Community Gallery: Newest Staples Graduates
Click to enlarge photos. All photos by J.C. Martin for The Westport Local Press.
Coleytown Elementary and Stepping Stones Preschool Closed Monday; Students will be Given a Time to Collect Belongings
Press Release, Westport Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Scarice Dear Westport Families,
As our community mourns the tragic loss of one of our beloved students and her mother, I want to provide assurance that the school district is actively working to support those closest to this unspeakable loss. A plan for mental health and grief counselors is being developed for those most impacted.
In order to appropriately end the school year, while simultaneously addressing the profound grief in the Coleytown Elementary School community, Monday June 21 will not be a student day. Coleytown Elementary School and Stepping Stones Preschool students will not report to school Monday June 21 as a scheduled school day.
However, parents can expect to be provided information by CES Principal, Janna Sirowich, and SSP Director, Lynda Codeghini, on an opportunity for students to visit their classrooms and teachers on Monday June 21 for one last time, and to collect their belongings as they depart for summer.
Details of this opportunity will be shared later today by building administration, yet I can share that there will be a defined window of time for visits. I want to assure parents that there will be no discussion of the recent tragedy while students visit their teachers and collect their belongings. We will have staff staged across the entire school to help facilitate this opportunity for your child. This will be a drop off event and should take no longer than approximately 30 minutes. Again, details will be forthcoming from building administration.
Finally, parents will be provided additional resources on how to speak with your child, and whether or not it is age-appropriate to do so. Members of our team are ready to support our families, faculty and staff.
I want to thank the school community for the respect given to our faculty, staff and all first responders as we heal and support each other, and move to support all of those most impacted by this tragedy.
Respectfully,
Thomas Scarice
Superintendent of Schools
Coleytown Elementary, Stepping Stones Preschool Closed for Classes Tomorrow; Open from 11-1 for Mental Health Support
Press Release, Superintendent Thomas ScariceDear Families and Staff of Coleytown Elementary School and Stepping Stones Preschool,
As you are aware from my earlier message, our community is dealing with the tragic loss of a mother and her beloved daughter. This tragedy has particular significance to both Coleytown Elementary School and Stepping Stones Preschool. In order to support the members of these school communities, both schools with be closed for students on Friday, June 18, 2021. Parents and students from both schools can access school-based mental health services and resources between 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at Coleytown Elementary School.
It is times like these that a community is drawn together to support each other. I ask that everyone in our community take a moment to reflect how we can help each other through this tragic loss.
Respectfully,
Thomas Scarice
Superintendent of Schools
Three Staples Students Chosen to Represent USA at Hwa Chong Institution International Summit
Press Release, Westport Public SchoolsNatalie Bandura, Erin Durkin and Allison Schwartz will represent Staples High School at the Virtual HCI-APYLS 2021 event.
As one of the premier schools in Singapore, Hwa Chong Institution is eager to share its success with other high performing schools and to learn from others. For that reason, HCI has organized the Hwa Chong Asia-Pacific Young Leaders Summit which takes place virtually this year in July. HCI invites only the top student leaders from some of the best schools around the world to the Summit. In previous years, student participants came from Australia, China, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Oman, Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, United Kingdom, US and Singapore.
For the past eight years, Westport has been invited to send three juniors who are both high performing students AND interested in world affairs with a special interest in Asia. The criteria used by HCI are: a) you must be between 16 and 17 years of age; b) you must possess good oral and written proficiency; c) you must have substantial leadership experience and potential; d) you must be academically able and among the top performers in the school; e) you must possess enthusiasm and strong interest in forging ties with fellow students from around the world. The 80 student delegation invited to HCI is selective.
Congratulations to the delegates who will join students from Scarsdale High School (New York) and Dominion High School (Virginia) as representatives from the United States.