Voluntary Enrollment

This year parents will be able to enroll their children for this important coverage by logging on to www.bobmccloskey.com.

We’ve attached a flyer that can be posted to the schools’ websites which will provide parents with the information they need to log-in and enroll. Once on our web-site, the parents will be able to view and print the complete brochure as well as an ID card. Parents may enroll either by printing the enrollment form and mailing it along with a check or money order to Bob McCloskey Insurance, or by paying by credit card on line through our PayPal enrollment form.

Due to decreasing enrollment and increasing printing/shipping expenses it is important to note that we will no longer be sending individual flyers to be distributed to each student. By making this change we are able to continue to offer the same affordable premium rates to parents.

2019-2020 Voluntary Rates

$500,000 School Time Coverage………………………………………$18.00

$500,000 24 Hour Wrap Around Coverage……………………………$93.50

$50,000 24 Hour Accidental Dental Coverage……………………..….$11.00

Flyer is here

Student Handbook 2019-2020 

Student Athlete / Parent Handbook 2019-2020

Tuesday, August 20th was the first day of school for the eleven new teachers at the High School. There are twenty-five newly hired teachers across the whole district. Maria Coleman, Director of Human Resources welcomed the group and shared that the newly hired teachers in the room represented ‘The top 5% of our applicant pool of 550 applicants.’ She also shared ‘Sitting among you, valedictorian from Wilton high school, a Fulbright scholar and a professional musician whose music was featured at the Sochi Olympics. You are the best of the best and you should feel very proud to be here. We hope Wilton will become your forever home.’

Superintendent Dr. Kevin Smith spoke next, he encouraged all new staff to search for the twitter hashtag #WiltonWayCT.  “I challenge and invite you to visit it and post to it, it will make your day.” In what has become an annual tradition in the Smith Family, Dr Smith asked his own children for their advice for the new teachers. Dr Smith’s five children range in ages from 3^rd grade to a High School Freshman and their wise words were:

• We know how hard your jobs as teachers are.
• Get to know your students.
• Be creative.
• Play lots of games, smile and give out lots of candy.

Chris Finkelstein, Chair of the Wilton Board of Education spoke next:

‘As you begin your work, you are joining a community that enthusiastically embraces its teachers and supports it schools. Wilton teachers develop strong relationships with families. In our family, we frequently exchange stories about teachers who mean a lot to us. Our community shows support through schools in many ways – investing in them, supporting them on the football field, attending music and drama performances. This is an exciting time to be starting your tenure, teachers are the center of everything’

Chuck Smith, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and Andrea Leonardi, Assistant Superintendent of Special Services also spoke reinforcing the days theme of fostering relationships, increasing student engagement and helping students to take risks to meet their goals.

‘Success is when students come in smiling, telling you stories and relating something you taught them to something that happened to them in the world outside of the classroom’ said Leonardi.

The meeting ended with Dr Smith presenting each new hire with their Class of ’19 Wilton shirt. New teachers then returned to their own school to continue their orientation day.

The new teachers are:

• Denise Arnauckas – Special Education
• Cathryn Duemmler – Science, Wilton High School Class of 2012
• Anna Fernandez – P.E.
• Jody Harkins – Special Education
• Matthew Kelly – German
• Megan Kounnas – Art
• Kathryn Lynch – Science
• Sara Roberge – English
• Sara Scully – Family and Consumer Science
• Catherine Spadaro – Special Education
• Monark Trivedi – Math

Two of Wilton’s High School stage productions were recognized at the Halo awards this week. The Halo Awards honors high school students’ achievements in all aspects of theatre. Over 60 high schools from across the State of Connecticut participated in the 16th Annual Halo Awards this year!

The Fall play ‘Witness for the Prosecution’, based on the Agatha Christie play, directed by Kevin Slater, sets by Christian Planton, produced and costumed by Marty Kozlowski. The play won the award for Best Performance by a cast in an Ensemble production. It was also nominated for:

• Best Costumes -Peyton Matik
• Best Specialty Ensemble - Nick Furst, Lily Mikita, Andrew Tsantilas, Alex Meyers, Olivia Vitarelli
• Best Performance by a Couple or Dynamic Duo in a Play Nick Furst, Lily Mikita
• Best Male Standout in an Ensemble Production - Nick Furst
• Best Classical Play.

The spring musical, directed by Meredith Walker, produced and costumed by Marty Kozlowski, sets by Christian Planton, was nominated for eight Halo Awards and won the prestigious Best Musical award. Other nominations were for:

• Best Performance by a leading actress in a musical – Sarah Bates
• Best Performance by a featured actor in a musical - Michael Biondo as Crutche
• Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical - Jack Parrotta as Jack Kelly
• Best Performance By a Supporting Actor in a musical – Ryan Lynn as Davey
• Best Featured Dancers - Jessica Olin, Olivia Vitarelli, Quinn Lupton, Jenna Bonafide, Emma Driver, Abby Seaman, Sasha Sypher & Taylor White.
• Best Orchestra
• Best Dancing

This is the first year that Wilton High School spring musical has been eligible for consideration in the Halo awards. This is because the musical is performed very late in the school year. This year, the Halo award committee extended the eligibility window to allow Wilton to compete for the awards, which are the High School equivalent of the Tony Awards. Monday, June 3 saw a bus full of excited WHS students attend the event at the Palace Theater in Waterbury.

The Halo awards are the cherry on the top for producer and artistic director Marty Kozlowski who is retiring from the school district this year after over 23 years of working on productions for the High School. She is so proud of the achievements of the students and will miss her Wilton theater family when she relocates to North Carolina next year.  She strongly believes that there is a place in the theater for all kids who want to participate. Ms. Kozlowski encourages kids to ‘Just give it a try! I’ve seen many shy kids get bitten by the bug and then blossom and become a part of our Theater family’.

Speaking of the Halo awards, Kozlowski said ‘It was so exciting; it was a huge honor to be recognized in this way. As well as awards, nominees get to perform, we opened the show with a number from Newsies’. On winning two awards, she reported ‘Winning Best Ensemble in a play was a huge win, since it was for the overall production and all the kids involved. Then when the award for Best Musical was announced, the kids were ecstatic, they all flew out of their seats and charged the stage to accept the award.  Best Musical was the grand finale of the evening, we'd been holding our breath all night to see how it would go.’

Newsies cast member and nominee for Best Performance by a leading actress in a musical – Sarah Bates had this to say about the night ‘The energy on the bus on the way there and especially on the way back was completely electric, everyone felt like celebrities, complete with formal dress. Watching the other groups perform was fantastic because of how supportive everyone was of each other.’ On learning that Newsies had won best Musical, she said ‘People were screaming, laughing and crying. The collective energy was so high that everyone ran up the stairs and onto the stage while still clinging to each other. Right in that moment, we were one family, holding each other up and so loving and supportive of each other’

No two productions are ever the same and the theater department relies on a dedicated network of parents, students and alumni to put on the shows each year. Newsies needed two dance choreographers and a fight choreographer ‘A lot of times my old students come back and are my loyal helpers, the fight choreographer was a school alumnus’. Ms. Kozlowski feels that the kids really connected with this play and gave it their all, something that fills her with gratitude. ‘They were off the charts with enthusiasm and energy for this production’

The Theater program was recognized last week by the Wilton Board of Education in their ‘Salute to Excellence’ award. Ms.Kozlowski received a standing ovation from students and board members as she accepted the award on behalf of the department. Superintendent Kevin Smith spoke of the high quality, exemplary programs that the department runs as he thanked her for all the work she has done in support of our students over years.

This student application form is available here. To access this google Form, your student must be logged into their Wilton PS google account.

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.

Tuesday, August 20th was the first day of school for five new teachers at Cider Mill. There are twenty-five newly hired teachers across the whole district. Maria Coleman, Director of Human Resources welcomed the group and shared that the newly hired teachers in the room represented ‘The top 5% of our applicant pool of 550 applicants.’ She also shared ‘Sitting among you, valedictorian from Wilton high school, a Fulbright scholar and a professional musician whose music was featured at the Sochi Olympics. You are the best of the best and you should feel very proud to be here. We hope Wilton will become your forever home.’

Superintendent Dr. Kevin Smith spoke next, he encouraged all new staff to search for the twitter hashtag #WiltonWayCT.  “I challenge and invite you to visit it and post to it, it will make your day.” In what has become an annual tradition in the Smith Family, Dr Smith asked his own children for their advice for the new teachers. Dr Smith’s five children range in ages from 3^rd grade to a High School Freshman and their wise words were:

• We know how hard your jobs as teachers are.
• Get to know your students.
• Be creative.
• Play lots of games, smile and give out lots of candy.

Chris Finkelstein, Chair of the Wilton Board of Education spoke next:

‘As you begin your work, you are joining a community that enthusiastically embraces its teachers and supports it schools. Wilton teachers develop strong relationships with families. In our family, we frequently exchange stories about teachers who mean a lot to us. Our community shows support through schools in many ways – investing in them, supporting them on the football field, attending music and drama performances. This is an exciting time to be starting your tenure, teachers are the center of everything’

Chuck Smith, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and Andrea Leonardi, Assistant Superintendent of Special Services also spoke reinforcing the days theme of fostering relationships, increasing student engagement and helping students to take risks to meet their goals.

‘Success is when students come in smiling, telling you stories and relating something you taught them to something that happened to them in the world outside of the classroom’ said Leonardi.

The meeting ended with Dr Smith presenting each new hire with their Class of ’19 Wilton shirt. New teachers then returned to their own school to continue their orientation day.

The new teachers at Cider Mill are:

• Beth Bakst – Music
• Margaret Barbieri – 5^th Grade Teacher
• Ethan Bourque – School Counselor
• Erin Crowley – 5^th Grade Teacher
• Sara Ando – Teacher of Hearing Impaired

This week the annual tradition of Fifth graders toured Middlebrook took place. The Fifth graders enjoyed a performance from the sixth grade chorus and our advanced sixth grade stage band, The Sixth Dimension. The visiting students toured Middlebrook led by the seventh graders who will be serving as WEB (Where Everyone Belongs) leaders next year. This complex event was pulled together by Ms. Bonnie O’Brien, the school counselor for the rising sixth grade, in collaboration with colleagues from the music and counseling departments as well as our WEB leadership.

The event is one of great excitement for the fifth graders as they learn how things will be different next year when they reach Middle School.  Students are looking forward to the increased independence of middle school – no more walking in a line. They are looking forward to switching classes and having the opportunity to meet and work with different students in every class. Gym at Middlebrook is an exciting prospect for many. There are many new games to be played and things to try – the rock-climbing wall for example.

The most exciting thing about Middle School?  Our survey reveals the same results as last year - free seating in the cafeteria and the much better lunch food options!

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