OneManchester

WHAT DAY IS IT? Tack a snow day onto a long weekend and then throw in a late start for school and it’s enough to leave you wondering … but the answer is Thursday. The storm forced the postponement of the town’s annual MLK Celebration; it will now be held on Tuesday night at Manchester High. The night before the United States Coast Guard Band will be at MHS. We have details below and also pictures from last night's MHS mid-winter concert -- plus a busy calendar that includes a special ‘Winter Fire and Ice” event at Northwest Park on Sunday.

Manchester High's Roundtable Singers and Chamber Orchestra (above) were among the performers at the Mid-Winter Concert held at Bailey Auditorium Wednesday night. We will have more pictures from the show on the district FB page later today.

ALSO:

The United States Coast Guard Band will play a free show at Bailey Auditorium Monday (Jan. 22) starting at 7 p.m. Click here for ticket information.

The Manchester Youth Commission, in collaboration with the district's Department of Race and Equity, is inviting all members of the community to honor the legacy of Dr. King by celebrating students who are upholding his values of racial and social justice, equity and equality, and the fight against racial oppression. Click for the flier.

Martin teacher Julie Barbash is the latest addition to the "Humans of Manchester' gallery, which you can find on both Facebook and Instagram. And by the way we are now inviting parents and guardians to let us know who you would like to see recognized. This form tells you how that works.

The Jan. 8 BoE meeting included a presentation of the superintendent's recommended 2024-25 budget and board members will take a deeper dive into the document in workshops that begin tonight in room 293 at the Manchester High Freshman Center starting at 6 p.m.

.. As for the next full board meeting, that's scheduled for Monday, Jan. 22 with an update on Humanities and STEM 5-12 on the agenda.

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Fundraisers:

• Bennet Academy's PTSA will hold a fundraiser at DQ on Hartford Rd. on Jan. 29 from 5-7 p.m.
• Martin School's PTA has an online spirit wear sale to celebrate the school's last year. Click here for details.

Multilingual families: The LAS Links is a yearly assessment that measures a child’s English language proficiency level and schools began testing this week. Please click here for more information.

TLC Foundation Seeking Donations: The TLC Foundation Inc. mission is to provide a safe, nurturing home environment to adolescents who cannot stay at home due to family disruption, parent-child conflict or the lack of a suitable home environment. Please consider making a donation through the TLC Foundation website or by contributing much-needed supplies from the Amazon wish list. The house also desperately needs a washing machine.

The Manchester Elks Club honored the merged Manchester Fire Department as its ‘Citizens of the Year’ and on Wednesday afternoon presented a check to Fire Chief Daniel French and Assistant Fire Chief Gordon Macmillon for $2,000 that will go to the Manchester Fire Department's Paramedic's Fund. Left to right, Gerry Gallo, French, Macmillon, and Chris Terry.

Thursday, Jan. 18
10:30 - 11:15 a.m. -- Shake, Rattle & Roll for 2-5 year olds at Mary Cheney Library.
1:30 p.m. -- K-Prep open house at Cornerstone Christian School, 236 Main St.
4 p.m. -- Winter Craft for 3 - 5 graders at Mary Cheney Library.
4:30 - 7:30 p.m. -- Bowers PTA’s Parents Night Out fundraiser at Elicit Brewing Co.
6 p.m. -- BoE budget workshop #1 in room 293 at the Manchester High Freshman Center.
6:30 - 7:15 p.m. -- Pajama Storytime at Mary Cheney Library.

Friday, Jan 19
10 a.m. -- Preschool Playgroup at Mary Cheney Library.
6 - 8 p.m. -- Family Board Game Night at Nathan Hale Recreation Center, 160 Spruce St.

Saturday, Jan. 20
10 a.m. - noon -- Polish food sale at St. John’s Church, 23 Golway St.
5 p.m. -- Roast Pork Dinner at Second Congregational Church, 385 North Main St.
10:30 - 11:15 a.m. -- Nappy’s Puppets: Shadows Around the World Children’s Program at Mary Cheney Library.
1:30 and 7:30 p.m. -- Silk City Chorus presents ’Barbeficial Intelligence’ at Manchester High School.
2:30 - 4:30 p.m. -- Death Cafe at Mary Cheney Library.

Sunday, Jan. 21
11 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m. -- Winter, Fire & Ice at Northwest Park.
3 p.m. -- Kirtan with Kalidasa and Friends at Unitarian Universalist Society East, 153 W. Vernon St.

Monday, Jan. 22
9:30 - 10:15 a.m. -- ABC Storytime at Mary Cheney Library.
10:30 - 11:15 a.m. -- Tykes, Trucks and Trains at Whiton Library.
6:30 - 7:30 p.m. -- Who Am I? at Mary Cheney Library.
7 p.m. -- United States Coast Guard Band at Manchester High School.
7 p.m. -- BOE meeting at Lincoln Center.

Tuesday, Jan. 23
10 - 10:20 a.m. -- Baby Rhyme Time at Mary Cheney Library.
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. -- Teen Super Spicy Hot Sauce Challenge at Mary Cheney Library.
6 p.m. -- Spiritual Perspectives of Time at WORK_SPACE, 903 Main St.
6:30 - 7:15 p.m. -- Pajama Storytime at Whiton Library.
6:30 - 7:15 p.m. -- Picture Bingo at Mary Cheney Library.

Wednesday, Jan. 24
9:30 - 10:15 a.m. -- Toddling Tots at Mary Cheney Library.
6 - 7:30 p.m. -- Teen Game Time at Mary Cheney Library.
6:30 p.m. -- The Case of Anne Li at Whiton Library.
7:30 - 8:30 p.m. -- BSA Troop 25 open house at Center Congregational Church, 11 Center St.

Also:

• The ‘Perspectives of Time’ art exhibit at WORK_SPACE runs through Jan. 26.

• Troop 25 has an Open House next Wednesday from 7:30-8:30 p.m. at Center Congregational Church and all the info is here.

• Troop 27 has a 'join night' scheduled for next Thursday (Jan. 25) at 7 p.m. at Mahoney Rec Center. Click for the flier.

Also: Troop 25 is having a grinder fundraiser and all the details are here.

• YSB will host ‘Sibshops’ for siblings of brothers and sisters with disabilities once a month starting Jan. 26. Click here for details.
  

• The Manchester Delegation will be hosting a legislative Town Hall at Lincoln Center on Jan. 29. Click here for details.

• There will be an informational meeting regarding the proposed downtown reconstruction plan at the Army & Navy Club on Jan. 30. Click here to learn more.

• Free Movie Nights at Nathan Hale Recreation Center continue on the first Friday of the Month through April. Next up: ‘Paddington’ on Feb. 2. Click here for show schedule and dates.

• ‘Little Theatre of Manchester’s 2024 season starts with ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ Feb. 2 - 18 and you can see the full lineup by clicking here.

• Manchester’s Early Childhood Fair returns to the MHS cafeteria on Feb. 10.

• Little Theatre of Manchester announced its 2024 Jukebox Music Series that starts with 'The Ultimate Cher Experience' on Feb. 24. Click here for the full schedule.

Also:

• The Youth Service Bureau is offering mini-grants to local groups and organizations and the info is here.
  
• Manchester Public Schools is recruiting four parents/guardians to join a Community Research Team for a 10-12-week pilot project focused on getting to know our fastest growing, largest population, our Hispanic/Latinx/Latine population. If you are a parent/guardian of a current MPS student and identify as Hispanic/Latinx/Latine please see this flyer for more details:
  

Denzel Freeman, an active duty Marine, pro MMA fighter, and third ranked heavyweight in Greco-Roman wrestling, paid the MHS Wrestling Team a visit last Friday. Freeman taught some of his favorite techniques and discussed the strategies he uses in matches. He will compete for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team in April. (That's Denzel in the blue-starred singlet.)

Note:

• We have more Red Hawk pics on our OneManchester CT sports Facebook page.

ALSO:

• The Manchester High Red Hawks Baseball Booster Club will be hosting its 2nd annual pasta dinner fundraiser on Feb. 25. Click here for more info.
• Illing Middle School will host the 36th annual Buzz Wooldridge Invitational Tournament on Jan. 25, 26, 27. Click here for more informantion.
• Tylon Smith Jr. is offering 'Open Runs' basketball games for boys and girls in grades 6 -12 at Illing Middle School on Wednesdays evenings. Click the link for more details.

This week's storm was a long and messy one, making it an arduous day for snow plow divers and others including two young entrepreneurs who were busy shoveling driveways and sidewalks on Westminster Street Tuesday afternoon. By the way, if you're curious about storm prep in town, check out this recent interview with Tim Bockus, the town's director Of Public Works.

DONT FORGET THE ANNEX: This is our new spillover space to other newsletters, social media accounts and more, including the 'OneManchester Planner', which has even has more calendar listings for the months ahead. Plus we share a special flashback photo from Paul Ofria each week. To get to The Annex, click here.

• NOTE: OneManchester is compiled by the school district's communications office but is dependent on contributions from people and institutions throughout the town and school district. So if you have something that you think people would want to know about, please let us know. Photos, fliers, links, tips, whatever -- please share with Paul Ofria at pofria@mpspride.org.
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