History

The Hanukkah Story

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According to Jewish custom, Hanukkah is considered a “minor” Jewish festival, but today it ranks—along with Passover, Purim and High Holidays—as one of the most beloved Jewish holidays, full of light and joy and family celebration. Unlike many Jewish holidays, Hanukkah (also known as the Festival of Lights) is not mentioned in the Bible. The historical events upon which the celebration is based are recorded in Maccabees I and II, two books contained within a later collection of writings known as the Apocrypha. As the story goes, in the year 168 B.C.E., the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes sent his soldiers to Jerusalem. The Syrians desecrated the Temple, the holiest place for Jews at that time.

Organizations

Phelps-Hatheway House to Host Teas

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Please join the staff of the Phelps-Hatheway House and Garden for two delightful occasions sure to make your holidays bright! On Saturday, December 7 and Sunday, December 8 at 11 a.m., the door to our historic Pine Room will open to welcome families to a Teddy Bear Tea. Bring your beloved bear for a sweet treat and celebration of the holidays. Tea sandwiches, a variety of cookies and a tasty herbal tea will warm the heart and body. A short story dedicated to the bear you love and a visit from a special North Pole resident will finish our time together.

Government/Town

Lots of Brass: Great Music

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When the 102nd Army Band of the Connecticut National Guard came to town, concertgoers at Suffield High School on October 19 were greeted outside the auditorium by a jazz group, a talented sub-unit of the band. That nice surprise was a good start to what turned out to be a top-notch concert. Sponsored by the First Church’s Music on High program as the beginning of a yearlong celebration of Suffield’s 350th anniversary, the event was free. As First Selectman Melissa Mack was unable to attend, Selectman Mel Chafetz opened the event with a welcome and some notes on the sponsorship and the band, and 350th Chair Kacy Colston spoke of 350th events to come. The concert itself opened with the Army’s brass band sub-unit: a dozen musicians down in front of the stage with an assortment of shiny instruments ranging from two small trumpets to a giant Sousaphone.

Government/Town

Suffield Winter Farmer’s Market

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The Suffield Winter Farmer’s Market “December Holiday Edition” is teaming up again with the Agriscience program, making local produce and craft items available for the holidays. This Winter Market will be held indoors at the Large Animal Facility (LAF) in the northeast corner of the high school parking lot (behind the green house) at 1060 Sheldon Street in West Suffield. This means shoppers and vendors can do business in a great area, with easy access and parking. There will be over sixteen vendors joining the students who are selling their wonderful wreaths and other seasonal décor. Many have supported this great sale in the past and enjoyed the local holiday spirit.

Organizations

Loaves and Fishes Serves 100,000 Meals a Year

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Enfield Loaves and Fishes serves 100 thousand meals every year and relies only on community support to continue operating. Enfield Loaves and Fishes, the town’s only soup kitchen, announced today that it is seeking donations from the community to continue its operations as 2019 draws to a close.

Organizations

Rotary News

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The Club distributed a brochure on substance abuse and resources, including opioids, to Suffield residents. It can be found in an insert in last month’s SO.

Organizations

National Speaker on Autism Coming to Suffield

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How can Suffield understand and make room in our community for young adults on the Autism Spectrum? Find out December 3 at 6 p.m. as Partnering to Reach Aspirations (PTRA) invites Suffield residents and other interested individuals to sit in on our new Understanding Young Adults with Aspergers/ASD Speaker Series. With nearly 3 percent of Suffield students on the Autism Spectrum, PTRA aims to start making space for recent graduates with ASD in our community. Jeanne Beard, Founder of the National Autism Academy, speaker, coach, consultant, parent and author from Chicago, Ill., will explain one of the most misunderstood diagnosis of our time, Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD). Ms. Beard will present the topic, “What everyone should know about the simple requirements that support the success of those with autism”.

Organizations

Breakfast with Santa to Benefit Scout Project

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Get into the Christmas spirit and help support a local cause. On December 22 from 8:30-11 a.m., Boy Scout Matthew Tini will be hosting a pancake breakfast at Father Ted Hall next to Sacred Heart Church on Mountain Road, and Santa is expected to be there as well.

Schools/Sports

ShopRite Kindness Award

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Each month Suffield High School chooses a student to receive the ShopRite Kindness Award, given to a student who has shown kindness in one way or another. The student chosen has demonstrated one or more of the following characteristics: exemplary citizenship, civic awareness, responsibility, leadership, commitment to others and helping others. In addition to the honorary recognition, ShopRite will donate $50 to the charity of the student’s choice. Congratulations o Gretchen Gustafson, who was chosen to receive the ShopRite Kindness Award for October. Gretchen was nominated by Ms. Lisa Goodwin who said, “Gretchen was a student of mine in Honors Algebra II last year.

Schools/Sports

Scholar Athletes

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Congratulations to Nora Shanks and Charles Brydges for being named the male and female scholar athletes for the Class of 2020. They were nominated to receive the Connecticut High School Coaches Association scholarship. In order to be nominated, students must have earned at least one varsity athletic letter, have achieved a minimum academic average of 3.0 and have demonstrated exemplary citizenship and leadership. Out of all the students nominated throughout Connecticut, four $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to the top two boys and top two girls selected by a committee. Coach Casolari commented, “I have worked with Charles both in the classroom and on the athletic field, and he is an exceptional leader in both areas.

Schools/Sports

Rotary Student

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Congratulations to Savannah Price who was chosen as the Rotary Student of the Month for October. Savannah is a senior at Suffield High School and also an honors student. She is a member of the National Honor Society and the World Language Honor Society, where she was elected as Secretary.  In January of 2019, Savannah was named the World Language Student of the Month. Senorita Dolnack chose Savannah for her dedication to learning the Spanish language and culture in addition to the quality of her work in class.

Schools/Sports

National Honor Society Induction

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The National Honor Society Induction took place on October 24 in the Suffield High School auditorium. The four pillars of National Honor Society are Scholarship, Service, Leadership and Character. 

Thirty-six students (12 seniors and 24 juniors) were inducted into the Society in the formal ceremony. These students join the 15 seniors who were inducted last year. Mrs. Reiser was the guest speaker. Mr. Blain, Principal and Mrs. Zawawi, Assistant Superintendent, also spoke. 

Congratulations!

Schools/Sports

Peer Models Sought for Preschool

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Screenings for 3 and 4-year-old Peer Models have been scheduled for: Tuesday, January 21, and Tuesday, January 28.(Inclement Weather/Snow Date: Tuesday, February 4). The Suffield Developmental Preschool provides a theme and skill based curriculum guided by BEST Practices as outlined by the Connecticut Early Learning and Development Standards. Our Goals: Promote early literacy skills; develop each child as an individual; growth toward self-reliance and healthy independence; develop positive feelings of self-worth and inner strength;  learn to interact with others by respecting their rights and feelings; learn to solve problems and resolve conflicts by expressing feelings in an appropriate manner; growth toward physical, emotional, social and intellectual maturity. We provide a caring, supportive and fun filled environment. Certified Program Staff:

Special Education Teachers; Occupational Therapist; Speech/Language Pathologist; Physical Therapist. 

Please call Spaulding School at 860-668-3352 to schedule an appointment. 

Schools/Sports

BFF: The Premiere of a New Musical

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The machinery of adolescence is a topic that has been featured in thousands of forms of media for thousands of years, reflected on television screens, canvases, and frail rolls of paper. It is a theme with incredible longevity, but one that constantly requires new perspectives and techniques to maintain its relevance. This is a demanding standard, yet it is matched and exceeded by Suffield High School Drama Club’s production of the original musical BFF. With book and lyrics by SHS’s resident film and French teacher, Carl Casinghino, and music by his uncle, Robert Casinghino, the musical is an ambitious work that conveys the complex tangle of relationships that binds an average high school community both in the physical world and the amorphous digital realm. These two spheres are so integrated that the plot’s driving conflict emerges and escalates in the initial acts without many of the characters ever meeting in person, instead building animosity allegiances through text messages, which will be displayed to the audience through a projector.

People/Business

Music is a Unifying Element

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Rituals at holiday times enrich all our lives, and Suffield has lots of them. None are more joyful than the Christmas Concert at the Second Baptist Church, which is scheduled for Saturday, December 14, at 3:00 p.m. (snow date December 15). The concert in its present form began life 16 years ago, when Evelyne Battle arrived as the church’s Minister of Music. Following an unusual, if not unique, career path, Evelyne had worked in international banking with a position as head of a loan department in what she terms a “boutique bank,” one that funded projects in sub-Saharan Africa. She left the banking industry in 2004.

Government/Town

Vets Day Observed

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Government offices on all levels were closed on Veterans Day, along with banks and the U.S. Post Office. Like most businesses, Suffield schools remained open, along with most other schools statewide, with the day’s significance to be discussed in classrooms and assemblies.

Government/Town

Controversial SPD Study Published

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The final report of a comprehensive study of the Suffield Police Department’s operation, initiated early this year, was distributed to the Selectmen and the Police Commission in October and published on the Town website at the end of that month. First Selectman Melissa Mack and Police Commission Chairman Kenneth Pascoe then called a joint special meeting of the Selectmen and the Commissioners on November 4 in the Middle School auditorium.About a hundred attendees were there. First Selectman Mack asked Attorney Eric Daigle of the Daigle Law Group, who did the study, to give a short summary of the project and its 59-page report. 

As described by Attorney Daigle and the report itself, the study entailed interviews, surveys, and the review of relevant documents. His emphasis throughout was to assure the safety of the police officers and to reduce the probability of expensive liability. The Daigle report produced 10 specific findings and 42 recommendations.