By Rob Glidden
Staff Writer

Uncertainty about state funding has made a tough budget season for the Board of Education even more difficult.
At a past meeting, the school board discussed reports that the Educational Cost Sharing (ECS) funds that Connecticut schools depend on each year could be reduced by about $33,000. In addition to that, state funding that helps the board deal with transportation costs may be reduced by about $65,000.
The current proposed budget from the state’s Appropriations Committee had other cuts that could impact the general government side of the town budget by over $350,000.
While the BOE was concerned about the reports, Chairman Brian Goralski said the state was still a long way from finalizing its budget.
“It’s still a big question mark right now,” Goralski said. “When it comes to the state budget, what we see in the end is usually not what we see in the beginning.”
Suspense about state funding is not a new predicament for the town. Southington’s budget is always finalized by May, while negotiations at the state level can drag on until early autumn. Expected revenue from the state is part of the town’s budget process but the final numbers are still in question even when the Town Council votes to adopt it and the Board of Finance votes to set the mill rate.
“By our charter, the town has to set the budget relatively soon,” said BOE member David Derynoski. “If that’s done and then some revenue dries up, that’s going to be a problem.”
The Board of Finance has already recommended a $1.1 million reduction for the school board’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which imperils the planned introduction of an all-day kindergarten program. The Town Council will make the final decision about whether to restore some amount of the reductions or accept the BOF’s recommendation later this month.
Goralski said the BOE would need to keep two questions in mind if the funds were not restored – “What would happen to the school district without all-day kindergarten?” and “What would need to be cut in order to keep all-day kindergarten?”
The district’s administrators are still evaluating their options.
“Everything is on the table, although we hope there will be some restoration,” said Superintendent Dr. Joseph Erardi.

By Ed Harris
Editor

A visit to Camp Sloper helped inspire Derynoski second-grader Hope Scalise to create a doodle for Google that could earn her a scholarship and a technology grant for her school.
After a little urging from her mother, Hope created a doodle for Google’s “Doodle for Google” contest. Her doodle won for the state of Connecticut and it will compete for the national crown, which could earn Hope a $30,000 scholarship and a $50,000 technology grant for Derynoski.
Standing on stage at the school last week, flanked by representatives from Google, and awashed in cheers from her schoolmates, Hope said she was inspired to create the Google after a Sloper counselor had talked about going skydiving for his eighteenth birthday.
“I just thought wouldn’t that be fun when I got older,” Hope said.
The doodles are the various pictures, shapes and images that encompass the Google name on the company’s website.
According to Google representatives Leslie Pearl and Kerry Murrill, who gave a brief history on Google and showcased the various online facets of the company for an awestruck crowd of students, the doodles, which have grown to highlight notable times in history, including birthdays, originally began as a way to highlight that there was something wrong with the website and that no one was in the office to fix it, as the whole team was at the Burning Man music and art festival.
Officials at Google received over 130,000 entries for the contest, which is now in its six year in the United States. Those entries were dwindled down to the top 50, one for each state. The winning doodle will be featured on the Google homepage for 24 hours on May 23.
Hope and her family will travel to New York City, on May 22, to see the Google headquarters on the east coast and to see the doodle, along with the other finalists, hanging in the Museum of Natural History.
Voting for the doodles runs through Friday, May 10, at 11:59 p.m. To vote, visit www.google.com/doodle4google/vote.html.
“We’re just about bursting with pride for Hope,” said Dagmara Scalise, Hope’s mother. “We were on spring vacation in Washington DC when we got a call saying Hope was the state winner. She was speechless when she heard she won. As soon as we saw her sketch, it wasn’t even finished at the point, we knew it was special. It took her a few days to finish it and she worked very hard on it.”
Hope credited her mother, who used to be an artist, as another inspiration for her doodle.
“I thought, I want to be like her,” Hope said. “My mom inspired me.”
Hope also frequently cited the possible technology grant that the school could receive if she were to win as another reason why she entered. Hope said she wanted to do something good for Derynoski.
“We are so proud of Hope,” said Derynoski School Principal Jan Verderame.

Margaret Waage
Hope Scalise, right, was interviewed on stage by a Google representative during a special ceremony last week.

By Margaret Waage
Derynoski School second grader Hope Scalise with her state-winning Google Doodle. Hope’s doodle is up against 49 other doodles from across the country. Voting ends just before midnight tonight.

By Rob Glidden
Staff Writer

Southington’s elementary schools collaborated with the Activate Southington group for the town’s first participation in a worldwide exercise program, including about 700 students at Derynoski Elementary School.
Activate Southington, the community initiative pushing for healthier lifestyles in town, facilitated the involvement of the school district in Project ACES (All Children Exercise Simultaneously). ACES is a long-running event that was originally held in New Jersey in 1989. Since then, it has expanded to all over the nation and over 50 other countries.
“Millions of people will be exercising at the same time that we are,” said Diane Botsacos of Activate Southington. “This has been going on for 25 years, but nobody in Southington has done it before.”
On the morning of May 1, hundreds of students gathered outside the school for 15 minutes of exercise.
“We’ve been talking about health awareness all week,” said Derynoski Principal Jan Verderame. “When I asked which classes wanted to do this, they all did. So it looks like it will be the whole school.”
Local Zumba instructor Candi Guro led the students along with her three daughters. She said the students caught on quickly, although she couldn’t necessarily see the ones in the very back of the large crowd.
“I never worked with this many

By Tammi Naudus

By Tammi Naudus

By Tammi Naudus

kids at once,” Guro said. “It was really a great time.”
For fifth-grader Taylor Starr, it was her first exposure to Zumba, the dance-oriented fitness program that has enjoyed a surge in popularity over the last several years.
“It was a really good experience,” she said. “I had a lot of fun.”
Fifth-grader Glenn Halliday added that “It was really exciting. Good exercise too.”
Activate Southington hopes to encourage more physical activities within Southington’s classrooms. The following day, some teachers attended a workshop on how to incorporate further movement into their lessons.
Comments? E,ao; rg;oddem@southingtonobserver.com.

Kennedy Middle School has announced its honor roll for the third marking period.

Sixth grade, first  honors: David Ackerman, Emma Agli, Ethan Agli, Kristen Angeli, Aparna Athreya, Celia Bajrami, Reilly Baker, Abigail Barbour, Kylie Benton, Domenic Bernard, Karla Blake, Michaela Blumetti, Seth Bogoslofski, Taylor Borla, Jason Brault, Ally Breen, Elijah Buck, Danielle Cammuso, Jacob Cardozo, Olivia Carpenter, Asami Castellano, Madelyn Chasse, Alex Crawford, Sean Crean, Silvio D’Agostino, Antonio Davino, Alyssa Davis, Alexander Dearborn, Kerry Decker, Carolyn Del Debbio, Avery DeLong, Natalie Diaz, Nisa Dilaveri, Rebecca Dorzens, Hailey Dow, Jacob Drena, Megan Drivdahl, Julie Duszak, Georgia Falk, Elena Famiglietti, Kaitlyn Feeney, Elizabeth Feest, Ian Fisher, Jacob Flynn, Victoria Flynn, Christopher Gambardella, Kalli Gianacopolos, Erica Golia, Vincent Golia, Connor Grucza, Nicole Hatheway, Cory Hemsen, Emma Higley, Hannah Hubeny, Julia Jackman, Kate Kemnitz, Jessica Kerchis, Caitlyn Kesilewski, Adeline Kilgore, Kyle Kraft, Alexa Kulas, Michael Kwok, Jessica Lamb, Jamie Lamson, Alyssa Landrie, Mia Langston, Kyle Leifert, Peter Leppones, Abigail Lo Presti, Emma Lockwood, Madison Longley, Juliette Lord, Ryan Loring, Kiana Lowrey, Chrisala Marotto, Heather Martin, Jared Martin, Jenna Martin, Sarah Mathew, Sarah Matthews, Daria McCabe, Samuel McCarty, Michael McLaughlin, Lauren Messner, Alexander Mitchell, Zachary Morgan, Anthony Napolitano, Ryan Nelson, Max Noonan, James Olender, Kathleen O’Reilly, Charles Panke, Benjamin Parke, Connor Patenaude, Catherine Pawlaczyk, Amanda Perkowski, Hannah Platt, Ryan Prendergast, Natalie Pyle, Madeline Richardson, Jordan Rinaldi, Marissa Robarge, Madison Rocha, Kolby Rogers, Keishla Rosario, Jonathon Rossi, Allison Roy, James Rusiecki, Tyler Salzillo, Aliya Sarris, Casey Selinske, Mallie Selinske, Ty Selinske, Rhiannon Simione, Ryan Slesinski, Alexandra Spencer, Allison Stanton, Tyler Strong, Nicholas Truncali, Reilley Walden, Chloe Wieleba, Jillian Zakrzewski, Jianella Zegarra, Colby Zegzdryn

Seventh grade, first honors: Jacob Albert, Victoria Aldieri, Katarina Aulbach, Aneesh Avancha, Chloe Becquey, Amanda Boccio, Christopher Bonomi, Timothy Budnik, Jenna Bujak, Jacqueline Carbone, Sarina Cardona, Allison Carta, Ryan Case, Steven Cova, Evan Daddona, Thomas Danby, Kaitlyn DeMaio, Kathryn Dondero, Melissa Drexler, Katerina Eaton, Lauren Foligno, Ariana Gazaferi, Jessica Gesnaldo, Casandra Govoni, Maegan-Rylee Griffin, Adam Gwara, Taylor Harton, Keegan Jarvis, Brandon Jurkowski, Allison Kalvaitis, Ashley Kane, Ananya Karanam, Kelly Koba, Brandon Kohl, Allyson Kudla, Conner Leone, Shane Leone, Ariana Llabani, Ariana LoCascio, Zachary MacDonald, Teresa Maffiolini, Sydney Marecki, Joseph Martin, Nicole Martocchio, Marissa Mastroianni, Ariella Matarazzo, Alyssa McDonald, Ashley McMeans, Hartlee Meier, Noah Mendoza, Jeremy Mercier, Sarah Minkiewicz, Daniel Minton, Jacob Mohr, Kayleigh Moses, Katthy Nguyen, Matthew Olson, Katherine Oshana, Timothy O’Shea, Eric Padden, Jagvi Patel, Amisha Paul, Spencer Perry, Samantha Petro, Jacob Petruzzi, Jonathan Pierson, Julia Rafferty, Nicholas Ragozzine, Emma Reney, Rachel Roberts, Julia Rodman, Katarina Rothstein, Christina Sack, Anna Shugrue, Faith Sporbert, Caitlyn St. Jarre, Cade Testa, Vanessa Tischofer, Amanda Travers, Thomas Tsangarides, Anthony Vecchio, Ester Vynar, Benjamin Wakefield, Joelle Wankerl, Tagan Welch, Rosalie Whitehead, Rachel Williams, Emily Zakrzewski, Kara Zazzaro, Nicholas Zollo

Eighth grade, first honors: Hallie Altwies, Makenna Arnson, Lily Baker, Rachel Baldick, Katherine Bauer, Kayla Birmingham, Ryan Bjorklund, Jenna Boccio, Megan Burke, William Carbone, Jade Cassidy, Nicole Chuchro, Kamryn Cochrane, Tyler Cyr, Anthony D’Abramo, Bianca D’Amore, Nickolina Doran, Kenneth Dowler, Brian Durocher, Victoria Duszak, Katherine Estell, Jared Fernandez, Sarah Gallo, Matthew Gundersen, Paige Hadlock, Joshua Hilliard, Evelyn Holbrook, Brigette Horan, Rachel Huff, Hannah Jackman, Katie Kelley, Kelly Kritz, Sydney Kroll, Kimberly Lebel, Jaylene Lewis, Rebecca Lo Presti, Michael Loose, Christopher Loring, Morgan Maccione, Alexa Maddalena, Janelle Mangassarian, Kristen Mathew, Marisa Matthews, Michael Mauro, Cynthia McKeown, Matthew McLaughlin, Jordan McMeans, Taryn Meenan, Natalie Messner, Alessandra Milardo, Julia Mularczyk, Mark Murdy, Thomas Murdy, Samantha Nardi, Ashley Nelson, Madelyn Nichols, Jillian Noli, Anjali Patel, Ariel Perry, Justin Phen, Delaney Picard, Samantha Purushotham, Leanne Raymond, Morgan Raymond, Joshua Richardson, Turner Rodman, Benjamin Russman, Matthew Sciota, Kimberly Stafko, Olivia Thomas, Kristiana Torres, Rylee Van Epps, John Vecchio, Gabrielle Veilleux, Megan Walsh, Michelle Woodruff, Alex Zukowski

Sixth grade, second honors: Ian Agnew, John Aligata, Ashley Anglis, Caroline Appelle, David Armstrong, Dylan Aylward, Liam Baldwin, Kylin Banks, Eary Banushi, Connor Baston, Payton Baysinger, Evan Belcourt, Mary Bilodeau, Shawn Borysewicz, Mackenzie Boudreau, McKayla Bowker, Kyle Bracken, Madison Bradley, Alina Calderone, Desiree Cammuso, Matthew Carragher, Caleb Chesanow, Matthew Chevalier, Kevin Coleman, Kevin Conway, Jared Cote, Colby Courtmanche, Mason Daley, Riley Daly, Rachael Daniels, Lynsey Danko, Kaitlyn Dempster, Kevin Dlugos, Zachary Doty, Joshua Dziob, Caden Fisher, Olivia Fusco, Chase Galayda, Ryan Gesnaldo, Katelyn Gilbert, Mariah Goldberg, Juliet Gracy, Juliana Grady, Adam Green, John Griffin, Amna Hamid, Morgan Hedges, Ryan Henderson, Taylor Holland, Cole Huang-Savino, Grace Jaworowski, Colby Johnson, Zachary King, Carlyn Kosienski, William Krom, Robert LaCluyze, Sabrina LaRoche, Mason Leland, Michael Lewicki, Brianna Loffredo, Kristen Longley, Devin Lord, Daniel Lyon, Ethan Maddalena, Sarah Mafale, Oliwia Marchut, Leilah Martinez, Megan Matthews, Tyler Matukaitis, Kyle Messenger, Jehvanni Morgan, Charles Napolitano, Jade O’Keefe, David Parzych, Corin Paskov, Daniel Pestillo, Hailey Peterson, Casey Plourde, Trevor Porter, Nathan Price, Ashley Pulvermacher, Colin Reynolds, Brandon Robinson, Timothy Robinson, Nickolas Russo, Hunter Salvatore, Ashley Schiffer, Bethany Schmidt, Jackson Schroeder, Margaret Shields, Kian Siadat, Kent Silva, Victoria Sperry, Christian Stevens, Ashley Swanson, Julia Szczerbacki, Samuel Teper, Benjamin Therrien, Melissa Tracy, Luca Veneziano, Cassidy Vinal, Kaylin Warlikowski, Connor Watson, Stephen Witte, Bryce Worth, Cameron Zawada, Jiaying Zhou, Nathalan Zmarlicki

Seventh grade, second honors: Renn Abramczyk-Dubiel, Michael Abucewicz, Brianna Albanese, Kaili Anziano, Samantha Appelle, Bryan Arsan, Matthew Babicz, Shawn Begin, Madeline Belfonti, Brandon Berkowitz, Ali Borkowski, Logan Brayfield, Ian Brick, Brandy Brinton, Connor Brush, Samantha Bunting, Jordan Cammuso, Lauren Cannata, Kaitlyn Carrubba, Amy Cayer, Dylan Chiaro, Jonathan Clark, Christian Culp, Mark D’Agostino, Amber Daley, Brian Davis, Carlie DeFelice, Julia Dietz, Isabella DiFusco, Gabrielle DiValentino, Brianna Dixon, Chantel Donovan, Brendon Egan, Francesca Ferrante, Michelle Flynn, Shawn Fortier, Brooke Garcia, Jenna Garcia, Brianna Gee, Erica Gerrish, Vanessa Hernandez, Nathaniel Huff, Kristian Izydorczak, Mikaela June, Isabelle Kaufmann, Joshua Kerchis, Felicity Keyworth, Taylor Klein, Alex Klinzmann, Alexander Kuhr, Nathan Kulas, David Kupcho, Megan Lamontagne, Benjamin Lavertu, Christian Magnoli, Lindsay Marziarz, Evan Masterson, Christopher Matusik, Sydney Mauro, Donna McNeill, Daniel Mendoza, Ryan Middendorf, Jake Monson, Joshua Moravsky, Kyle M’Sadoques, Daniel Mullin, Delaney Nadwairski, Michaela Nanfito, Zachary Nason, Alexis Nelson, Kara Oakes, Richard Olson, Lukas Palmieri, Stephen Pannone, Madison Penna, Katryna Pfeiffer, Nicholas Picone, Andre Plourde, Megan Posadas, Ethan Rathbun, Rebecca Renehan, Sydney Rice, James Ringrose, Dorian Sa, Sana Saeed, Lauren Schiffer, Keegan Smith, Tia Sola, Ashley Son, Niko Sophroniou, Jack Storm, Kendall Suski, John Terry, Samuel Thomson, Stephanie Wang, Ashley Ward, Brandon Willis, Nathan Wilson, Brett Wolff, Molly Wright, Cameron Zegzdryn

Eighth grade, second honors: Abigail Alfieri, Seth Almeida, Kelly Angeli, Alissa Anglis, Owen Bajrami, Bret Baribault, Sean Barile, Martha Barry, Rachel Belanger, Nicholas Benham, Timothy Bernetti, Daniel Berube, Skylar Blumetti, Daniel Borkowski, Alyssa Boucher, Sydney Brault, Dorina Bregu, Taylor Brown, Robert Bunting, Xaria Callender, Jason Calvi-Rogers, Nicholas Casey, Andreas Ceta, Kyle Chinigo, Dominic Coppola, Kayla Coppola, Cameron Coulombe, Annelise D’Abramo, Presley Dahn, Olivia Danielson, Michael DeFeo, Hannah DeMaio, Casey Devin, Noah Diaz, Matthew Dominello, Deven Dow, Brianna Eigo, Mateusz Gaciarz, Matthew Gagne, Rebecca Gagne, Lyndsey Giudice, Thomas Goutzos, Rachael Haberski, Alexandra Harris, Veronica Heigel, Jordan Helton, Kyle Hermann, Kayli Hernandez, Lynia Hilke, Kailey Hinckley, Emma Jaworowski, Samuel Johnson, Samantha Jones, Caroline Kemnitz, Dustin Kilgore, Kendra Kochol, Lucas Kohli, Aleia Kolodziejczyk, William Konikowski, Patricia Krzynowek, Cobey Kulas, Amanda Lavoie, Christina Lebel, Alexander Leblanc, Austin Leland, Dylan Levesque, Lexie Lewis, Crystal Madore, Megan Mahon, Ryan Mailhot, Emily Matukaitis, Connor McDonough, Samantha McEwen, Kaitlyn McNamara, Olivia Michalic, Megan Minkara, Peyton Mitchell, Scott Mockler, Sean Molgano, Tyler Moquin, Morgan Mueller, Mitchel Nappi, Cameron Nelson, Ann Marie Olender, Tyra O’Regan, Anthony Palumbo, David Pastor, Sophia Penisse, Timothy Perry, Garr Puzycki, Paul Ramsey, Nathan Raposa, Alexyss Roderick, Doyle Roecker, Kaitlynn Rossi, Abigail Roy, Samantha Sagnella, Brendan Shea, Ryan Sheehan, Tyler Shoneck, Kayla Sica, Kyle Solomon, Daniel Spatafore, Samantha Stocking, Brandon Stone, Caitlin Taddeo, Lauren Torino, Joseph Vitali, Stephen Vollaro, James Weil, Jamie Wyman, Joshua Wyskiewicz, Caitlin Zajac, Miranda Zygmunt

by Rob Glidden
Staff Writer

The Town Council approved a budget of approximately $129 million for the next fiscal year, with the Board of Education’s budget splitting the councilors along party lines.
The general government budget of about $45.1 million was approved unanimously, with several councilors praising Town Manager Garry Brumback for avoiding an increase in spending.
For the Board of Education, the Republican majority chose to accept the Board of Finance’s recommendation without restoring any funds. This amount is about $84.2 million. Councilors in favor of this decision expressed concerns about how increased taxes would impact the town as a whole.
“I’ve had sleepless nights over this,” said Councilor Al Natelli. “I would love to spend more on education but I don’t think this the time to do that beyond what we already have.”
Minority Leader Chris Palmieri and the council’s other two Democrats attempted to restore some of the funds to the school board’s original proposal. The first motion was to restore $300,000, which failed along party lines. Afterwards, another unsuccessful motion was made to restore $150,000, which would be balanced by cuts to the town’s capital fund.
“I would like to see additional money returned to the Board of Education,” Palmieri said. “I think the future of education in town is worth that amount.”
The Democrats noted that spending on indvidual students is below the state’s average and has been decreasing in recent years.
“It’s a concern of them when town leaders don’t consider these Per-Pupil Expenditures, especially when we’re seeing a decline,” said Councilor John Barry. “This will have an impact on the kids.”
The Council Republicans expressed confidence that the Board of Education and the school administrators would be able to maintain the district’s strong reputation even if they spent less on each student than other towns.
“I think that we’re in a good position and I don’t think throwing money at students does that much,” said Vice-Chairman Peter Romano. “Leadership does and we have great leadership here.”
When the time came to discuss the town’s capital projects, Barry became frustrated with the amount of bonded projects and said it was inconsistent for the Republicans to support so many capital projects but express reluctance to restore any amount to this year’s BOE budget. He referred to the process as “a shell game” and said the Republicans were determined to vote down any budgetary motion made by the other party, even if it was “to add five dollars.”
The Board of Education now faces difficult choices, particularly in regard to the planned introduction of all-day kindergarten. They will adjust their budget to reflect the council’s decision later next week.
“Naturally, I’m disappointed but I understand the complexities they’re dealing with, especially at the state level,” said school board Chairman Brian Goralski.
Several council members stated that the impact to the schools would be balanced somewhat by savings in the town’s spending on insurance. The council also referenced a “surplus,” although Goralski said this wasn’t the proper term and that this amount was a result of the district’s annual precaution of freezing a portion of the supplies account for unexpected needs.
The budget is expected to result in a very small 0.02 decrease in the mill rate for next year. This means that, on average, most homeowners will see a $4 reduction in their tax bill.
The Board of Finance set the mill rate on Wednesday, after The Observer went to press.

by Rob Glidden
Staff Writer

The Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) club at Southington High School is about to complete an ambitious effort to create memorial plaques for the victims of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
“They wanted to do a meaningful hands-on project for the people in Newtown who went through this tragedy,” said SHS guidance counselor Lee Ann Miller, the club’s advisor.
The club has about 15 active members who have spent the past few months crafting wooden hearts with the names of the 26 victims of the tragedy listed on them. The names are each inside a puzzle piece design that was engraved with a laser.
“I think they look awesome,” said Monika Arbaciauskaite, the club’s president. “We haven’t had a big project like this since the club started. It’s really exciting.”
Several teachers involved with the Project Lead the Way program came up with the design of the hearts but it was up to the students to create them.
“I’m very proud of what they’ve been able to accomplish,” said SHS technology teacher Justin Mirante. “This was a large endeavor and they’ve done a great job.”
Students were responsible for carving the heart shapes out of the wood, sanding and staining the plaques and coating them with polyurethane.
“It’s been really good,” said student Ellie Lefkovich. “We got to use the hand-sander, the laser printer and a lot of other machines in the wood shop.”
In addition to valuable practice with powerful machines, the students were also grateful for the chance to reach out to the people of Newtown.
“Money donations are something that will come and go but this is something sentimental that will stay with them,” said student Kelly Craven.
The wooden hearts will eventually be mounted on a backdrop to complete the work. At a recent meeting of the club, students were carrying around piles of wooden hearts to various stations in order to finish the process.
“We’ve made a lot of them,” said student Elizabeth Gwara. “Each of the families will get one, but we want to keep some around here just so we can remember.”

Submitted photo
Southington High School WISE Club member Megan Steele works on a memorial plaque for the victims of the Newtown tragedy.

by Rob Glidden
Staff Writer

With the current school year winding down, the Board of Education filled two important administrative positions for next year, appointing Marilyn Kahl as the new principal of Kelley Elementary School and Michael Halloran as the newest assistant principal at Southington High School.
“You both came from rich pools of candidates and rose to the top,” said Chairman Brian Goralski. “We look forward to your work in Southington.”
Surrounded by family members and given a standing ovation by the meeting’s attendees, the new administrators thanked the school leaders during brief remarks.
Kahl has been serving as the assistant principal at Derynoski Elementary School for the last two years. Before that, she had worked for 16 years as a teacher at Cheshire’s Highland Elementary School.
“The last two years have been so rewarding and I’m looking forward to this new professional challenge,” she said. “It’s really an honor, although I am sad to leave Derynoski.”
Kelley has a much smaller student population than Derynoski, and Kahl said this would help her eventually learn all the student’s names and spend more time in the classrooms. She is replacing longtime principal Elizabeth Lutz, who Kahl described as a leader with “huge dedication.”
Halloran, a Southington native, has been the principal of the CREC Polaris Center in East Hartford since 2009. Before that, he held a variety of administrative positions in Hartford schools. He said he was excited by the chance to participate in Southington’s school system, which he greatly admires.
“It’s an honor and privilege to be able to serve my community,” Halloran said. “I’m very much looking forward to the tremendous opportunities that come with this position.”
Now one of four assistant principals at the high school, Halloran will replace the retiring Andrew Bayer, who has held the position for over a decade.
Both new administrators will start on July 1.

Marilyn Kahl

Michael Halloran

DePaolo Middle School has announced its honor roll for the third marking period.

Grade 6,  First Honors: Praise Adekola, Sarah Anderson, Tyler Bade, Joshua Badgley, Samantha Baleshiski, Jake Beaupre, Kaitlyn Bertola, Joseph Bethencourt, Emily Blaszko, Nathan Borkowski, Owen Bouchard, Sydney Bradshaw, Kyra Brayall, Jillian Bryan, Chiara Burgio, Daniel Butlien, Robert Cantillon, Valente Castillo, Zachary Christensen, Caitlin Cochran, Mikayla Costello, Sarah Csuka, Kelly Doyle, Jacob Drechsler, Logan Fischer, Justin Fontano, Tyler Garry, Mitchell Geary, Chantelle Gimenez, Michael Goralski, Jessica Griffin, Taylor Hamlin, Maxwell Heath, Russell Hotchkiss, Matthew Howard, Michaela Hughes, Adam Hunter, Timothy Jagos, Erica Klem, Cade LaChance, Gianina Lambert, Abigail Lamson, Anna Laone, Haley Larrabee, Noah Lee, Molly MacAllister, Phillip Mallett, Nathan McDevitt, Brandon McKnerney, Craig McPherson, Jake Miceli, Julia Michnowicz, Ryan Mikosz, Ryan Monte, Hailey Morelli, Cameron O’Hara, Kate Olsen, Hieu Phan, Rocco Possidento, Olivia Potter, Lidia Prusak, Samantha Przybylski, Natalia Rivera, Elaina Rivers, Jacob Romano, Hailey Root, Kyra Rosenberg, Ethan Salsbury, Jeremiah Segrue, Julia Semmel, Olivia Sherwood, Eli Steindl, Nicholas Steminsky, Nicholas Stevens, Luke Tedeschi, Alijah Vega, Joseph Verderame, Natalie Verderame, Gabriella Verderame-Malachowski, Nathan Wagner, Jillian Watson, Olivia White, Diane Williams, Emma Wojcicki, , Grade 6, Second Honors, Nadja Abaza, Natalia Adamczyk, Robert Adamo, Julianna Alvani, Yousef Badr, Joshua Beal, Abhiram Bhamidipati, Tina Brazil, Samantha Bucci, Colin Burdette, Thomas Burns, Steven Cavallo, Joseph Colaccino, Scott Crooks, Isabelle Crowley, Hailey Culbreth, Jenna Curley, Audrey Cyr, Carmen-Anne Cyr, Zachary Day, John DeGumbia, Shane Domian, William Downes, Jennifer Duncan, Isabella Feest, Gabrielle Fiora, Nico Gaudio, Ryan Gavronski, Rhia Grabowski, Megan Graff, Jacob Gravel, Kate Gray, Derek Guida, Calvin Gumprecht, Isabella Hancock, Lily Heidgerd, Brett Hunter, Katherine Jez, Evan Johanns, Caitlynn Kallberg, Brendan Kavanagh, Mackenzie Kavanah, Nathan Korngiebel, Jason Krar, Karolina Kurzatkowska, Lauren Laius, Charles Lansdale, Tanner LaRosa, Robert Loffredo, Nicholas Mangene, Brendan McCarthy, Logan McInnis, Riley McNamara, Alexa Miani, Justin Miranda, Gabriella Mondo, Giulianna Montana, Matthew Morelli, Sabrina Morelli, Caitlin Mulligan, Hayden Nadeau, Caroline Natelli, Joshua Nocera, Nicholas Pacyna, Benjamin Palladino, Isabella Paulus, Nicholas Perkins, Anthony Rio, Charlene Roy, Anthony Sagnella, Ethan Samselski, Michael Sandulli, Kailey Schmarr, Tessa Schneider, Jake Siedel, Bianca Spataro, Connor Stifel, Julia Theriault, Matthew Thompson, Ethan Thomson, Sydney Trask, Matthew Tumolo, Julia Uba, Mychele Vaillancourt, Timothy Walsh, Dylan Whillock, Hannah Zagryn, Hailey Zak

Grade 7, First Honors: Rosanna Airo, Haley Allen, Nolyn Allen, Cora Altomari, Jacob Anderson, Cicily Balachandar, Samantha Barmore, William Barmore, Madison Beaudoin, Jordan Beaupre, Mackenzie Beaupre, Emma Becotte, Evan Bender, Megan Biscoglio, Nicholas Borkowski, Victoria Bouyea, Julia Brilla, Amanda Brocki, Allison Brown, Erica Bruno, Aryanna Bujak, Hayden Burbank, Zachary Burleigh, Marissa Calandra, Carolyn Callahan, Gina Calo, Nicole Carter, William Ceruti, Sophia Chaltas, Kevin Chudy, Cameron Clynes, Chelsea Cocozza, Abigail Connolly, Devon Cunningham, Natasha Davis, Noah De Jesus, Rachel DePonte, Mason Dibble, Molly Dobratz, Michael Dorsey, Trevor Dufresne, Kaylee Fantoli, Ryan Flynn, Katherine Foley, Olivia Fournier, Matthew Garry, Kirsten Gersbeck, Lauren Graef, Julia Groll, Emma Guzauckas, Heather Hannigan, Jeffrey Hannigan, Jacob Hayes, Jack Herms, Amanda Howe, Taylor Hubert, Daniel Hunter, Katelyn Ierardi, Alexa Imme, Julia Kahl, Rea Kelolli, Radoslaw Konopka, Zachary Krasinsky, Jonathan Kryzanski, Jake Kubisek, Eric Langland, Alex Le, Abigail Legere, Sarah Lew, Claire Macioce, David MacKay, Rylee Malone, Jacob Manente, William Marshall, Julia McPherson, Mahima Mehta, Jessica Monte, Sarah Myrick, Erin Palinkos, Thomas Palko, Amy Paul, Tyler Peruta, Jessica Pesce, Laini Pizzitola, Kayla Powers, Anthony Riccio, Tayler Riddick, Andrew Robel, Holly Ross, Sylvia Rutkowski, Brett Rycki, Timothy Sadlowski, Brittney Sao, Isabella Scalise, Liam Seebauer, Ashley Shafran, Samantha St. Pierre, James Starr, Corey Sturgis, Robert Taylor, John Terray, Jennifer Thai, Zachary Thomas, Emily Tinyszin, Daniel Topper, Emma Topper, Vincent Viturale, Shivali Vyas, Janette Wadolowski, Madina Welcome, Julia Wells, Adriana Wimler, Nathan Wivell, Sean Young, Lydia Yu, Patrycja Zajac, Hannah Zelina, Stephanie Zera

Grade 7, Second Honors: Maria Alecsandru, Catrina Aszklar, Gabriella Bassi-Belanger, Andrew Bauer, Nicoletta Belales, William Blaise, Allison Blaszko, Evan Bumbera, Collin Burbank, Shalyn Butkiewicz, Kayleigh Carmichall, Benjamin Caron, Elizabeth Cassan, Gabrielle Cerra, Odalys Chavez, Adam Cianci, Emily Cole, Jacqueline Coley, Jared Curtis, Justin Cyr, Madison Daddona, Joseph DeGennaro, Kira Dethlefsen, Zachary Domian, Isabella Dominello, Drew Downey, Jacob Ellard, Elizabeth Etter, Liam Ferguson, Mario Ferreri, Maritza Flowers, Ella Galbreath, Savanna Gilbert, Sarah Goldstein, Anthony Golino, Derek Hagan, Deborah Hannigan, Aisha Hussain, Medina Iljazi, Quintin Kimmel, Ashley King, Joseph Koczera, Joshua Krenke, Jessica Kroeber, Leah Kurtz, Alexis Lapointe, Ellie Leavitt, Andrew Lohneiss, Faryn Malley, Ryan Montalvo, Zachary Monti, Nicholas Morrell, Jared Morrissey, Emily Nadile, Isabel Najarian, Michelle Nogaj, Joshua Panarella, Alexander Paquette, Gianna Passarelli, Safiyah Pathan, Angelo Pederson, Tyler Pereau, Tiana Perez-Toro, David Perlot, Samuel Raia, Francisco Rosario, Gaelan Rushing, Sean Scanlon, Shaan Shah, Suchi Sheth, Tarell Smith, Claudia Stavidlo, James Stepien, Garrett Susi, Amit Thakkar, Cheyenne Tomassetti, Phuong Trinh, Makayla Vaillancourt, Justin Verrilli, Shaun Wagner, Matthew Wallach, Karolina Wneta, Cheyanne Young, William Zesut, Suada Zharku

Grade 8, First Honors: Jake Aparo, Abigale Asklar, Ashley Barry, Katerina Belales, Jake Bertola, Laura Calandra, Michaela Carrera, Elena Cavallo, Meghan Cichon, Kristen Craven, Evan D’Agostino, Erica Daigle, Dante DeCesare, Kata Erdei, Michael Freeman, Laura Furtak, Jay Gandhi, Emily Gibney, Erin Gibney, Kelly Graff, Liam Guthrie, Jessica Karwowski, Erik Kryzanski, Johannah Litchfield, Aaron Mallett, Zea Manning, Samantha Martins, Marissa Matarazzo, Ryan McIntyre, Amanda Morach, Alexandria Mourges, Catherine Myers, Bao-Anh Nguyen, Hannah Olsen, Vasoula Papageorge, Andrew Premus, Christina Renzi, Joseph Savage, Joseph Savarese, Kaitlin Semmel, Kyle Semmel, Kristen Shubert, Jordan Silva, Jeremy Spooner, Samantha Steeves, Carson Stifel, Brendan Taylor, Madison Trask, Madison Yurgaitis, Alexa Zborowski, Michael Zera

Grade 8, Second Honors: Austin Abacherli, Michael Abbatiello, Amir Agoora, Madison Aldieri, Sierra Alicea, Michael Allen, Michael Balaoing, McKenna Belury, Jennifer Briscoe, Colton Brown, Andrew Chavez, Alex Ciaffaglione, Samantha Cocchiola, Amanda Delorme, Megan Delorme, Ryan Delorme, Cassandra Dethlefsen, Juliana Ferreri, Hunter Forrest, Matteo Gaudio, Sarah Goulet, Jonathan Gray, Samantha Greenslate, Diana Halla, Michael Jagos, Kornelia Jez, Allison Krampitz, Brooke LaChance, Jordan Lamkins, Samantha Lamkins, McKenzie Lee, Nathan L’Heureux, Michael Listro, Andrew Luczak, Maegan Mariani, Christopher Martin, Juliana McManus, Matthew Meade, Margaret Meehan, Johnathan Mikosz, Sarah Mirisola, Anthony Mondo, Gabrielle Mulholland, Lars Olson, Elysse Page, Evyenia Papageorge, Zachary Parent, Chandni Patel, Benjamin Pestillo, Brian Petrucci, Jessica Piotrowski, Dillon Prive, Thomas Ragozzino, Brianna Rainey, Nicholas Rappi, Jesse Rasten, Bailey Robarge, Alize Rodriguez, Paul Schweiger, Nathan Simard, Joel Spinelli, Michael Steminsky, Noah Tedeschi, John Testa, John Thompson, Leann Tonnotti, Connor Trzcinski, Natiya Washer, Hannah Weir, Madison Whillock

Southington High School has announced it honor roll for the third marking period.

Grade 9, first honors: Leandro Antonio Alejandro, Kelsea Allen, Andrew Ardolino, Angela Balaoing, James Brino, Rachel Bruno, Samantha Butlien, Rebecca Caisse, Anthony Cammuso, Victoria Castillo, Fizza Chaudhry, Timothy Cocozza, Jennifer Congdon, Adam Cormier, Joshua Cormier, Andrea Defeo, Sarah Dolan, Steven Dorzens, Kristen Elliott, Megan Enright, Jarod Florian, Jessica Gagnon, Cassandra Gaudio, Natalia Gimenez, Bethany Greenlaw, Nicole Groll, Jessica Howe, Danielle Hughes, Jenny Johnson, Samantha Jones, Kayla Judd, Kayla Kavanagh, Sana Khan, Gregory Kloczko, Laura Koba, Visal Kong, Sarah Lamb, Sylwia Lewkowicz, Kristina Linehan, Samantha Lohneiss, Emily Maciejewski, Emily Mankus, Gage Marshall, Haley Mullin, Brianna Muscio, Alissa Paul, Giavonna Paulus, Katherine Peccerillo, Lauren Perkowski, Valerie Perzanowski, Niels Peschel, Nicholas Pierson, Alex Rasten, Sofia Ricciardi, Natalie Rickard, Allie Rinaldi, Benjamin Sadlowski, Amanda Sao, Brenna Sarantides, Allison Schroeder, Morgan Shubert, Brett Simms, Valerie Slimskey, Kelsey Snodgrass, Steven Sokolowski, Alexander Statkevich, John Stevens, Melanie Tedeschi, Krysta Tsangarides, Jenna Uba, Natalie Wadolowski, Angelina Zollo

Grade 10, first honors: Ryan Abouchacra, Megan Albert, Meagan Asklar, Alexandra Barmore, Zachary Bauer, Erik Bergland, Tiffany Blancato, Melissa Borysewicz, Tyler Brinton, Kaitlyn Budrow, Zachary Bylykbashi, Kayley Carrier, Madison Chapman, Caroline Charlton, Rong Chen, Ashley Christensen, Sarah Colston, Erin Cova, James Danielson, Matthew Duszak, Maxwell Eldridge, Olivia Ende, Julie Falk, Nicole Fischer, Erika Florian, Alexandra France, Jessica Goralski, Julia Granato, James Hoder, Raegan Honyotski, Aubrey Jalbert, Kunal Kataria, Meghan Kelley, Arooba Khan, Sana Khan, Christopher Kingsbury, Leah Kligerman, Haley Kolesnik, Sharon Kwok, Jessica Lee, Erin Martin, Marissa Mayo, Haley Messenger, Evan Misiorski, Zachary Murillo, Rachel Nardi, Daniel Normandin, Ryan Padden, Kathryn Palinkos, Bailey Potter, Cassidy Race, Jonathan Rappi, Erin Reilly, Julia Reilly, Nicole Ricker, Caroline Rodman, Raquel Romano, Ryann Snodgrass, Kathleen Spagnoletti, Matthew Steeves, Michael Taylor, Christian Testa, Curtis Topper, Matthew Torrisi, Christina Trovato, Elizabeth Veilleux, Veronica Viturale, Adam Viviano, Jeanette Wiese, Daniel Williams, Caitlin Young, Lauren Zazzaro

Grade 11, first honors: Kayley Alfano, Austin Atashian, Gabrielle Baker, Stephen Barmore, Dillon Bauchiero, Samantha Becotte, Matthew Bennett, Andrzej Bielecki, Michael Bielecki, Gabrielle Boudreau, Kyle Burleigh, Paula Calandra, Quinton Carmichall, Nicole Carrier, Tommy Chen, Peter Christiano, Nicholas Cianci, Daniel Connolly, Rachel Conte, Austin Cormier, Olivia Corriveau, Julia D’Alessandro, Makenna Daly, Samantha D’Angelo, Nicole DiMasso, Brendan Donahue, Lauren Durand, Alexis Dziubek, Margaret Fagan, Megan Fazzino, Eric Flood, Michaela Gee, Elizabeth George, Rylee Gothberg, Abigael Guthrie, Abigail Harris, Diane Hassanieh, Courtney Hedges, Lilian Herman, Quoc Ho Lam, Ian Jacobs, Tia Jones, Daniel Kane, Denis Kelolli, Rachel Klem, Krzysztof Konopka, Stephanie Krar, William Lefkovich, Nicole Lidzbarski, Sarah Lippincott, Matthew Listro, Renee Luna, Mckenzie Madore, Allison McCormick, Katherine Miller, Carissa Mirando, Alexa Mitchell, Lauren Mitchell, Sarah Mongillo, Michelle Morris, Mikayla Mueller, Colin Murphy, Kayla Nati, Sylvia Nguyen, Sara Noori, Stephen Peccerillo, Amanda Perriello, Olivia Premus, Alexander Queen, Elizabeth Ragozzino, Joseph Rivera, Michael Rogalski, Olivia Roth, Kylie Sarantides, Annalisa Sega, Julian Sherwood, Nicholas Siarkowski, Steven Sica, Jocelyn Skurat, Anthony Smith,        Kyle Sposato, Lindsey Starr, Elizabeth Stearns, Tyler Sweetman, Silvana Tellerico, Zoe Tyz, Noah Violette, Amanda Vollaro, Imani Walton, Samantha Welch, Stephanie Whelan, John White, Carolyn Zesut

Grade 12, first honors: Rebecca Allard, Katherine Amnott, Ethan Beaudoin, Samantha Blazek, Sabrina Boodley, Alex Borofsky, Ben Boucher, Sarah Carangelo, Mary Lou Castiglione, Maeghan Chapman, Jessica Corcanges, Abigail Cormier, Elizabeth Correia, John Correia, Ryan Daigle, Jessie Davidson, Bryan Davis, Elizabeth Del Buono, Mika Derynioski, Christopher DeVona, Nicole Dietzel, Karen Falk, Olivia Freer, Carmella Frosceno, Alicia Gomez, Sofia Gonzalez, Andrew Goralski, Jaimie Grzesczyk, Lori Guernon, Kevin Hannigan, Andrew Ianni, Corey Johnson, Kristin Kearney, Vladislav Kiveliyk, Katlin Klein, Rebecca Klem, Kaitlin Koczon, Erica Kosienski, Jonathan La Follette, Jordan Lafland, Weronika Lewkowicz, Joshua Licursi, Alyssa Lombardi, Ashley Mafale, Melissa Miller, Jordyn Moquin, Rachel Morin, Kathleen Mulhearn, Mary Nadeau, Jordyn O’Hearn, Katelyn Ottalagana, Daniel Pappalardo, Rebecca Pappalardo, Adam Penksa, Kathryn Pistilli, Molly Potter, Meghan Ramsay, Danielle Rasmus, Evan Richards, Kyle Riedinger, Amanda Russman, Nicole Salmon, Edward Shaw, Victoria Shay, Emily Sheehan, Melissa Shuster, William Simms, Matthew Sirois, Autumn Skwiot, Kaylee Storm, Jodie Strange, Richard Suleski, Michael Sullivan, Katina Tsangarides, Jeffrey Walker, Mariah Washer, Nicole Wershoven, Kimberly Wood, Heidi Woodbury, Nicole Woodruff

Grade 9, second honors: Griffin Alix, Kayla Allaire, Erin Angelillo, Jonathan Ardolino, Ciara Backus, Joshua Barry, Matthew Becotte, Quinn Becotte, Mikayla Bedell, Alexandra Bieniek, Kylie Blazek, Nicole Breedlove, Ryan Burrill, Lauren Cafasso, Grace Cardozo, Raegan Casarella, Katelin Chamberland, Benjamin Chasse, Jacob Chasse, Payton Chiaro, Nicole Christensen, Courtney Christino, Emmerson Colasanto, Mckenna Colasanto, Hayley Crafts, Olivia Cranney, Keanu Cummings, Jacob D’Alessandro, Anna DeCroce, Anthony DeGennaro, Sarah Delaney, Kealey Donahue, Bryan Doyle, Daniel Fagan, Kathryn Falcetti, Drew Farkas, Kayleigh Ferguson, Hannah Francis, Katrina Furgalack, Daria Gagnon, Michaela Ganezer, Sarah Gerrish, Mark Howland, Christopher Iverson, Julia Izydorczak, Danielle Jaffer, Jessica Kane, Jacob Kligerman, Ryan Kosienski, Caitlyn Krar, Reed Kroll, Carter Krzesik, Kevin Lalla, Kyle Lalla, Katie Lindberg, Jeffrey Lockwood, Scott Lucian, Lauren Macri, Michael Majchrzak, Bryan Massabni, Morgan McNamara, Steven McPherson, Jordan Meier, Christopher Minkiewicz, Caroline Mongillo, Brandon Murray, Ashley Nafis, Matthew Natelli, Alexis Negron, David Nelson, Kasey Newman, Shannon O’Connor, Kushal Patel, Dane Penksa, Kali Pliego, Sofia Possidento, Bailey Powers, Cassandra Punzo, Domenic Rossi, Michael Ruszczyk, Stephen Salmon, Emily Sargent, Samantha Schiffer, Jessica Seitz, Lauren Semataska, Amy Serrano, Jhanvi Shah, Sarah Sherwill, Cole Simoneaux, Robert Sirko, Jason Soltys, Amelia Sponauer, Nicolette St. Amand, Kiersten Stanley, Erin Sullivan, Brett Swanson, Andrew Szymanski, James Terray, Aaron Tiscione, Nathan Truong, Katherine Trykowski, Jennifer Turci, Matthew Verrilli, Edmond Vitcavage, James Wadman, Ryan Wells, Christopher Wolfe-McGuire, Alexandra Wyluda

Grade 10, second honors: Alexandria Abacherli, Alaina Albino, Annelise Alfieri, Rachel Babon, Mitchell Baker, Aidan Baldwin, Katherine Baldwin, Kyle Barry, Kayla Beaupre, Erich Bender, Lily Bernabe, Jonathan Blain, Kyle Borawski, Michael Botsacos, Nickolas Brazil, Adam Brush, Cassandra Camilli, Lauren Carney, Patrick Carozza, Bailey Carter, Jenna Casey, Cameron Chubet, Catherine Coppola, Elizabeth Costello, Dakota Curtis, Kyle DeAngelo, Ryan DeAngelo, Timothy Delaney, Andrea DiCesare, Nick DiFusco, Tyler DiTunno, Kateri Downes, Casey Doyle, Kevin Drexler, Brandon DuBois, Christopher Falk, Michael Fazzino, Michele Gamelin, Harrison Garrett, Jared Gavronski, Ryan Goldstein, Mack Golos, Elena Gomez, Jocelyn Gregor, Natalia Grosfeld, Amanda Hamel, Antoine Harris, David Harrison, Abigail Heller, Benjamin Herms, Adriel Hernandez, Abigail Hodges, Shane Holley, Mark Horanzy, Benjamin Landrette, Sarah Leahy, Ellie Lefkovich, Zachary Levesque, Kristen Loose, Zachery Lucente, Sarah Luczak, Noah MacDonald, Catherine MacKay, David Massabni, Steffan Mayette, Melissa McKim, Adalain Meier, Katherine Mellitt, Margaret Mellitt, Vincent Milardo, Eric Minton, Jacob Molgano, Jennifer Monte, Jack Myers, Talia Nanfito, Jessica Nelson, Jeramy Olan, Amber O’Regan, Franklin Pac, Michael Pagano, Priya Patel, Kaitlin Paterson, Lee Ann Pelletier, Mckenzie Pelletier, Thomas Perzanowski, Evan Pokorski, Ian Powell, Scott Rashaw, Anthony Renzi, Jonathan Richards, Kailey Richardson, Maryssa Romano, Alexandra Rothstein, Isabella Russo, Jacob Semmel, Jarod Shurack, Andi Skenderi, William Smith, Francesca Sophroniou, Matthew Sorrentino, Natalie Soto, Marilyn Sporbert, Kayla St. Pierre, Victoria Stepien, Rianna Susco, Zachary Susi, Victoria Swartz, Alexa Taylor, Matthew Thomson, Shelby Thurston, Julia Tinyszin, Kelly Toomey, Rebecca Tsangarides, Jonathan Tumolo, Vedant Vyas, Jake Wallach, Colleen Walsh, Nicholas Wells, Nicole White, Adam Wilson, Elizabeth Woods, Maghen Zagryn

Grade 11, second honors: Samantha Aberizk, Matthew Albrecht, Alex Angelillo, Michael Aylett, Christopher Baker, Andrea Baldick, Alyson Baribault, Josef Barry, Kaycee Belanger, Megan Belcourt, Deven Bernaiche, Malik Blackwell, Justin Blake, Jessica Bocek, Paige Braziel, Connor Brennan, Caroline Burke, Allison Carangelo, Brandon Carney, Kayla Carrier, Desirae Casiano, Katherine Cichon, Brooke Cochrane, Kevin Cop, Nicole Cova, Kelly Craven, Marissa Cusano, Jordan D’Andrea, Maria DaRocha, Laura Day, Taylor DeBishop, Amanda DePonte, Nishi Desai, Megan DeSorbo, Mara Dubnicka, Kaylyn Fagan, Joseph Fazzino, Samantha Ferla, Rachel Flodquist, Shane Florian, Andrew Foertsch, Patrick Freer, JoAnna Gendreau, Jhenea Gooden, Megan Graham, Taylor Grucza, Hannah Guilmette, Elizabeth Gwara, Ryan Hair, Katherine Hartford, Ethan Hilliard, Michael Hoffman, Nicholas Hubeny, Christopher Hupper, Tyler Hyde, Claudia Jaslowski, Michael Kazlowski, Carolynn Keal, Emilee Kemnitz, Tessa Kolaczenko, Visoud Kong, Michael Lange, Heather LeClerc, Nicholas Legere, Andrew Levin, Amber Lewis, Stephanie Lutz, Alicia Maffiolini, Vanessa Marchewka, Alexander Martin, Megan Martin, Amanda Mastroianni, John McCarthy, Nathan Mullins, Susan Murphy, Natalie Nyerick, Samantha Palacios, Randolph Parent, Amanda Pedrak, Stefanie Pellerin, Andrew Petracca, Kaileen Pfeiffer, Francesca Picone, Victoria Plante, Gary Plourde, Samantha Ramey, Jonathan Rauch, Lianna Rivera, Dylan Roach, Jamie Robertson, Wesley Rushing, Joseph Russo, Gianni Sabino, Madeline Sadlowski, Bushra Saqab, Julie Saucier, David Shaughnessy, Jian Siadat, Jaime Simard, Zachary Skarzynski, Nicholas Stafko, Thomas Swinicki, Valerie Szmurlo, Joseph Taglia, Isabelle Tedeschi, Marissa Tedeschi, Alexander Thomas, Justin Truong, Brittanie Vontell, Michael Walczak, Lianna Wodzicki, Elana Wojenski, Anna Wyluda, Sarah Wysocki, Anisa Xhurxhi, Alyssa Zaorski

Grade 12, second honors: Jennifer Accuosti, Bryan Adie, Kristina Albiach, Carla Albini, Maria Albini, Nicole Albini, Monika Arbaciauskaite, Christopher Arndt, Howard Asal, Elise Bean, Kristina Bolovis, Billie-Jo Bradley, Brandon Brush, Christopher Cadrain, Sarah Caisse, Andrew Caponegro, Elaina Chambrello, Hannah Chamis, Nicholas Charnysh, Damian Chuchro, Jilliana Ciamarra, Travis Clark, Hannah Cunliffe, William DeBarba, Breanna DeGumbia, Brittanie DeLuco, Rachael DiBenedetto, Stephanie DiCesare, Whitney DiMeo, Rachel Dorsey, Caitlin Downes, James Doyle, Sabrina Dyson, Sean Erwin, Jenna Ferreira, Molly Fiasconaro, Taylor Furgalack, Meg Gallagher, Alyssa Gemmell, Austin Gentile, Eileen Germain, Kaylie Giammatteo, Jessica Harris, Rachel Harvey, Ember Hayden, Carey Hilliard, Lucas Hodlin, Danielle Hoskins, Drew Hudick, Sarah Hurley, Megan Jasunas, Michael Jewett, Danielle Kaminsky, Jeffrey Kolb, Peter Laliberte, Timothy Langland, Brianna Lee, Charlotte Lefkovich, Ashley-Marie LeVasseur, Meghan Lucente, Chloe Lupton, Chad Madore, Samantha Magnanini, Erin Malone, Claire Manente, Suzanne Marcoux, Louis Martocchio, Thomas Mazzatti, Jordyn McNamara, Stephen Mierzejewski, Jonathan Moise, Nicholas Monteleone, Luxhina Mullaj, Junior Nichols, Rebecca Niland, Jessica Nyerick, Anthony Oliva, Zachary Palmer, Joseph Pappalardo, Andrea Pascariello,  Kathleen Penta, Toni Penta, Jilian Pesce, Thien-Long Phan, Kailey Pisko, Alexander Pokorski, Julia Premus, Kimberly Rodriguez, Vincent Romano, Justin Rose, Jaclyn Ruszczyk, Bridget Scanlon, Mahryahh Schmidt, Nicholas Sciota, Amanda Seamon, Ian Sherwood, Shrey Sheth, Nicole Shorette, Brittney Smith, Stephanie Sowa, Laura Spagnoletti, Brandon Staschke, Rebecca Swol, Aleena Tanveer, Bryson Teel, William Thompson, Alyssa Valerio, Kayla Viviano, Daniel Wardwell, Givone Williams, Daniel Wivell, Kevin Wormer, Rachel Wrinn, Michael Wysocki, Demi Zubko

By Rob Glidden
Staff Writer

The Board of Finance approved a mill rate for the next fiscal year that will result in a tiny tax reduction for residents.
After its $129 million proposed budget was approved without changes by the Town Council, the BOF officially set the next mill rate at 27.46, a drop from 27.48. Officials said this represents about a $4 decrease in taxes for a median home in Southington.
“We’ve put forward a balanced budget where the revenues match the expenses,” said Chairman John Leary. “It’s essentially a flat mill rate.”
The finance board’s recommendation had cut $1.1 million from the Board of Education’s proposal, a threat to the planned all-day kindergarten program that drew numerous residents to the podium during public hearings. The Board of Education re-allocated its own budget on Thursday, after The Observer went to press.
The impact to the school district is expected to be softened somewhat by a reduction in the town’s planned expenses for self-insurance during the next fiscal year.
While the town cannot predict exactly how much will be spent on insurance issues in any given year, a seven-member committee goes through an annual process of trying to make an accurate prediction. The final number allocated is often changed during the budget process as new information about the current year’s insurance spending is available, and this year the committee reduced the amount by about $550,000 shortly before the Town Council’s vote.
The reduction was narrowly approved by the committee with a 4-3 vote and was met with some skepticism at the council’s budget meeting. BOF member Sandra Feld, a member of the self-insurance committee, said she felt “it wasn’t cautious enough.”
The board also addressed insinuations that the change was made for the benefit of the school district’s budget, since a large portion of the savings will be on the school board’s side of the budget.
“The timing of it comes off to people like it was done to help the Board of Education with their budget difficulties,” said BOF member Tony Casale. “I’d like to dispel that.”
Vice-Chairman Joe Labieniec stressed that the decisions are made based on projections and the suggestions of the town’s insurance provider.
“The sole purpose was to make the more informed decision and to try and be as accurate as possible,” he said. “There was no ‘raiding’ of the self-insurance fund.”

By Rob Glidden
Staff Writer

The Board of Education managed to save its proposed all-day kindergarten program despite reductions made during the budget process, but at a price that left the officials uneasy.
The decisions made by the Board of Finance and the Town Council left the school board with about $84.2 million to work with, $1.1 million less than what they had asked for. Administrators and board members agreed that they did not want to compromise the planned improvements in school safety, technology upgrades and the all-day kindergarten. Accomplishing this required sacrifices elsewhere, including the SOAR enrichment program.
“This is a balanced budget but one that I’m embarrassed to present,” Erardi said. “I do not support any of what’s being presented this evening. What I support is the work that needs to be done.”
The board was able to deflect some of the reductions with various adjustments, including a $295,000 reduction in self-insurance funding, about $70,000 in additional Educational Cost-Sharing (ECS) funds from the state and about $125,000 worth of savings as a result of educating five special education students within the schools instead of out-placing them.
However, these items did not cover the entirety of the reductions. In addition to eliminating two full-time positions ($93,500) associated with the SOAR program, a literacy specialist at Southington High School and a district math and science coordinator will only work at the schools from January to June instead of the full school year. This resulted in savings of $68,000.
Members of the school board were disheartened by having to sacrifice another program to introduce all-day kindergarten.
“We’re asking our teachers to meet the needs of all our students,” said BOE member Patricia Queen. “How are we supposed to meet the needs of exceptional learners without the SOAR program?”
The new budget also depends on $250,000 from the supplies account, which the board typically holds back for emergencies. There was also a $239,000 line-item for “anticipated fund balance” meant to help balance the budget. Board members expressed concerns about these items and noted that if they were used now, the district had few options if other unexpected problems came up.
“We say that the state is dysfunctional and now we’re doing what they do,” said Chairman Brian Goralski. “We’re gambling with next year’s dollars.”
The board ultimately approved the reallocated budget with a 6-2 vote, with board member Patricia Johnson absent. Even those who supported the arrangement expressed frustration with this year’s budget process.
“I’m sitting here angry,” said school board member Colleen Clark. “I sat through meetings where we cut things that we didn’t want to cut. We spoke publicly about what our district needed. We’ve done our darndest and now we have to pit one program against another just to save taxpayers four dollars.”
The two members who voted against the new proposal, David Derynoski and Zaya Oshana, were hoping to come up with a different solution before the new fiscal year begins on July 1.
“We still have another month,” Derynoski said. “I would like to spend more time formulating this. I cannot support this in its current form.”
Goralski said that there may be a scenario before the school year ends that could allow them to save the SOAR program, such as an influx of teacher retirements, but otherwise the officials simply had to prioritize. Fellow board member Terry Lombardi noted that all-day kindergarten was supported was the majority of parents in Southington.

KAITLYN NAPLES
Staff Writer

Another school year has come to an end at St. Paul Catholic High School, and the seniors will be graduating on June 7 and preparing for their future. The top two students were announced last week, with Southington’s Matt Santovasi earning the number two slot as salutatorian.
As he prepared for departure from high school, he offered a word of advice to his fellow classmates: work hard and dreams will come true.
Santovasi is headed to Villanova University to study electrical engineering. Ever since his middle school math and science classes, Santovasi said he has been interested in engineering. His dad is also an engineer, so he has always been familiar with that occupation.
He has been attending private, Catholic schools for his entire educational life, and moving to a much larger school is a little overwhelming for Santovasi, but he said he is excited about the journey.
“It’s just going to be so different,” he said.
When he found out he was second in his class rank, he said he was surprised.
“I knew I always did well (academically) but I never thought I was number 2,” he said, adding that he wouldn’t be where he is if he didn’t have the support and encouragement from his father.
“My dad has been a really big help with my homework, and has always guided me in the right direction,” Santovasi said. “I really look up to him.”
Throughout high school he has been captain of the track team, where he said he has many memories and enjoyed his time spent with a team that felt like family.
“They are my best friends, and I know I will have them forever even though we are going our separate ways,” Santovasi said.
He is also the vice president of the senior class, and has been president of the National Honor Society and a member of the Blue Key Club.
In addition to his family, Santovasi also attributes his success to the St. Paul teachers.
“They were always a big help and truly cared about what we did and our futures,” he said.
Going forward, Santovasi said he would encourage his fellow graduates to continue to work hard in the future.
“Keep at it, and good things will come. Never give up,” he said, adding that he would say the same to the underclassmen and incoming freshman at St. Paul.
St. Paul Catholic High School will be having its graduation on Friday, June 7, at the St. Joseph Cathedral, 140 Farmington Ave., Hartford, at 7:30 p.m.

By Rob Glidden
Staff Writer
This year’s top three students at Southington High School learned a great deal about time management skills over the last four years, as they balanced their school work with numerous extra-curricular and community activities.
Valedictorian Bryan Davis, Salutatorian Jonathan La Follette and Essayist Molly Potter are all pursuing careers related to science and credited their experiences in specialized activities and community involvement with helping them find their path.
Davis is headed for The University of Connecticut to study electrical engineering. He said the Project Lead the Way technology classes had helped cultivate a passion for the work.
“We were exposed to all different types of engineering,” he said. “My father has done electrical engineering too and it turned out to be my favorite.”
Both he and La Follette credit technology teacher Justin Mirante’s classes with helping them learn the fundamentals of engineering firsthand.
“We had a lot of hands-on experience which was very beneficial,” La Follette said. “It wasn’t as much about taking notes or lectures. It was very project-oriented.”
The Salutatorian is headed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to study Biomedical Engineering. He hopes to eventually become involved with prosthetics, specifically prosthetics with moving parts. He acknowledged his time with the high school’s highly accomplished robotics team as an inspiration, even though it kept him extremely busy.
“It was like blending a job with my regular schedule,” he said. “At least most of my friends were in Robotics, so I didn’t need to schedule more time to see them.”
Potter is also going to UCONN and plans to major in Biology while on a Pre-Medicine track. A member of the swim team, she works part-time as a swim instructor at the YMCA and is a counselor at Camp Sloper. She said it was this work that helped her realize she wanted to be a pediatric physician.
“At that job, I found that I loved working with kids,” Potter said. “I also had passion for biology so I wanted to try and combine the two.”
She said English teacher Rebecca Migliaro with helping her determine the best way to achieve that goal.
“English wasn’t my best subject, but she became a mentor,” she said. “She helped me a lot through all the standardized testing and figuring out how to pursue the career I wanted.”
With all three of them dabbling in a number of different activities, the students had to manage their time wisely.
“During lacrosse season, I just had to accept that I would have no free time,” Davis said. “You have to set your priorities.”
Potter said she was excited about having more control over day-to-day activities as a college student.
“I’m looking forward to more freedom with my schedule,” she said. “It’s not the same schedule every day. You get to be independent and on your own.”
While a full schedule can be a positive thing, La Follette urged future students not to become so caught up in perfectionism that they didn’t enjoy their high school experience.
“I see a lot of people stressing about grades and how every tiny mistake is the end of the world,” he said. “It’s not the end of the world. You’ve got to calm down.”
Davis nodded his head in agreement and added, “Work hard, but don’t forget to have fun too.”

By Rob Glidden
From left, Salutatorian Jonathan La Follette, Essayist Molly Potter and Valedictorian Bryan Davis .

By John Goralski
Sports Writer

When umpires signaled the final out, the Lady Knights exploded in screams and celebration. Coach John Bores sighed with relief, looked down at the ground, and emerged from the dugout with a wide smile as his players gathered in hugs and tears.
The longest title drought in program history had finally come to an end, and Bores watched his team celebrate Southington’s 15th softball state title and the coach’s second since taking over the team in 2003.
“It’s a sigh of relief,” said Bores. “I told myself that I had to slow the game down. It’s one pitch at a time. Breath. Take it easy. Everyone in the dugout was screaming, but I just tried to take it slow and concentrate on calling each pitch.”
The girls did their part. Southington manufactured a run in the second inning, and the defense did the rest. Senior pitcher Jordyn Moquin scattered five hits over seven scoreless innings to record her 15th shutout of the season. Lauren Zazzaro corralled 10 outs at third base. Sarah Carangelo caught up to a pair of sure hits in the outfield, and the Knights came away with a 1-0 victory.
It was the perfect way to erase memories of last year’s championship game collapse.
“After losing last year, this was redemption. This was our ultimate goal no matter what, and we definitely fought hard for it,” said Moquin. “Redemption was definitely the big thing. We definitely wanted to continue the Southington softball legacy. We haven’t won a state title since 2004. To win the 15th today is just amazing.”
In fact, the final week of the season saw a pair of perfectly executed victories by the Knights with no room for error. It started with a 3-2 victory in the semifinals against a pesky Stamford squad. Southington went ahead 2-0 in the first inning, but Stamford answered in the top of the sixth.
Once again, the Knights had to manufacture a run to secure the victory. Caitlin Downes opened the inning with a slap single down the third base line. She advanced to second on a passed ball and scored when Rachel Harvey (2-for-3, 2 RBI) drove a line drive into the umpire’s leg at second base.
While Stamford players scrambled to recover the ball on the infield dirt, Bores threw up the sign to hold his runner at third base, but Downes turned the corner and beat the throw to the plate. The run lifted the Knights to a 3-2 victory.
“I saw the ball kick away, and their first baseman didn’t see it,” said Bores. “At first I tried to stop her, but then I let her go at the last second. It was a good judgment call on her part.”
Defensively, the Knights did their part. Zazzaro led the way with five putouts. Sydney Ferrante made three tough stops at shortstop, and Moquin scattered six hits, four strikeouts, and a walk over seven innings to get the win that catapulted the Knights back into the championship game.
“Everybody thinks that winning is easy, but it isn’t as easy as it looks,” said Bores. “I told them that last year when we went to the all-state banquet. There were eight teams that were winners or runners-up, and not one team had gone to the finals the previous year. They told me, ‘Coach, don’t worry. We have your back.’ I thought they were full of it, but now we’re back.”
This time, the Knights weren’t going to squander their chance, and once again the defense set the stage. Mercy drew a walk to start the game. A bunt drew the infielders in for the second out of the inning, and the Tiger runner tried to sneak around to third base just to find Harvey waiting for the throw. While the Southington defense had shifted to stop the lead runner, the Lady Knight catcher had scrambled down the line to head off Mercy’s runner.
“Everybody keeps laughing at me when I say it, but we practice that every day—defensive stuff,” said Bores. “They know with a runner on first that our catcher better get her rear end down third base because a lot of people try to run.”
In the bottom of the second inning, Southington took the lead for good. With one out, Zazzaro was struck by a pitch. She advanced to second base when the next pitch dropped into the dirt. With two outs, freshman Natalie Wadolowski drove a hard single into left center that scored Zazzaro from second base. The Knights held on to the 1-0 lead for their first state title since 2004.
“It feels like a decade, which it is,” said Bores. “It feels like a lifetime. I’m breathing sighs of relief because we’ve had the monkey on our back since last year. The way we imploded last year was embarrassing. To have most of the kids back this year, they knew that they had to come out and prove something. And they did. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Both teams had chances. Mercy had runners on base in all but one inning. Southington had two chances to score that were spoiled by the Tiger defense. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Mercy third baseman Haley Lamotta reached over the fence to catch a foul ball with Knights on second and third. The following inning, a Southington runner was thrown out at the plate with a perfect relay from shortstop.
“I thought Mercy played great. I thought they gave us everything that we could handle,” said Bores. “It’s the old cliché. It’s a shame that one team had to lose, but they played really well, too. I thought we hit the ball really, really hard. We hit some shots, and they made some nice plays.”
When the dust settled, Southington celebrated their 1-0 victory. Bores celebrated his second title in five chances, and the Knights are back on top in the softball world. In other words, it was business as usual.
“These guys were on a mission from day one,” said Bores. “This was one of the nicest groups if not the nicest group that I’ve ever had. They all came out, accepted their jobs, accepted their roles, and played hard every single day—every at bat, every ground ball, every fly ball. I couldn’t be prouder of these kids.”
To comment on this story or to contact sports writer John Goralski, email him at jgoralski@southingtonobserver.com.

By John Goralski
Lauren Zazzaro looks to the official after scoring the eventual game-winner in the second inning of the Class LL championship game. Southington beat Mercy, 1-0, to capture their 15th state title.

By John Goralski

The Southington Police Department has authorized the closure of a portion of Hobart Street, from Michael Drive to Skyline Drive, for the purpose of sewer repair work in preparation of the mill and overlay road project scheduled on Hobart Street.

The closure date will run from Tuesday, June 25 through Wednesday, June 26.

Detour signs will be provided for through traffic. Motorists are encouraged to find alternate routes.

by Ed Harris
Editor

South End Elementary School extended day kindergarten teacher Paula Gorham loves to tell stories, be it to her children or her students. This joy helped her craft the Interactive Storytelling Experience program that was recently awarded a $400 grant from the Southington Education Foundation (SEF).
“I love storytelling,” Gorham said. “I like to make it different.”
The grant will allow Gorham’s to use multimedia materials and props when her students read their favorite books or create their own. Along with puppets, Gorham’s class will utilize Pixie, a digital storytelling program.
Gorham also plans on having her students perform and retell some of the stories to other students at South End.
The students in Gorham’s class have already created their own books, complete with illustrations, following a recent unit on ladybugs. The students were able to use premade photos, or their own drawings, for the illustrations.
“It becomes much more interactive,” Gorham said of the storytelling.
This is the second grant that Gorham has received from the SEF. Gorham received funding for a pilot program at South End and Kelley Elementary Schools for a Countdown to Kindergarten program during the last round of grants.
Gorham’s most recent grant was one of six that the SEF gave out to five different teachers in the local school system. All together, the grants totaled about $6,000.
“These teachers are wonderful,” said Beth Pestillo, the grant committee chair for SEF and a director on the group’s executive board. “They’re constantly coming up with new ideas.”
DePaolo Middle School teacher Betty Swist received a grant for her Whisperphones for the Improvement of Language and Literacy proposal. Whisperphones are acoustic feedback devices that provide students the ability to improve their listening, speech and reading skills.
DePaolo already has five Whisperphones and the grant will allow for the purchase of 24 more.
“Language is the foundation for learning,” Swist said, noting the positive feedback she has received from students.
Katherine Diaz, a music teacher at Kelley and Plantsville Elementary Schools, will use her grant to purchase West African percussion instruments, such as the balafon and the boba, for a program that will offer different learning experiences for young musicians.
Diaz will integrate the West African music style into the general music curriculum and also form an after school or recess group based around the percussion instruments. The students will also performances at each school to showcase the project.
“The instruments are handmade in the [African] villages,” Diaz said.
Derynoski Elementary School speech teacher Jane Syme received a $1,500 grant for her Apps that Focus on Social Skills on Two iPads proposal. The program will allow Syme to utilize applications available on the iPad to motivate and engage autistic students in communication and social skills, in an effort to improve social interaction.
“There are a multitude of apps,” Syme said. “It’s fun. It’s challenging.”
Kennedy Middle School math teacher Amy Perry received grants for two proposals, Exploring Middle School Mathematics with Nintendo Wii and Singin’ & Singin’.
Perry was not able to attend the SEF grant reception, but other Kennedy School staff members briefly described the programs.
The Wii program will utilize games, such as baseball, to help encourage students to understand how to calculate statistics, such as speed and distance. The singing program is reminiscent of “Schoolhouse Rock.”
To date, the SEF has given out nearly $100,000 in grants.

By Melvin Mason
Contributor

Austin King’s life after Southington High School will be focused on doing something important for his friends, neighbors and the United States.
“I love this country. I love my family and friends and all that,” said King, 17, who will join the Navy after graduating Friday, taking the first steps toward becoming an explosive ordinance destroyer. “I wanted to do something bigger than myself and ouldn’t think of a better place to go.”
The commitment by King and other Southington High seniors headed for the armed forces will be on display at commencement, courtesy of red, white and blue military cords he and nine other graduating seniors received Friday at a special luncheon hosted by Southington Public Schools.
The students received the cords and special military coins by members of the Board of Education and the Southington American Legion Post 72 before an audience of more than 120 people. They also received caps indicating the military branch they will enter. The families received blue star flags to show the pride they have for their children.
Superintendent of Schools Joseph Erardi said the school district usually recognizes graduating seniors heading for the military at graduation, though this is the first time Southington has held a ceremony specifically for students bound for the armed forces.
“The Board of Education recognizes that these ten graduates will have a very different summer than the other 490,” Erardi said. “They’ve chosen to protect our freedom and chosen to risk their own lives to protect their freedom. I want each one of our graduates to know how respectful we are of their decision.”
Grace Jimenez, 17, whowill join the Army National Guard, is flattered the town would recognize her and her classmates before they leave for a life far removed from college. “I think it’s awesome that the community gathered to honor the graduates,” said Jimenez, who departs on July 22 to begin training in Fort Sill, Okla.
Heidi Woodbury, 18, was in military uniform at the luncheon, having already entered the Army National Guard before officially receiving her diploma. She’s already gone through basic training at Fort Jackson in South Carolina. “I was very motivated and I just figured that’s I wanted to get started,” said Woodbury, who draws inspiration from her friend William Cugno, a 2-star general she met as a youngster. “This is what I wanted to do with my life.” Woodbury said.
Town Manager Gary Brumback, a lieutenant colonel in the Army, urged the students to appreciate the gifts that come with military life and thanked them for the choices they’ve made. “The honor of serving our country and our citizens is the highest in our land. Please take it seriously,” he said.
Seeing the students with the cords put a smile on the face of Steve Pintarich, a past commander of American Legion Post 72. “I hope they had as much enjoyment in their military career as I have,” he said.

By Tammi Naudus
Shawn Laucks, who is joining the Marines, was among those honored at the military luncheon last week.

By Tammi Naudus
Ten Southington High School seniors that are leaving for the military were honored at a special luncheon last week. The students are, from left, Matthew Sirois (Army), Matthew Maranda (Navy), Austin King (Navy), Grant Ford (Navy), Heidi Woodbury (Army National Guard), Grace Jimenez (Army National Guard), Edmund Klein (Army National Guard), Ryan Perez (ROTC-University of Washington), Elijah Grenier (Air Force) and Shawn Laucks (Marines).

By Ed Harris
Editor

Derynoski Elementary School has a new dragon mascot that will appear on all apparel and communications from the school.
Eight-year-old Ma-ckenzie Monahan desi-gned the new dragon, which she named Spotty. Mackenzie’s dragon competed against 45 other submissions in the Design a Dragon contest.
“We didn’t have a consistent dragon,” said front office staff member Joy Cooney. Cooney said the school sends out a red dragon emblem with its correspondence, but not-ed that the staff has used whatever dragons they could find online.
Drawing dragons is nothing new for Mack-enzie. Mackenzie has been drawing since she was five and has a soft spot for reptiles, especially dragons.
Mackenzie used various parts from four dragons she had already desig-ned to create the new school mascot.
“I sort of decided to take parts from each and I got that one,” she said of Spotty.
Mackenzie found out that her dragon had won over the morning announ-cements.
Mackenzie said she was surprised that she won.
The Design a Dragon Contest was run by Cooney and art teacher Michelle Ginand. The students worked on their submissions on their own time and had to follow certain criteria.
The dragon had to be friendly, mostly red (the Derynoski school color) and show good character, like the students at the school.
“The kids were very excited,” said Ginand.

Comments? Email eharris@southingtonobserver.com.

By Ed Harris
Spotty, the new Derynoski School dragon mascot.

By Ed Harris
Mackenzie Monahan stands amongst the numerous mascot submissions.

By Ed Harris Editor

Southington High School graduates reflected on the past and looked forward to the future at their recent graduation ceremony.

Quoting several Dr. Seuss books, essayist Molly Anne Potter urged her classmates to continue to try new things, stay creative and take pride in who they are.

“So, as we prepare to begin the next chapter of our lives, remember the influential books we listened to in our kindergarten story time circle,” she said. “Remember to always try new things, stay creative and take pride in who you are. I am confident that if you continue to follow this advice and work hard, you will all be successful in future endeavors, no matter what they may be. Congratulations and good luck to everyone next year. And, don’t forget. When given the chance, always try green eggs and ham.”

Utilizing the unattributed quote “Learn as if you were to live forever, live as if you were to die tomorrow,” valedictorian Bryan Davis urged his classmates to find a balance between learning and living.

“Realize the importance of learning and increase your knowledge everyday so that you can achieve your goals,” he said. “In addition to this, however, ensure that you do whatever it takes so that when you go to bed every night, you can safely say you enjoyed and got satisfaction out of your day.”

Class salutatorian Jonathan La Follette was a bit more humorous in his speech. Stating that he was unsure of what to say, he leaned on his friends for support and suggestions. These suggestions, some wacky, included just stating a bunch of one liners, advertising for businesses and simply to just push over the podium and walk back to his seat.

Though he started out his speech telling his classmates that he would not have anything profound to say, La Follette did leave them with a bit of advice.

“Please, all of you just need to calm down,” he said. “Stop obsessing so much because there will be a moment in your lives when you realize all this stress, all this trauma you’ve been put through really means nothing compared to the rest of your world. I hope this advice isn’t coming to you too late, and please don’t ignore it.”

Class president Edmund Klein was unable to attend the graduation ceremonies, as he had left for basic training for the National Guard a few days prior. His twin sister Katie Klein read his speech in his place.

In the speech, Klein told his classmates that he had faith in them and told them to never forget where they came from.

“The town of Southington has been my home for ten years and there is no place I would rather have spent the most important years of my life,” he wrote. “To the Class of 2013, congratulations. You all have made it. But always remember, this is only the beginning. The most important steps for you to take will be taken in the next part of your life, but I have so much faith in you. Every student in the audience is more than prepared for the next part of their journey. I know every student sitting out there, together, are some of the best the world has to offer and I am proud to call you all my peers. So, good luck in your future endeavors, have an amazing summer, stay safe and never forget where you came from.”

For some graduates, graduation was bittersweet, while others looked forward to the next chapter in their lives.

“We’re sad,” said Thea Bernabe, standing out in the SHS hallways with friends prior to graduation. “High school was fun. We had some pretty good times.”

For William DeBarbra, graduation meant the end of one chapter of his life and the beginning of another.

“It’s kind of like a new beginning,” he said.

Comments? Email eharris@southingtonobserver.com.

By Ed Harris
Editor

A former Derynoski Elementary School student has worked her way up through the ranks to become the new assistant principal at the school.

By Ed Harris
Kelly A. Nichols

was selected as the new assistant principal at Derynoski at the recent Board of Education meeting. Nichols will begin her new position on July 1.
“I’ve come full circle,” Nichols said.
Nichols, a Southington resident, began teaching at DePaolo Middle School in Sept. 2004.
She spent the next year at Northeast Middle School in Bristol before returning to Southington to work as a special education teacher at Hatton and then DePaolo.
While at DePaolo, Nichols also worked as an administrative intern and as a District TEAM Learning Specialist.
Nichols beat out 175 other applicants for the position.
“It says a lot about her as an applicant,” said Board of Education Chairman Brian Goralski. Goralski said that Nichols stood out from the pack.
Nichols noted that she had big administrative footsteps to follow in, but said she was ready to begin.
“I look forward to working closely with [Derynoski Principal] Jan Verderame and having a positive impact,” she said.
Comments? Email eharris@southingtonobserver.com.