District Intended Outcome: That we maintain the high performance of students meeting and exceeding district standards/expectations, increase performance of students performing below district standards/expectations, and reduce the predictable performance gap between groups of students performing at or above standards/expectations and groups of students performing below standards/expectations. |
Teacher of the Year
Antwanette Serrano was honored as a top 4 TOY finalist at the State Board of Education meeting on January 14. Pictured below are Antwanette and I with the Commissioner of Education, State Board Chair, and fellow honorees with their Superintendents/Assistant Superintendents.
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On Tuesday morning, I was excited to attend a press conference in Hartford as a CAPSS Past President along with the CEA President Kate Dias and representatives from numerous higher ed. institutions in CT. Dr. Cardona, former CT Commissioner of Education and Secretary of Education, discussed his vision for expanding pathways for CT students that includes microcredentials and earning an Associates Degree while still in high school. I look forward to exploring these options in NPS. |
On Sunday afternoon, STUCO, under the direction of Elsa Batista, visited the Middlewoods Retirement Facility in Newington to play cornhole with the residents. This is one of their many community outreach projects. Pictured below are STUCO members with my favorite Middlewoods resident, my mother-Bev Luddy. |
Bringing in Creativity through Community
Melissa Bornas, first grade teacher at Anna Reynolds, shared that some of her students were interested in learning to crochet. She brought them in yarn on Friday and they made a plan for small groups during quiet time after recess where kids take time to create and do their own activity. They put on calm music and were able to re-regulate after all the recess fun.
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Anna Reynolds Students Present at BOE Meeting
Students from Anna Reynolds along with Christina Figueiredo and Jason Smith presented at the Board of Education meeting on January 14th. The students helped Board members and administrators try come up with a solution to a problem using a variety of materials. This is part of a Math Enrichment program that Christina oversees for third and fourth graders that blends Play Based Learning and Building Thinking Classroooms. It was a highly engaging session and the Board loved working with the students.
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Fire Prevention Poster Contest
Two students' fire prevention posters were chosen by Advanced Placement Art students at Newington High School to move on to a county vote for best poster. Leonard Kieczka, a fourth grader at John Paterson, and Aviana Punzalan, a fifth grader from John Wallace, are now moving on to the next round of the competition!
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New Menu Items Developed By Students
Marketing students at Newington High School recently developed comprehensive marketing plans for potential new menu items. Through a partnership with local favorites El Pollo Guapo and GoldBurgers, students pitched their concepts directly to the business owners. Each proposal was judged on how well the product aligned with the restaurant’s brand vision, the creativity of the name, and the effectiveness of the promotional strategy. To support their ideas, students conducted market research and established strategic pricing models in class. As a reward for their hard work, the winning groups will see their creations featured on the restaurants' special menus and enjoy a free sampling of their dishes.
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El Pollo Guapo: "Hittin’ The Streets"
The winning team Abigail Pratt, Sasha Taschuk, and Zofia Cygan who created a dish featuring pork belly, sweet and spicy sauce, street corn, pickled onion, and cotija cheese, served with smooth avocado and lime. Hittin’ The Streets is currently available on the special menu for the public to enjoy.
Charlie Foucault, manager, wrote:
"I feel this group hit the mark in multiple aspects. Not only did they create something that I personally would love to eat, I also feel it would be a big hit with our customers who currently enjoy our pork belly specials. Secondly, the creativity of the name not only worked for the mission behind their dish, but also matched how we would name a special. Lastly, the pitch was absolutely perfect. Not only did it give a backstory to the dish they wanted to represent, but they were able to pitch it fluently. They nailed the descriptive words (crispy, tender, silky smooth, etc) that not only made me excited for the dish but sold it for me."
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GoldBurgers: "The Pack Preem"
Selected by owner Matt Crowley, this winning creation by Mitchell Kriedel, Wiktor Kurzatkowski, and Luca Tramadeo features loaded fries topped with nacho cheese, bacon, onions, lettuce, jalapeños, and a signature beef patty. The Pack Preem will debut on the menu shortly after January 19th. The winning team will head to GoldBurgers on Saturday, January 24th, to enjoy their creation together.
Matt Crowley wrote:
"Great combination of two main items. Great cross use of pantry ingredients to make a new fun item. Overall, this is a kitchen favorite at GoldBurgers and it may be able to make the big menu in the future if it takes off!!"
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DECA Mock Competition
Another successful annual Mock Competition for the Newington DECA Chapter is in the books! This week, Newington’s DECA chapter has hosted their annual Mock Competition to help prepare competitors for the CT State Competition coming up later this winter! Sasha Taschuk, Vice President, helped to request guests to judge role plays, organize fellow students to coordinate the competitor’s, and transformed the library into a similar competitor setting they will see later this winter. New and returning competitors showed their innovative ideas in the business world through well presented role plays and got to learn new tactics from fellow peers. A special thank you to all of the judges who provided valuable feedback to help our competitors. Guest Judges included Jake Knowlton (NHS and DECA Alum), Richard Dorval (Men's Wearhouse), Molly Rusgrove (NHS and DECA Alum), Aidee Tlilayatzi (NHS Alum), Al Cruz (NHS and DECA Alum), Michael Dipasquale (Traveler's Insurance), Amy Perotti (NHS alum and NPS Board of Education) and Matthew Plourd (NHS alum and Town council). The judges and I were very impressed with the student's preparedness and openness to feedback Well done Newington DECA and Advisor Ally Miller.
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Rachel West-Ballling shared the Ruth Chaffee Pet Wall continues to grow and has become a joyful, inclusive gathering space for students and staff. It supports social-emotional learning by building connection, belonging, and calm, as students discover classmates with similar pets and share photos of their own pets — or favorite stuffed animals. It’s a simple, meaningful way our community comes together through the love of animals. |
Linked here is the Everyday Hero nomination form for this school year.
Everyday Hero Award
Tom Fravel was honored as the Everyday Hero at the January 14 Board meeting. He was nominated by Christina Redman and Ann-Marie Sunderland for his courage, honesty, and selflessness. He has made a profound difference within the Newington High School community and his lived experience has been a source of education, compassion and hope for all of us. He truly embodies what it means to be an Everyday Hero.
Tom has spoken to every section of the Mental Health Seminar course for the past two and a half years and is the speaker students reference as the most impactful. He speaks to them with honesty, humility, and courage—sharing his story of substance use and addiction that began as early as seventh grade, as well as the generational impact addiction had within his family. He shares his story with vulnerability, truth, and compassion—never minimizing the pain, yet always emphasizing hope and recovery. His words leave a lasting impression on every student through connection and understanding.
Students regularly reflect that hearing Tom’s story helped them understand that addiction can affect anyone and begin at any age. Many say they will always remember his message and that it changed the way they view others, reminding them that you never truly know what someone has experienced. Most importantly, Tom gives students hope—hope that recovery is possible, that asking for help is a strength, and that speaking about personal struggles can be life-changing.
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Luz Antonio shared that NHS social studies teacher Erica Zamsky-Hunt has been selected to receive the Teaching America250 Award from the Jack Miller Center. Mrs. Zamsky Hunt was recognized for her proposal to bring a group of multilingual high school students to Boston to study and experience the city known as "the Birthplace of the American Revolution" to enhance their learning about American Government and U.S. History.
The $5,000 grant will be used to support this project, which will engage students as well as their families in the study and celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The Jack Miller Center is a Philadelphia-based educational nonprofit committed to solving the national crisis of uninformed citizenship by teaching America’s founding principles and history. You can find more information here!
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Celebrations:
Condolences:
Brenda Dzwil, Instructional Coach, lost her stepmother on January 13th.
Simon Dowle, Science teacher at Martin Kellogg, lost his mother-in-law this past weekend.
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