Business

‘I Am Thrilled’: NCHS Senior Internship Program Underway

By |

As the school year comes to a close, nearly every New Canaan High School senior is turning to the increasingly popular Senior Internship Program to provide them with the real-world job experience that is expected of them in college and beyond. May 22 marked the first day students ventured into New Canaan and surrounding towns’ businesses and organizations to join the workforce as interns. Assigned jobs ranged anywhere from gardening at churches to working in interior design. Run by Program Coordinator Heather Bianco, ‘SIP,’ as it’s known, reached a record-high number of participants in 2018, at 94 percent of the graduating class. While it earned high marks from past participants, the program still needed some adjustments this year, Bianco said.

Around Town

Annual Fishing Derby Set for Saturday at Mill Pond

By |

New Canaan’s young anglers will descend on Mill Pond Saturday morning for one of the town’s most cherished community traditions—the annual fishing derby. Registration will start at 8 a.m. for the popular free event—a competition for special prizes—and fishing will start at 8:30 a.m. The fishing derby is open to kids 15 and younger, and 10-and-unders must be accompanied by an adult.

“We are always so thrilled to see so many families come out together to take advantage of such a beloved event,” said Tucker Murphy, president of the Kiwanis Club of New Canaan. “We really want to thank the Police Benevolent Association. They really stepped to help pay for the re-stocking. Without the help of police, fire and DPW, this event would not happen.

Around Town

Kiwanis Club’s Annual St. Patrick’s Day Dinner & Social To Be Held Sunday

By |

The New Canaan Kiwanis Club’s popular St. Patrick’s Day Dinner & Social is around the corner, scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 11 in St. Aloysius School’s dining hall. A community staple for years, the event features Irish dancing and is sponsored by New Canaan’s Hoyt Funeral Home, First County Bank, Bankwell, Kiwanis Division 20, Karl Chevrolet, Sperry DeCew, Nurenu Brand Marketing, Baskin-Robbins, Walter Stewart’s Market, Stewarts Spirits, NewCanaanite.com, Hawthorne Ackerly & Dorrance, Anam Cara School of Irish Dance and Harney Pender Keady School of Irish Dance. Tickets are $10 for children, those under age two are free, $15 for adults ($20 at the door) and are available at the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, 91 Elm St.; Walter Stewart’s Market, 229 Elm St.; Baskin- Robbins 103 Main St.

Government

Local Leaders Urge New Canaanites To Attend Feb. 27 Hearing on Proposed Rail Service Cuts; Private Busing Arranged

By |

Saying there’s a chance that New Canaan will see rail service along its branch line dramatically reduced—a prospect that town officials and business owners have called devastating—local leaders are urging residents to attend a public hearing and makes their voices on the matter heard next Tuesday. A town resident has arranged for private buses to depart the New Canaan train station at 4:15 p.m. on Feb. 27 to bring those protesting the potential cuts in service to UConn-Stamford for a public hearing organized by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The hearing will run from 5 to 8 p.m. and the buses will bring attendees back to New Canaan afterwards, according to Tucker Murphy, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce. “While there are a lot of issues that come up in town that we say you have to be involved and pay attention to, this is one that really, really means it because of our sheer numbers of people show up,” Murphy said.

News

Record-High 94 Percent of NCHS Seniors To Enter Internship Program

By |

This spring, 289 New Canaan High School seniors will participate in an increasingly popular internship program that sends the students to work for the last month of the academic year at local and area businesses and organizations. The figure represents about 94 percent of the Class of 2018—marking a high point in the history of a program that launched with just a dozen NCHS seniors in 2011. Heather Bianco, coordinator of the Senior Internship Program, attributed the rise in popularity of ‘SIP’ its many benefits for students. “It just gives them experience out of school in a work environment that they don’t get in school and a lot of them have not had a job before, so it just gives a professional environment where they can get a real-life work experience,” Bianco, who is in her second full year of overseeing the program, told NewCanaanite.com. Here’s a look at its growth (article continues below):

 

Bianco took the reins from Sue Carroll, who as coordinator of the College and Career Center at NCHS had overseen the development and first several years of SIP with help from a volunteer steering committee.