to 8 a.m.” for elementary school students. A logistics consultant had been hired by the Board of Ed “to look for opportunities to save time on bus routes” under a proposed start times schedule, which would have seen East, South and West Schools start at 7:45 a.m. The school board will present a final start times schedule at a meeting on Monday, Parkhill said.
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Sandra Dennies, former CFO for the town of New Canaan, has been hired as director of administration for the city of Stamford, according to The Advocate. She succeeds New Canaan’s Mike Handler in the position. He stepped down last week.
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The New Canaan Police Department is preparing to run its popular Civilian Police Academy. It will run over nine sessions—6 to 9 p.m. every Thursday from April 9 to June 11. Spots are limited. Click here for more info.
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Saxe 6th grader and 2020 National GeoBee semifinalist Rowan Richey Elliot
pictured with Saxe 6th Grade Social Studies teacher Christina Fulco
Congratulations to Saxe Middle School student Rowan Richey Elliot, who has advanced to the second level of the 2020 National Geographic “GeoBee” competition. It’s designed to “inspire and reward students’ curiosity about the world,” according to NatGeo’s website. Faculty coordinators include sixth-grade social studies teacher Christina Fulco, and eighth-grade U.S. history teacher Andrew Fusci.
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A New Canaan couple last week denied a Milford private school’s claim that it’s owed more than $20,000 because the family signed an “enrollment contract” to have their daughter attend the school for ninth grade and then withdrew, via voicemail, prior to the start of the academic year. The plaintiff, Academy of Our Lady of Mercy, Lauralton Hall, filed a lawsuit in January, and the defendants answered it Feb. 25.
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New Canaan Police Officers Ron Bentley and Roberto Lopez have raised $504 toward their $5,000 goal for the Special Olympics Torch Run Super Plunge, a March 29 benefit for Special Olympics Connecticut that will see the officers plunge into near-freezing water once per hour for a 24-hour period. Support their effort and learn more here.
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NewCanaanite.com this week published its 3,000th community event. The community calendar is user-generated—upload your event information here—and event listings are shared on the site and in our daily newsletter, at no cost.
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New Canaan Public Schools have been unusually hard-hit by flu this season, district officials said, with about four times the number of cases compared to the past few years.
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The occupants of a Millport Avenue apartment are being evicted for failure to pay rent since last September, according to documents filed Monday in state Superior Court.
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Here’s an update on the New Canaan High School squash team, from Lisa Platt:
NCHS Girls Squash at Nationals
“The US High School Squash Team Championships were held February 21-23 at several colleges and boarding schools in the Hartford area. NCHS Girls Squash competed in Division III (out of 5 total divisions) at Wesleyan. Despite a tough first round loss to Hopkins 5-2 with Tara Chugh and Sophie Havens notching the only wins for NC, the girls bounced back and beat Friends Central 4-3, with wins from Chugh, Havens, Charlotte Sigg and Serena Platt. Having only 6 players for the next round would result in another tight match, but again the girls pulled it out with a 4-3 victory over Roland Park Country Day. Exciting wins from Chugh, Lili Beecher, Sigg and Delaney Smith put the team into the consolation finals against Middlesex. Chugh won her last match for NCHS handily 3-0, and although there were fantastic performances by her teammates, especially Sigg and senior Charlie Gardner who each lost 3-2, the team fell to Middlesex 6-1. The girls had a great season and they are already looking forward to next season. Congratulations to seniors Tara Chugh and Charlie Gardner, who will both be missed for their talent and enthusiasm.
“NCHS Boys played in Division V (out of 7 divisions) at Loomis Chaffee and played tough all weekend and were without one of their regular players. In the first round, wins from Robbie Hellmann, Nick Lambrinos and Chris Richardson kept it close but the boys lost 4-3 to The Masters School. In the next round, the boys faced BBN and although Hellmann and Richardson again came up with wins, the boys fell again 4-3. Next up was Staples and although NC hadn’t beaten them earlier in the year, they were outmatched this time around and lost 6-1, with the lone win coming from Hellmann who was down 2-0 and fought back to win 3-2 (11-8 in the fifth). Playing in their last match for NCHS, seniors Bradley Hennessy and Richardson each provided exciting wins against Latin School of Chicago, with Hennessy overpowering his opponent 3-1 and Richardson outlasting his opponent 3-2. Hellmann won his match going 4-0 on the weekend, but the team lost 4-3 overall. It was a tough weekend but the boys tried hard. Congratulation to seniors Hennessy and Richardson who will be greatly missed by the NCHS team.”
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Finally, here’s an update on the 7th Grade Girls Red Basketball Team from Denise Luccarelli:
“The New Canaan Basketball Association’s 7th Grade Girls Red Team won both Fairfield County Basketball League Tournament playoff games over the weekend to advance to championship game, under the leadership of Coaches Danny Upchurch and Troy Owens.
“Saturday’s quarterfinal game proved to be a competitive match-up between rivals New Canaan and Darien. New Canaan maintained a tight lead for most of the first half with baskets by high-scorers Lauren Livesay, Sammie Plosker and Riley Fortmann. Offensive and defensive rebounds by Katie Casey, Olivia Michelini, Julia Michelini, and Jacqueline Mulle kept the ball in New Canaan’s possession. Pressure defense by Georgi Owsley, Dianna Luccarelli and Kira Morton forced several key turnovers by Darien. A fourth quarter run led by Jane Shumway, including clutch free-throw shooting by Shumway, Plosker, Livesay and Morton, helped seal New Canaan’s 26-19 win to advance to the semi-finals.
“On Sunday, New Canaan faced Naugatuck with both teams charged to win this semi-final game. Quick ball handling and passing by Fortmann, Shumway and Livesay enabled New Canaan to execute the offense with precision. Scoring was led by Plosker who scored 7 points in the second quarter, and additional points by Julia Michelini, Casey, Mulle and Fortmann rounded out scoring in the first half. Owsley, Luccarelli and Morton’s aggressive defense held off Naugatuck’s quick back court. The opponents were neck and neck throughout the game, with Naugatuck ahead by only two points at the end of the third quarter. Despite an intense fourth quarter with two teammates fouling out and one teammate sustaining an injury, New Canaan maintained composure with Olivia Michelini and Livesay, each with 4 points, and Mulle and Fortmann, each with 2 points, leading a fourth quarter run to outscore Naugatuck 12-0 and capture the 29-19 win to advance to the championship game.
Here’s are the list of the girls on the team:
- Katie Casey
- Riley Fortmann
- Lauren Livesay
- Dianna Luccarelli
- Julia Michelini
- Olivia Michelini
- Kira Morton
- Jacqueline Mulle
- Georgi Owsley
- Sammie Plosker
- Jane Shumway