Schools/Sports

Safety Forum Focused on High School Incident

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In response to inquiries and comments, Suffield held a forum on Monday, March 12, to discuss safety and security in the town’s schools. The event had been scheduled some time ago in response to questions, but it became more significant after the February 14 school shooting in Parkland, Fla. A sparse crowd of no more than a hundred came to the Middle School auditorium to hear some presentations and ask questions. The forum was opened by Suffield Police Captain Christopher McKee, and First Selectman Melissa Mack welcomed the audience. She reminded everyone that safeguarding our most precious resource – our children – is our number one priority.

Schools/Sports

Superintendent’s Update

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Margaret Mead, cultural anthropologist, once said, “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”

On March 14, those students at Suffield High School and Suffield Middle School, who chose to participate, were provided with a school sanctioned walk-out of class to express their support for the students of Parkland, Fla., in their concerns about school safety and to honor those who lost their lives. Student leaders met with administration and faculty to plan the event. Our student leaders are impressive as they demonstrated empathy for human suffering, concern for their fellow students who have differing perspectives and motivation to improve school safety. 127 SHS students and 390 SMS students walked out of class at 10:00 a.m. on March 14 and participated in a respectful solemn gathering at their respective schools. A few students were signed out of school by their parents and expressed themselves by walking down to the Suffield Green.

Schools/Sports

Aladdin, Jr. Enchants at SMS

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This year’s choice for a musical drama at the Suffield Middle School was Aladdin, Jr., and a great choice it was. Adapted from a Disney animation of a version of the marvelous old fairy tale, the script offered the opportunity to involve a tremendous cast on stage, colorfully costumed in great variety and make good use even of the school’s “Elite Voices” choir. Sixty kids performing and 31 more in vital supporting tasks obviously had a great time, and audiences in the SMS auditorium on February 22, 23, and 24 enjoyed the production fully. There have been many versions of the Aladdin story over the centuries, and this one featured the “diamond in the rough” street boy who becomes involved with a Middle Eastern princess who must choose a husband. Offered a poor choice among three visiting princes, she eventually finds Aladdin, who is transformed into “Prince Ali” with the first of three wishes offered by the genie he has inadvertently released from a magic lamp.

Library

DPW Update – Kent Memorial Library

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In mid-February, National Library Relocations, Inc., completed the task of cleaning and packaging approximately 30,000 books, DVDs and audio books to be held in storage until the Kent Memorial Library completes the polychlorinated biphenyl (PBC) abatement process. An additional 40,000 books (either outdated or in poor condition) were discarded. Wood panels and shelving assemblies have been temporarily removed in order to allow for the encapsulation procedure. The panels and shelving will be reinstalled upon completion. On March 6, 2018, EnviroScience, the Town’s civil and environmental engineering consulting firm, submitted the modified remediation plan to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for their review and approval.

Organizations

Genealogical Workshop

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A workshop for lineage research, which is open to the public, will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 28 at the Second Baptist Church, 100 N. Main Street. The workshop is sponsored by the Sibbil Dwight Kent Chapter of the Daughters of The American Revolution. It will be conducted by Jolene Mullen, a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and Field Genealogist of the National Society of the Daughters of The American Revolution. Mrs. Mullen will direct how to research individual genealogical lines and will answer questions from the participants. She will have reference materials available.

Library

Science Saturday Begins

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Wendy Mitzel, part-time Teen Outreach Coordinator for the Kent Memorial Library, has opened a program of Science Saturdays for middle and high school kids. Library Director Jackie Hemond said she hopes to offer the program monthly, on the first Saturday of each month. The first session, on March 3 at the Suffield Senior Center, lasted three hours in mid-day, with lunch provided. With the help of a grant from the Friends of the Library, Wendy was able to buy two iPads and two Sphero Minis, plus enough imaginative accessory material to make two five-by-seven-foot obstacle courses and one smaller course. When the free app is installed in an iPad, the action of the Sphero Mini (a clever, app-enabled robotic ball a bit bigger than a golf ball) can be controlled with finger motions on the iPad screen.

Library

Action Again at KML

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This report will be brief, as Town officials have chosen to provide a monthly update on the library project. Readers will find the update on the followng page of this issue. During some months recently, there seemed to be little happening at the old library on Main Street, the place that Library Director Jackie Hemond likes to call “the Big House.” But important planning was going on in offices elsewhere. There was a spurt of activity at the start of February when a quantity of books exposed to PCB contamination were removed. Then in the first few weeks of March, Suffield carpenter Brian Doyon removed attached wooden shelving, exposing the walls to allow the planned PCB remediation.