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Op-Ed: ‘So Many Ways That Kids Can Volunteer’

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[Samantha Haley is a junior at New Canaan High School.]

For almost as long as I can remember, it has been a family tradition for me and my sisters and brother to travel around to different senior centers in the area performing musical concerts. On weekends and school breaks, we would load up the trunk of the car with all of our instruments and equipment, and all five of us would squeeze into the remaining space. Since I was the youngest, I would always wind up in the middle seat of the back row with the foot of a music stand jutting into my back. 

I was eight years old when we started this tradition, and each trip brings back distinct memories. I remember our very first Musical Treats performance at Waveny Care Center. More than the actual music, I remember talking to the residents as we went around the room afterward handing out oatmeal cookies.

Anna Riccardelli

‘There’s a Place for Everyone’: Local Teens Flock to New Library

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[Samantha Haley is a New Canaan High School sophomore.]

Many residents watched the construction of the “new” New Canaan Library in real time. Driving past the construction site on South Avenue this winter, New Canaanites watched as stone, glass and concrete morphed into the community’s beautiful new library, now a bustling destination for locals across generations. New Canaan teens say it was worth the wait. Asked about the new facility, which opened in February, New Canaan High School senior Kelci Haley said it’s “amazing.”

“I love all the open spaces and light and the atmosphere is really inviting,” Haley said. “I really love everything the library has to offer and all the uses it can have for people of all ages.” 

On the upper floor of the library is a large Teen Room, a space dedicated to teens with comfortable study booths, collaborative tables and teen books.