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NCHS Senior Drew Pyne Signs Early Letter of Intent To Play Football at Notre Dame

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New Canaan High School senior quarterback Drew Pyne on Wednesday signed an early Letter of Intent to play football at the University of Notre Dame. Pyne said he’s always dreamed of playing at the storied Indiana university. “[Rams Football Head] Coach [Lou] Marinelli gave me the right path in high school to make all this happen, so all thanks to him,” Pyne said moments before a signing ceremony in the Wagner Room at NCHS attended by more than 50 relatives, friends, classmates, teammates and coaches. “I’m blessed with this great opportunity so I’m very excited.”

Asked what special NCHS memories he’ll take with him, Pyne said, “All of high school has been fantastic, whether football or academically.”

“Mr. [Bill] Egan, our principal, has made it a great experience for me. And Coach Marinelli has made it unbelievable as well.

Bill Egan

New Rule: No Cellphone Use in NCHS Classrooms

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Starting this year, New Canaan High School students are not permitted to use cellphones in class during the day, Principal Bill Egan said Monday night. In the past, the decision on cellphone use had been left up to individual teachers’ discretion, but the feedback from those educators has been that it’s simply “not a great thing for anyone,” Egan told members of the Board of Education during their regular meeting. “The cellphones are a distraction, so we want them out of the classroom,” Egan said at the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at NCHS. “So they will not be there during the class. They will have cellphone cradles that we will put them in.

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High Praise for Two NCHS Workers Who Saved Choking Student’s Life

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Two workers at New Canaan High School—both former employees of state agencies—are earning high praise from district officials after saving a choking student’s life last month. The public schools “are filled with dozens of wonderful stories taking place throughout the district on a daily basis,” NCHS Principal Bill Egan said. “The lifesaving rescue by Tom Brown and Patrick Mainolfi certainly rises to the top of this list. New Canaan High School, in particular, recognizes and appreciates their valiant efforts.” At about 3:30 p.m. on April 20 (a Thursday), Mainolfi—a campus monitor at the high school who had worked for 21 years in the state Department of Corrections—spotted a teen running down a set of stairs near the locker room in the athletics area of NCHS.

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‘Her Soul Sat Up’: NCHS Community Gathers To Dedicate Bench Honoring Kelly Devine

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Evan Remley, chair of the English Department at New Canaan High School, used to see fellow teacher Kelly Devine every day during passing time, standing outside her classroom and greeting students with a smile. It became part of his routine to encounter the beloved NCHS figure this way, and eventually, Remley recalled, he came to rely on “her steady, optimistic and kind soul to cheer me up.”

“One day I asked her, ‘How can you possibly be so cordial and peppy every morning?’ ” Remley recalled Thursday with a smile, addressing 100 of Devine’s family members, friends, colleagues and former students gathered in front of the high school on a brisk, sunny afternoon. “She smiled and laughed in her infectious way and explained that it had just become a habit. It was second nature to her, being kind and open. Kelly always knew what is so easy for the rest of us to forget: Appreciate the people in your life.

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‘He Has Educated Hundreds’: Police Sgt. Jason Kim To Leave School Resource Officer Role at NCHS

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The popular policeman based since September 2012 at New Canaan High School will move on from the ‘school resource officer’ role following his recent promotion, officials say. Sgt. Jason Kim has been assigned as a youth officer in the New Canaan Police Department’s Investigative Section, and a search for his successor as SRO is underway, according to Police Chief Leon Krolikowski. Interviews with officers who have expressed interest in succeeding Kim in the highly visible, important SRO job will commence next week and a new person could be in place at 11 Farm Road by the first week of November. “He’s done a great job,” Krolikowski said of Kim.