OneManchester

LOTS OF BIG NEWS. A Manchester High senior who will graduate next month is going to Harvard. Another MHS student was just at the United Nations as part of a youth summit on human rights education. And the cell-phone crackdown at Illing is getting more national and even international attention (a journalist from a big French TV station was at IMS this week doing a story). We have all that and more including a special teacher appreciation week piece.

MHS Seniors Jessen Adjei-Sefah (he's UConn-bound) and Mica Arenas (who's going to Harvard) are new additions to the 'Humans of Manchester' gallery and you can read their stories on the district FB page or the district Instagram page.

Also:

• Mica was also the subject of a piece in the latest edition of 'The Pulse.' The student-produced show also has stories on Rebuilding Together, the Lutz Children's Museum and more.

To read about Jasmine click here or here.

Monday's BoE meeting will be at Verplanck Elementary School with a Verplanck update on the agenda. The meeting can be viewed live here.

Also:

• Martin is closing as an elementary school at the end of the year and will serve as a preschool center starting in the fall. In recognition, there is a ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, May 15 from 6-7 p.m. that will include remarks and a building tour. The ceremony will be followed by the school's final PTA meeting at 7 p.m. To see the flier click here.
• The Board of Directors budget adoption is scheduled for next Tuesday (May 14) so further deliberations about school spending for next year are coming soon.
• And a reminder: Graduation is Wednesday, June 12 and the last day of classes for everyone else is Monday, June 17. Adult Ed graduation is June 20.

And that's not all, as major media outlets are proving to be fascinated by the IMS crackdown on student use of cell phones.

Benoit Ballet, a Washington DC-based correspondent for BFM-TV (among the most-watched TV news channels in France) was at Illing on Tuesday, interviewing students and staff (including teacher Colleen Bombria) for a piece that will be aired in the next week or so. We'll link to it in an upcoming newsletter.

In the meantime, assistant principal Ray Dolphin was interviewed yesterday by CNN News Central anchor Jim Sciutto and you can see the piece here. And you might want to watch PBS NewsHour tonight.

IMS has been getting a lot of attention since the Washington Post ran a story on its website last week about the cell phone initiative. The story ran on the front page of the print edition of yesterday's WaPo and you can click here to see a larger version.

More IMS media

• The latest edition of the IMS news just dropped and you can see it here.

As part of a collaboration between the school district and Manchester Historical Society, local museums and historical sights are extending a special welcome to third-grade students and others this month.

• History Center (175 Pine Street) -- Every Saturday from noon – 4 p.m.
• Old Manchester Museum (126 Cedar Street) -- This Saturday (5-11) from 10 a.m.-2 pm
• Cheney Homestead/Keeney School (106 Hartford Road) -- This Sunday (5/12) from 1-4 p.m.
• Woodbridge Farm (East Middle Turnpike) -- Sunday (5/19) from noon-2 p.m.

Also of note:

• Manchester Head Start is accepting applications for the 2024-25 school year. Click here for enrollment info.
• Celebrate a Manchester High senior with a Pink Flamingo Flocking from MHS Project Graduation. And if you would like to volunteer to lead a committee for Project Graduation '25, you can click here for information.
• Applications for next year's Manchester Youth Commission are due tomorrow. Click here for details.

There will be a lot happening on Main Street and Charter Oak Park on Saturday.

Thursday, May 9
10:30 - 11:15 a.m. -- Shake, Rattle & Roll for children 2-5 at Mary Cheney Library.
4 - 4:45 p.m. -- Mother’s Day Craft for grades K-5 at Mary Cheney Library.
6:30 - 7:15 p.m. -- Pajama Storytime for children ages 2-5 at Mary Cheney Library.
6:30 p.m. -- In Conversation with Keith Costumes at Whiton Library.

Friday, May 10
10 a.m. -- Preschool playgroup at Mary Cheney Library.

Saturday, May 11
8 a.m. - 1 p.m. -- Red Cross Blood Drive at Assumption Church.
9 - 11 a.m. -- Elks Club’s ‘Day in the Park at Charter Oak Park.

10 - Noon -- Polish food sale at St. John's Polish Church, 23 Golway St.
Noon -- Historic District Arts & Culture Walk starting at the intersection of Myrtle and Linden Streets.
10 a.m. - 2 p.m. -- Downtown Manchester’s annual Butterfly Stroll.
7 p.m. -- ‘Nightshift’ at Cheney Hall.

Sunday, May 12
1 - 4 p.m. -- Cheney Homestead open house, 106 Hartford Rd.
2 p.m. -- ‘Me, Myself and Barbra,’ a tribute to Barbra Streisand at Cheney Hall.

Monday, May 13
9:30 - 10:15 a.m -- ABC Storytime at Mary Cheney Library.
10:30 - 11:15 a.m. -- Tykes, Trucks & Trains for ages 2-5 at Whiton Library.
6:45 - 8 p.m. -- Manchester Garden Club meeting with guest speaker Pamela Cooper from UCONN at Assumption Church Hall, 27 Adams St.
7 p.m. -- BOE meeting at Verplanck Elementary School.
7 - 8 p.m. -- Can and bottle donations at WWLM Warehouse Loading Dock, 16 Brainard Place.

Tuesday, May 14
6 - 7 p.m. -- Manchester Youth Commision meeting at Lincoln Center.
7 - 8 a.m. -- Town of Manchester’s FY25 Budget Adoption at Lincoln Center.
10 - 10:20 a.m. -- Baby Rhyme Time for pre-crawlers and crawlers at Mary Cheney Library.
6 - 7 p.m. -- Family Place program at Mary Cheney Library.

Wednesday, May 15
11:30 a.m. -- GMCC’s 38th Annual Golf Tournament at Manchester Country Club.
12:30 p.m. -- Facts Change Collaborative’s Prevention Walk from MHS to YSB.
6 - 7 p.m. -- Embracing Mindfulness at Whiton Memorial Library.

Also:

• Manchester will be celebrating its new designation as a Cultural District all day Saturday with lots of activities on Main St. Click here for details

• The Manchester Post Office and MACC are teaming up to ‘Stamp Out Hunger’ on Saturday. Click the link for details.

• Boy Scout Troop 27 has ‘31 Days of Prizes’ in May. Click here to find out more,

• ‘Expressions of Healing’ exhibit at WORK_SPACE will be on display until May 30.

• Manchester Adult and Continuing Ed is offering a self-defense and empowerment course for women on Mondays starting May 13. Click here for more details.

• The Manchester Land Conservation Trust’s giant tag sale at 330 Bush Hill Rd. will be held May 17-25 from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. each day. Click here for details.

• Public Works Day is May 22. Click here to learn more.

• This year’s Memorial Day Parade will take place on May 27 starting at 9:30 a.m. from the Army & Navy Club. Click here for more details.

• BSA Troop 123 is holding a bottle drive fundraiser on Saturday, June 1st from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Concordia Lutheran Church, 40 Pitkin Street, Manchester. For more information about the event or Troop 123 contact 123Scoutmaster@gmail.com.

• CT Trail Days will be June 1 and 2.

• Opening night for the Spruce Street Farmers Market is June 5. Click here for specifics.

• The school district, Manchester Early Learning Center and town Parks and Recreation Department will be offering various summer opportunities to students. Click her for all the details.
• Summer Day Camp registration for Manchester residents started April 8. Click here for info.
• YSB has a variety of interesting and free summer break programs. Click here to learn more.

Manchester High's girls flag football club team debuted this spring and will take a 4-0 record into Saturday's playoff tournament at Windsor High. That's Jadalisse Morales (left) and Iyanna Sheets leading the way as the Red Hawks beat Glastonbury and East Hartford in the rain on Sunday at East Hartford High School.

Also:

• The Greater Manchester Track & Field Classic (formerly known as the Randy Smith Journal Inquirer Invitational) will be held at Manchester High on Saturday, May 18 with some events taking place on May 17. Click here for more information.
• Manchester Running Company's Spring Street Mile will be on May 18. Click here for details.
• The 16th Annual Middle School OutdoorTrack & Field meet will be held on May 25 at Manchester High School. Click here for meet info.
• The Hartford Shockers will be running basketball camps in August at East Catholic High School for 3-11 graders. Click here for the details.

Soccer Stuff

• Manchester Soccer Club is now a Hartford Athletic affiliate team and will have a special event on May 24 at Dillon Stadium. Click here for more info.
• Travel tryouts for fall teams will take place in June. Click here for the schedule and here for the schedule in Spanish.
• Everton Soccer School will run a camp August 19-23 at Veterans Memorial Field on Hillstown Rd. Click here for more info.
• Coerver CT East is offering two weeks of soccer camps this summer at East Catholic High School. Click here for dates and details.

There are approximately 3.5 million teachers in the United States and more than 40,000 in Connecticut alone and just in Manchester there are more than 600, but in recognition of Teacher Appreciation Week we are sharing just a single story of a single teacher who would be the first to tell you that there are plenty of others just like her.

You can read about Martin kindergarten teacher Jamie Kolek on the district Facebook and Instagram pages.

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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