Around Town

Five NCHS Class of ’16 Grads Awarded Kiwanis Club’s ‘Harold S. Kenney Scholarship’

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On Thursday, the Kiwanis Club of New Canaan awarded five 2016 New Canaan High School graduates with scholarships recognizing the students’ academic and extracurricular accomplishments. The Harold S. Kenney Scholarship award was named for a longtime Kiwanian and NCHS headmaster who retired in 1973, a summer camp business manager and hockey coach who was named a Hay Fellow in the Humanities by Williams College in 1961. After receiving 10 applications described as “all worthy of support from the club” and “amazing on paper and in person,” the Kiwanis Club’s scholarship committee made a tough decision and chose these five applicants, according to club member Tucker Murphy. “We should all feel proud that we can help these students,” said Murphy. Sophie Salomon, entering DePaul University this fall with a possible Film Production area of specialization, compiled a cumulative GPA at New Canaan High School of 86.

Around Town

Local Nonprofits Receive Grant Allocations from Kiwanis Club of New Canaan

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Thanks to the Kiwanis Club of New Canaan, 24 local organizations on Friday received a boost to their funding. The international nonprofit, whose mission is “Serving the children of the world,” handed out checks to local organizations that address youth during its annual allocations breakfast. This year, the Kiwanis Club allocated a total of $9,620 which comes almost entirely from fundraising events—mainly the Zerbini Family Circus, which also benefits the New Canaan YMCA and will be held Saturday, June 18. Beth Jones, head of the Kiwanis Allocations Committee, said nonprofits seeking support undergo a multi-step process. “We start by looking at how much money we have to give away,” Jones said during the breakfast, held at the Y. “Once we get all the applications in, we sit down, they usually come to my house for lunch, and we go through all of the applications and eliminate the ones that do not fit our mission of helping children of the world.”

Once the Allocations Committee prioritizes which groups they want to allocate funds to, Jones and the rest of the committee, “presents it to the entire Kiwanis Club, we vote on it, and then we give the final list to the treasurer.”

“It is usually very amicable process,” Jones said.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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One of the men brought up on misdemeanor charges by New York City police for climbing the Brooklyn Bridge in order to get a nice photo of Manhattan at sunrise Saturday was a 24-year-old New Canaanite, the New York Post reports. ***

Some of the New Canaan High School students who attended the boys varsity lacrosse game Saturday versus rival Darien misbehaved to the point where the principal of NCHS sent a letter that went to the wider school community to address the problem. The letter references “a number of incidents at the game” including alcohol consumption and profanity. It continues: “Consuming or possessing alcohol, threatening or harassing others, acting disrespectfully, and/or any behaviors that would not be tolerated in school will not be permitted at these contests. If it is witnessed, students will be removed from the game and may face significant disciplinary action in school, up to and including suspension.

Around Town

Q&A: Talking To ‘The Ram Council’ President About ‘The Power of Prevention”

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The Ram Council Foundation, an organization built around a group of NCHS students who lead substance-free lives, is scheduled on the night of Thursday, March 31 to hold a panel discussion, “The Power of Prevention: Success Stories and Strategies for Healthy Teen Years.” The question-and-answer session will feature panelists such as New Canaan First Selectman Rob Mallozzi and St. Luke’s School Headmaster Mark Davis. NewCanaanite.com recently caught up with Ram Council President Joyce Sixsmith to talk about the group and this event specifically. Here’s our exchange. New Canaanite: Talk to us about the genesis of the Ram Council.