At the Board of Education Meeting on Thursday May 9^th Two Wilton High School Students were awarded CABE (Connecticut Association of Boards of Education) Student Leadership Awards.

The CABE Student Leadership Awards Program is designed to honor Connecticut High School and Middle School students who exhibit exemplary leadership skills.  Two students from each school in a CABE member district, are eligible to receive the Student Leadership Award.

School staff nominate students who exhibit leadership skills that include:  willingness to take on challenges, capability to make difficult decisions, concern for others, ability to work with others, willingness to commit to a project, diplomacy, ability to understand issues clearly, ability to honor a commitment.

Principal Dr. O'Donnell and Associate Principal Don Schels introduced the two High School seniors and spoke of their accomplishments.

Kace Stewart

Kace is an Eagle Scout. Through Boy Scouts he has developed a commitment to preserving our environment.  Kace has been a team captain of the junior varsity soccer team, he is a committee chairperson for the future business leaders of America and Vice president of the stock trading club. Kace is also a squad leader in marching band. Kace participates in Peervention, an organization where students chosen by faculty are trained to assist other students through difficult situations. As a member of Peervention Kace has been a mentor to a middle school student., a panel speaker during eight grade orientation and a student trainer. He is currently an executive council member of the organization. Kace can always be counted on to volunteer and to follow through when called upon. He is often the first to arrive to an event and the last to leave. Kace Steward has contributed much to the enrichment of the WHS community during his high school years and represents the best of our youth.

Madeline Burke

Madeline has taken on leadership roles within the Student Government and Student Senate and has been a member of the Wilton Public Schools Science Curriculum Committee for the past three years as a Student Representative. Her involvement in clubs such as Prom Committee, Top Inclusion Models, SafeRides and Amnesty International have also played important roles in her high school career. Additionally, Madeline founded Project CARE which works to foster positive relationships between local police and the community and was one of two students chosen as a Student Ambassador for the County Assemblies 2018 Charity Ball.

Madeline has played basketball for three years and uses her love of the sport to give back and enhance her leadership skills. She is Captain of the varsity basketball team, coaches a local youth clinic, and participates in a mentorship program with young athletes.

 

 

WHS to Graduate 34 College-Bound Athletes in Class of 2019.

Bottom Row - Left to Right

Julia Skillin, Lehigh University - Lacrosse
Andreen Reid, Southern CT University -Track and Field
Grace Rava, Saint Michael's College - Soccer
Emma Rothkopf, Brown University - Field Hockey
Liela Hastings, Fairfield University - Swimming
Sophia Strazza, Salve Regina University - Softball
Avery Rowland,Trinity College - Swimming
Arisa Cowe, Harvey Mudd College - Swimming
Phoebe Beshlian, Skidmore College - Lacrosse
Carly Sullivan, Pitzer College - Lacrosse
Delia Freliech, Colorado College - Lacrosse
Bridgette Wall, UMASS, Amherst - Lacrosse
Anne Rava, Merrimack College -Track and Field
Lindsay Groves, Boston College - Soccer
Katherine Stevenson, William and Mary - Swimming
            
Top Row - Left to Right            
            
Tyler Previte, Air Force Academy - Football
Cole Judelson, University of Tampa - Baseball
Andrew Calabrese, Naval Academy - Lacrosse
Cameron Farrar, Rutgers University - Soccer
Stephen Batter, Cornell - Rowing
Michael DiCostanzo, Western CT University - Football
Matthew Graham, St. Lawrence University - Football
Jack Ferguson, Univ of New England - Football
Andrew Luciano, Mass Maritime Academy - Football
Kyle Brody, Trinity College - Rowing
Tyler Daher, Gettysburg College -Track and Field
Dean DiNanno, College of the Holy Cross - Lacrosse
Nico Benalcazar, Wake Forest - Soccer
Ryan Schriber, University of Michigan - Lacrosse
Zachary Dedrick, University of Notre Dame -Soccer
Nicholas Condos, Elon University -Tennis
Ryan Looney, Bentley University -Swimming
            
Not Pictured            
            
Quinn Fleming, College of the Holy Cross - Rowing
Brandon Jonsson, Susquehanna University - Lacrosse 

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 This weekend was the annual Wilton High School music adjudication trip. Each year the adjudication trip gives students the opportunity to play on a different stage for an audience of judges who will assess the performance against a set of criteria and offer feedback for the students on their playing techniques. Each year the music department and a committee of parent volunteers to plan the trip with military precision to ensure a great musical experience with maximum fun for all involved.

This year 220 students, 20 chaperones and 8 members of the High School faculty travelled to The University of The Arts in Philadelphia to perform at the historic Gershman Hall. The students wowed the judges with ten performances from each of our ten musical ensembles. Musical groups performed over the course of an eight-hour day.  During each performance, a top-level judge recorded running commentary and written comments.  At the conclusion of each performance, the judge joined the kids up on-stage and held a clinic.  This was truly a great learning experience for the students and their teachers.

Amazing results from the performances:  Out of 10 groups, 9 receiving the highest rating (Gold) and one received Bronze (all to thunderous applause).

 

#	Group	Rating
1	Jazz 2	Gold
2	Symphonic Orchestra	Gold
3	Concert Band	Bronze
4	Jazz 1	Gold
5	Concert Orchestra	Gold
6	Wind Ensemble	Gold
7	Concert Choir	Gold
8	Chamber Singers	Gold
9	Madrigals	Gold
10	Bottom Line	Gold

Two students were also cited/awarded for individual performances: 

• Instrumental: Sean Carlson, Alto Saxophonist, member of Jazz 1 and Wind Ensemble, for multiple solos across both Jazz 1 and Wind Ensemble
• Choral:  Brielle Flavin, a member of the Concert Choir and Madrigals, for her solo on “This is the Day”.
•  

After a hard day of performing, the students spent the evening on the Spirit of Philadelphia cruise ship. Eating and dancing the night away cruising down the Delaware river seeing the sights by night and watching a firework show. The next morning, the group headed to Independence National Historic Park for a tour of Colonial Philadelphia tour, which included Independence Hall, the site of the signing of both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, creating both our country and our form of government.  They visited the Liberty Bell, the famous symbol of American Independence and freedom.  They visited the final resting place of America’s most famous founding father, Benjamin Franklin.  Given Franklin’s well-known quip "A penny saved is a penny earned", they each tossed a penny on his grave for good luck. Then it was on to Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park in Jackson, NJ… the largest Six Flags in the country for an afternoon of fun. After dinner, they gathered for an Awards Ceremony for the Adjudication the day before.  They were graded on a standardized scale and stellar performances by both groups and individuals.

 

At the Board of Education Meeting on Thursday May 9^th Two Middlebrook Students were awarded CABE (Connecticut Association of Boards of Education) Student Leadership Awards.

The CABE Student Leadership Awards Program is designed to honor Connecticut High School and Middle School students who exhibit exemplary leadership skills.  Two students from each school in a CABE member district, are eligible to receive the Student Leadership Award.

School staff nominate students who exhibit leadership skills that include:  willingness to take on challenges, capability to make difficult decisions, concern for others, ability to work with others, willingness to commit to a project, diplomacy, ability to understand issues clearly, ability to honor a commitment.

Principal Lauren Feltz Introduced the two Middlebrook eighth grade winners and spoke of their accomplishments.

Carly Pierson is an effervescent young lady who brings joy to those around her--teachers and students alike. She is a member of Team Change, a group that promotes positive change in the school environment. Carly was also one of the founding members of the Upstanders club, a group that speaks out and works against bullying in our school. In her classes, Carly works very hard and pays attention to details in order to go the extra mile. Quietly and unassumingly, she is a role model for the other students. She speaks up, ask questions, and always tries her best. Her teachers love that she is not afraid to be herself and is confident in her own skin. Outside of school, Carly is an accomplished equestrian who qualified for Medal Class of Fairfield County, a very selective and challenging riding class. She successfully competes as an equestrian most weekends and is able to manage her schedule and school work well. We are very proud of Carly, and we look forward to all that she will accomplish in her future with all her kind and caring ways.

George Hahn is an exceptional CABE leader. Not only is he kind and caring with all of the members of the Middlebrook community, George is very involved in activities in the school. He is a member of the WEB Committee and Upstandards Club. George helps to create a safe and welcoming environment on the 8 Green team. He is a leader in every single class that he attends, and does so with a bright attitude and a warm “thank you” at the end of the day. George is not only a scholar, but he is also an athlete. While being a straight A student throughout his middle school career, he has been playing, football, basketball, lacrosse, and tennis. He is an accomplished member of the Wilton Lacrosse Team and also plays with the Express Premier League. We are proud to be able to present George as Middlebrook’s CABE Student Leader. 

 

 

After three years in the planning, the Middlebrook Greenhouse was officially pronounced open today in a ribbon cutting ceremony this evening at Middlebrook school. The greenhouse was generously funded by  The Wilton Educational Foundation (WEF) and Wilton Continuing Education

Brian Ladewig, Co-Chair of Wilton Education Foundation ‘Thanks, and a credit to Heather, your vision for what’s possible with students in terms of thinking about how to connect home, careers and sustainable agriculture and all that great work. It is such a credit to the spirit of Middlebrook School. Thanks for our Eagle Scouts who helped to build out the raised beds inside. WEF board appreciates that too.

Renee Cahill, Co-Chair of Wilton Education Foundation said ‘ I am so impressed , it’s as beautiful as we thought it would be, all the back and forth, it was worth it.’

Kevin Smith recalled the genesis of the Greenhouse project. “Imagine, it’s January 2016, a little snow on the ground, there were raised bed gardens all the way through (the area where the greenhouse is now), Heather was renovating her house and had brought in all her old windows to act as covers on the raised beds. ‘Wouldn’t it be great to have a greenhouse? Heather asked me ‘So I wouldn’t have to bring in all my old windows, we could grow all year round, and kids who were taking Family Consumer Science in winter would have a comparable experience with those taking it in the warmer months?’

Funding for the project was secured early on through WEF and the Wilton Education Foundation. Dr Smith recounted that there were however hurdles to overcome with many other aspects of the project – ‘There was a problem with everything else, the size of the greenhouse, the location, the heat, the lights, the water, the corrugated roof, the drainage, the egress, the ingress. One by one, all the issues were sorted out and two and a half years later, in October 2018, we finally received a certificate of occupancy from the town’

Emily Dowden from Wilton Continuing Education also spoke – “We are happy to support sustainability and growing student programs like this one and the needs of our students. Thank you, Heather. This summer we will be offering a farm to table program for our students. It will be held here at Middlebrook and run by Heather.

The greenhouse will be operational during the school year. It's system of heating and fans allows the temperature to be regulated between 60F and 80F to optimize plant growth.  The greenhouse beds are already full of growing plants - spinach, kale, tomatoes are all underway. Mrs. Priest is also trying to grow squash and zucchini within the greenhouse 'I've had a real problem with squash vine borers in previous years, I am really hoping for success this year' she added.

Students will learn about the greenhouse during their quarter in Mrs. Priest's Family and Consumer Science course.

 

This past weekend, 60 members of the Middlebrook Debate Club participated in the final debate of the school year. These students worked very hard for this debate, arguing whether or not the United States should develop and implement human gene-editing. We wanted to share the amazing results for this final debate of the year!

Team Results
Out of 84 teams, five of our teams placed in the top ten! One of our teams placed in the top two in the tournament after three rounds. Both teams then faced off in a final fourth round in front of all the debaters, judges, and members of the association at the end of the competition on stage in front of a packed auditorium. This was the first time one of our teams has made it to the final round of any debate competition.

The team of Katie in 8R, Gayathri in 8Y, and Sean in 8G debated the proposition side of the argument in this final round. A unanimous decision from three judges determined this team to be the winners of the entire debate. Katie, Gayathri, and Sean made Middlebrook Debate Club history on Saturday by becoming not only the first team to make it to the final round, but also be the #1 team

Debate Club is advised by Mr. Panoli and Ms. Durkin.  Further information on the club can be found on the Clubs and Activities page of this website.

Author Jennifer Roy visited Middlebrook on Tuesday as part of the Wilton Reads 2019, she talked about her book ‘Yellow Star’ and the research she undertook in order to write the book, which is based on the experience of her aunt, one of only twelve child survivors of the Lodz ghetto in Poland.

Each seventh-grade social studies class heard Ms. Roy speak about her experience writing the book, she shared her research, drafting and editing process with the children as well as historical information about the Lodz ghetto and what it was like for Jewish people in Poland during the time of the second world war.

An invitation to spend lunch with Ms. Roy was extended to all other students and around 70 joined her to hear her presentation and to ask questions about the book.

 

The International Food Festival took place on Thursday evening in the Middlebrook Cafeteria with over 100 entries inspired from the food traditions of 23 countries around the world.  France proved to be the most popular cuisine in the competition, with India and Italy close behind. The competition was broken down into three categories - appetizers, main courses and desserts.

The International food festival has been managed for the last 10 years by 8^th grade French teacher Simon Bulenzi. This was the first year that the PTA was brought on board to set up for the event, and manage the scoring on the day, roles previously been undertaken by the foreign language teachers. This freed up the teachers to judge for the first time, a role which they were clearly all relishing as it involved a great deal of tasting.

Judging took place over two rounds. Two winning dishes from each of the 15 tables made it to the second round where a fresh, hungry batch of judges then faced the grueling task of determining which of the 10 items they tasted would be crowned the top three entries in each category. In all 66 judges were recruited from teachers, parents and town figures- the police department and Wilton volunteer ambulance were both there taking their judging responsibilities very seriously.

Mrs. Priest commented ‘It’s all about flavor and freshness’ Perhaps she has picked up a few ideas to add into next year’s curriculum.

The sheer variety and creativity of the dishes on show was breathtaking John Miscioscia, President of Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps, and judge for the afternoon was heard commenting ‘I came off my diet for this, I was so glad to be invited, this is such a great community event’

Community was what it was all about. organizer Simon Bulenzi said “I enjoy the build up to the event, the sense of community and everyone working together to organize a great experience for the students”

The Sixth graders swept the board by finishing top in each of the three categories:

Jake in 6Y finished first in the appetizer section with his tuna tartare dish from Japan (picture bottom left),

Sabir and Ahann also from 6Y was placed first in the main course section with their chicken tikka masala from India (picture top left).

Madeline and Alexis from 6R finished first in desserts with their chocolate and raspberry roulade, from England (picture top right).

Also pictured Mr. Bulenzi, 8th grade French teacher and baker!

Author Jennifer Elvgren visited Cider Mill on Thursday as part of the Wilton Reads 2019, she talked about her book ‘The Whispering Town’ which is a fictionalized account of a true event that happened in the town of Gilleleje, Denmark during World War two.

Every student heard her story about the writing and illustration process she undertook for her book. She also provided a background on the German occupation of Denmark during the second world war.

Fifth grade students had the opportunity to join her for lunch and a further question and answer session in the Library Learning Commons. She shared with the students that her top tips for writers were to read, read, read; to spend time outside in nature for inspiration; to not be afraid of kind criticism and to have a group of friends to trust and help you through set-backs and hard times. 

April is Inclusion/ Diversity Awareness Month. Wilton High School’s Top Inclusion Models (TIMs) traveled to Cider Mill to put on a show for the students. They performed ‘Do the Right Thing,’ based on the book ‘Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun’ The short play celebrates kindness, courage and doing the right thing.

Top Inclusion Models is a High School Club whose mission is to promote inclusion of all students regardless of ability or differences.

When: Friday, March 22, 2019
Time: Doors open at 6:30 pm, show will start at 7 pm
Where: Middlebrook Auditorium

 Fifth Grade teacher Mr Hossler ran his Souper Bowl Challenge again this week. Returning for a fourth year, Cider Mill students were encouraged to bring to school a non-perishable item for the Wilton Food Pantry. The unique twist is that students use their item to vote for the team they want to see win the Super Bowl by placing it on one of two tables - one for the Patriots, and one for the Rams. In a surprising outcome, the Los Angeles Rams won the popular vote. Patriot fans disappointment was short lived, as the Pats. still managed to win the actual Superbowl. Wilton Food Pantry collected over 500 items from Cider Mill students.

Reading Rocks rocked out for the 8th year in Wilton raising over $36,000 for the Wilton Educational Foundation. This annual fundraiser takes place at Cider Mill and Miller-Driscoll schools. It began with 'Dress Like A Rock Star' on January 18th,  when participating students make a personal reading pledge and supporters pledge money. The reading period concluded on February 2nd. Congratulations to Kent House who had the highest percentage of students participating in the challenge. Mr Gallo, 5th Grade Kent teacher achieved an astonishing 100% participation from his class.