Schools/Sports

Suffield Film and Video Festival

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On Tuesday, June 11, the 19th annual Suffield Film and Video Festival was held in the high school auditorium. This year featured an exceptionally wide range of movies, including comedies, dramas, news features, animation, public service announcements (PSA), portraits, and more. A distinct feature of this year’s festival was the abundant works by two of our graduating seniors, Olivia Dalfino and Emily Fabrizi, who are pursuing film production and animation in college. Among Olivia’s works were the award-winning non-dialogue short Unmasked, the comedic Finding Love, and the striking artistic statement Self Portrait. Emily produced many diverse projects, including the comedies Cyber Pig and Equus Guido, along with her exceptional animated shorts Caesar Doo Where are You?, Baby It’s Cold Outside, and the genuinely accomplished and moving piece Cumo.

People/Business

New Brewery in Home Stretch

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In late May the proprietors of the Broad Brook Brewery hung a big banner in front of the long-delayed construction project on South Street, announcing BROAD BROOK BREWERY COMING SOON. The foundation, steel framework, and exterior sheathing had been largely completed by April 2018, when the stop-work order was issued. As the Observer reported in May 2019, work resumed after a year’s delay. Arguments about how to satisfy questions about the foundation’s stability had been settled with a plan including exterior backfill with expanded polystyrene foam to reduce earth pressure on the foundation walls, along with exterior buttresses. In the first week of June, many large slabs of the designated foam, one foot thick by four feet wide and up to ten feet long, were carefully stacked up along about 100 feet of foundation wall, with a total thickness of four feet.

Organizations

Summer Programs at Hilltop Farm by FOFAH

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There are a variety of new programs along with several familiar nature programs this summer at Hilltop Farm. These programs are designed to promote wellness and an understanding of the natural world. Check hilltopfarmsuffield.org/programs For details and prices, See you at Hilltop! Yoga at the Farm 

Sunday Yoga 9 a.m. weekly to September 29. All ages.

Organizations

Annual Farm Fest Weekend at Hilltop Farm

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It’s time that FOFAH begins the preparation of Hilltop Farm to host Farm Fest weekend with a dinner on Saturday and an agricultural festival on Monday, Labor Day. The Annual Harvest Dinner & Silent Auction is scheduled for Saturday, August 31. Dinner under the tent with friends and neighbors is a wonderful way to mark the beginning of autumn. The Silent Auction will offer a variety of food and beverages. This event is FOFAH’s primary fundraising event.

Schools/Sports

SHS Trivia Night

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Each school year the Suffield High School Chick-fil-A Leader Academy is challenged with completing an “Impact Project” to benefit the community and to practice their leadership skills. This year the group, made up of 30 sophomores and juniors, decided to put on a Trivia Night to benefit the Dustin L. Doyon Memorial and the Brianna Mailloux Scholarship funds. It was an incredibly successful night. The Trivia Night was held Friday, May 17 at 6 p.m. on the Suffield High School grounds. Twenty-one teams of six to eight people each consisted of mostly high school students, their parents, and three teacher teams – one from Suffield High School, one from Suffield Middle School and one from McAlister Intermediate School.

Schools/Sports

New Director of Special Services Appointed

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The Suffield Board of Education has selected Mrs. Diana Kelley to be the new Director of Special Services for the Suffield Public Schools. Diana comes to Suffield from the Glastonbury Public Schools where she has been a member of the Special Education department for the past eighteen years. She has served as their Director of Special Education since 2015. There were eleven applicants for the position, of whom four candidates were selected for interviews based on their previous work experiences. A search committee that consisted of Board of Education members, administrators, faculty, staff, and parents interviewed the candidates over a period of several weeks.

Schools/Sports

SHS Senior Walk

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Class advisor Tena Reiser leads the SHS graduating seniors on the annual senior walk through the corridors at Spaulding School, with high fives and greetings from faculty and students alike.

Schools/Sports

Congratulations Graduates! 205 Move on from SHS

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  Suffield High School’s 80th commencement exercise was a happy experience, with proud families and friends applauding on a perfect June 15 morning on Ted Beneski Field. Class President Anna Casinghino spoke briefly about the extraordinary skills of her classmates and urged them to keep their skills growing. John Richter of the Board of Education commented that the class had had a lot of help along the way so far, and he said “The power in you is limitless, but it’s up to you now to find that power.”

  Salutatorian Rabi Zulfiquar, a top debater in the Connecticut Valley Debate League, quoted Kierkegaard as he asked, “How can we find meaning in Life?” and answered, “Live authentically!” Valedictorian Ziad Hassan, a fellow top debater, told his classmates “It’s been an honor to be here with you,” but he felt he really couldn’t give them advice, and that’s where he ended his talk.   Principal James Blain thanked the two class advisors for the Class of ’19, Christena Reiser and Kyle Kibby, and thanked Paula Anderson for organizing the commencement. He thanked all the school staff and teachers for their help in this, his first year at SHS.

People/Business

Connecticut High School Principal of the Year

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Joe Blake is a winner, in many ways. To begin with, the Suffield resident has recently received the Principal of the Year Award from the Connecticut Association of Schools. You might assume that such an award is given for curriculum advances, or for program development, or for the supervision of a building plan; for high-test scores or for winning athletic teams, or for some combination of those. Joe’s tenure was cited for many of those accomplishments, but the major factor that distinguished him from other candidates was the strength of his relationships with students at Coventry High School. Doesn’t every high school principal have relationships with students, one might ask?

Organizations

Clothing from the Attic Shown at the King House

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This summer the Suffield Historical Society is displaying a new exhibit at its King House Museum entitled “Clothing  From the Attic.” Professionally mounted by consultant Stacey Danielson with help from summer intern Myra Edmonds, a student of fashion history and design at NYU, the exhibit highlights some of the best pieces of a collection which has been in storage for many years. All the items were donated (and presumably worn) by Suffield residents, the great majority from Minnie Ringland of West Suffield in 1985. Visitors will see a wide sampling of items from two centuries, including nightwear, children’s dresses, everyday house dresses, afternoon and evening dress as well as various accessories. The items are spread throughout the museum and lend the house a lived-in look.

Government/Town

Highway Garage Plans Charge Ahead

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The fast-moving drama of where to relocate the town highway garage, if indeed it is to be relocated, may well have passed a major milestone before this issue of the Observer is distributed. The events in the current chapter of that drama, centered on the existing building at 1160 South Street and the economic development of a garage-less Ffyler Place, have developed quickly since a new proposal was introduced by First Selectman Melissa Mack and developer Kevin Casey to the Selectmen and a few members of the public at the May 1 Selectmen’s meeting, as reported here last month. On May 15, the new proposal was explained in more detail to the Board of Selectmen and a small audience (fewer than two dozen) with a 44-page PowerPoint presentation, followed by audience questions and comments, both positive and negative. It was clear from the May 15 presentation that this was not simply the garage move. Developer Casey, who had the South Street building under contract and would adapt it as required, offered to sell the adapted building to the Town for $2.4 million.

Churches

Vendors Wanted

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We are seeking Vendors for our Christmas Bazaar held at Sacred Heart Church, 446 Mountain Road, Suffield, CT to be held on Saturday, November 2nd from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. All proceeds go to the Sacred Heart Women’s Guild Scholarship Fund. For details call Elizabeth at 860 668-4246 or email sheart.church@sbcglobal.net. 

Churches

Sacred Heart Church Renovations

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Sacred Heart Church will be closed approximately six weeks to allow for minor structural repairs and renovations to the thirty year old structure. The work officially started the week of June 24. All the services will be held at St. Joseph’s Church until further notice. On the advice of a structural engineer, expansion joints need to be installed on the single doorways on the front of the building.

Organizations

Our Polish Heritage

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If you are of Polish descent and attending college this fall, you may be eligible for a $1000 scholarship! The Polish American Journal Foundation (PAJF) is a non-profit organization that promotes Polish and Polish American culture and traditions across the country. To receive the scholarship for the 2019-2020 academic year, an application must be submitted no later than July 31. Graduate or undergraduate students in any career field may apply. In addition to being of Polish descent, applicants will be expected to describe involvement with the Polish community – past, present or future.

Churches

First Church Receives Grant

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First Church of Christ, Suffield has recently received a grant from the Amiel P. Zak Service Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. The $7000 award will allow First Church to purchase three new Automated External Defibrillators (AED) and will be able to provide the training that is needed in order to operate the AEDs. An AED is a portable device that automatically delivers an electronic shock to the heart to re-establish the rhythm during a cardiac arrest. Having an AED readily available gives first responders a 60 percent greater chance than CPR in saving a victim. The devices will be placed on each of the three floors of the church so that in case of an emergency anywhere in the building, an AED will be nearby.

Organizations

Sunday on the Porch Series at Phelps-Hatheway

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The staff of the Phelps-Hatheway House invites you to join them on Sunday afternoons in August, starting at 2 p.m. Noted scholars in the fields of historic gardening, woodworking and Native American culture will present a lecture followed by summer treats. Tours of the historic museum are included in admission. The series begins on Sunday, August 11, as Suffield’s own Luis Lee will share stories of his youth as a member of the Seneca. Historic carpenter Mike Einsiedel will recount his restoration of the Palmer Warner barn, Haddam, on Sunday August 18. The final lecture in the series will feature Laurie Masciandaro of Roseland Cottage on Sunday, August 25,  chronicling  the history of Connecticut’s Historic Gardens.