News

Campus Sexual Assault Safety Tips Highlighted at New Canaan Briefing

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High school students set to leave for college in the fall on Monday received expert counsel on ways to stay safe in the face of sexual assault. At the second annual “Know Before You Go” press conference, New Canaan’s rising college freshman were advised on precautions that need to be taken as they set out on their own. Margie Hahn, a New Canaan resident and rising Junior at Villanova University, provided these important tips on what every college student should know at the briefing, held in the Training Room at the New Canaan Police Department:

Supportive friends that you feel safe approaching when you are in an uncomfortable situation. Easy access to the phone number of a school counselor, as well as your RA (Room Advisor). A safe word. Margie stated that she has a “safe word” with both her parents and her friends that acts as an “SOS” signal that she could discretely text to them if in trouble.

News

VIDEO: New Canaan High School Class of 2015 Graduates

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New Canaan High School Class of 2015 Graduation
Uploaded by Michael Dinan on 2015-06-19. After graduating from Princeton with a bachelor’s degree in English, and with honors from NYU School of Law, Stephen Vehslage worked his way toward a successful law practice, working primarily in civil litigation and white-collar criminal defense. All seemed to be going well to those who surrounded him, but inside, Vehslage had serious doubts the path he’d charted for himself was the right one. After some intense soul-searching, Vehslage decided that it was time to change course and go back to school, to become a teacher. Vehslage is now a 15-year veteran of New Canaan High School but his first year was anything but smooth, he told hundreds of Class of 2015 seniors and their families and friends on Thursday, in a keynote address during graduation ceremonies.

News

District Schedules Info Sessions This Week on New Standardized Tests

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Saying they want to ensure that parents have a chance to ask questions about new standardized testing that will debut this spring, district officials have scheduled three informational sessions this week. The sessions—scheduled as follows—will center on the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium or “SBAC” test that soon will be given to grades three through eight and also grade 11, said Board of Education Chairman Hazel Hobbs:

March 23: Board of Education Meeting – All parents and community members welcome. Special presentation on Assessment at all grade levels. 7 p.m. Wagner Room, NCHS;
March 24: Meeting for parents of New Canaan High School students. Presentation for NCHS parents—1:30 p.m. in the Wagner Room, NCHS;
March 25: Meeting for parents of Saxe Middle School students.

Around Town

Beverly Greenberg, 92: Cherished New Canaan Colleague, Volunteer, Friend and ‘Aunt Bev’

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For me, she will always be ‘Aunt Bev.’ Though not related by blood, Beverly Greenberg was as close to my family growing up as anyone. She passed away Friday at age 92. A small service at Hoyt Funeral Home is planned for Tuesday with a wider community service to come in the spring. Known to generations of New Canaanites as an administrative assistant at Center School, Bev was amazingly active in the community for decades.

News

East School Parents Fund $35,000 in New Playground Equipment for Kindergarten, First Grade

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Thanks to the generosity of East School parents, kindergarteners and first-graders on Little Brook Road as soon as April will enjoy new playground equipment that’s designed both to provide fun and stimulate the senses. The Board of Education at its regular meeting Monday night voted 8-0 to accept a $35,000 gift from the East School PTC that will go toward a rollerslide, grab bar, hand hold/leg lift and other equipment from Delano, Minn.-based playground design firm Landscape Structures. The figure includes the relocation in the playground of a popular “fire truck” and introduction of new woodchips that will be needed for the site, according to PTC Co-President Patty Zoccolillo and East School Principal Kris Woleck. Weather-permitting, the new gear will go in over April Break, Zoccolillo said. “I just wanted to mention once again the incredible generosity of our parent body,” she told the school board at the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School.