On Wednesday, Sept. 4, the Credit Union’s Stratford High School branch re-opened to students, faculty and staff. It operates from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., on Wednesdays and Fridays. “Having Sikorsky Credit Union here helping to facilitate our students’ understanding of financial literacy has been a wonderful addition to Stratford High School,” mentioned Joseph Corso Jr., principal at Stratford High School.

The recent financial crisis exposed consumer behaviors that show very low levels of financial literacy across the nation. People are taking on more debt than they can afford, and often, this debt load starts with college loans. According to the Center for Financial Literacy, it’s critical that financial literacy education be well established in high school.

Yet, when the Center compared data for high schools across the country, only seven states got an “A” in the subject. Connecticut received an abysmal “F,” meaning that the state has few requirements; or none at all, for personal finance education in high school.

Staffers at the Sikorsky Credit Union aim to improve the financial acumen of the state’s high school students with an innovative, hands-on solution: in-school branches in several Connecticut high schools. “We saw a need for financial education,” explains Mike Shirling, Director of Retail Delivery, who oversees the operation of the high school branches. “And we decided to partner with schools to solve it.”

Originally opened last fall, the branch serves all members of the school community, including faculty, staff and students. While it is not open to the public, those within the school can transact financial business of any kind during branch hours. The branch is staffed by a Sikorsky Credit Union employee, along with paid student apprentices, who will be learning about credit union operations and are actually part of the Sikorsky Credit Union staff. Over the course of the school year, three different students will be working as apprentices and acting as Credit Union ambassadors within the school, facilitating projects to help build financial literacy and get their peers involved in real-life financial issues.

“Financial Literacy is very important, and having our branches in our high schools gives students many great opportunities to learn skills that will stay with them for their entire life.” notes Shirling.

Anthony “Popie” J. DeVitto, 87, of Trumbull, husband of Eileen Daly DeVitto, died Nov. 10.

Son of the late Tobias and Josephine Capuano DeVitto, he was born  Dec. 14, 1925, in Bridgeport.

At the age of 10, he moved to Stratford, where he attended school. After graduating from Stratford High School, he entered the U.S. Army and served in Italy and Germany during World War II.

As a young adult, along with his father and brother, he began his career as a building contractor. As a former employee of E & F Construction, he started out as a carpenter and worked his way up to project director. He furthered his education taking many courses in the building and contactor field.

In 1948, he married Eileen Daly and built their first home in Stratford, he then moved to Trumbull in 1955. As a parishioner of St. Theresa Church, he was a member of the Men’s Club, volunteered at the All Night Adoration Chapel, was a Eucharistic Minister, helped visit the sick in the hospital and also helped raise funds for the new church.

Popie was a member of the Tashua Knolls Association and the St. Theresa Bowling League. He loved to golf, ski and build furniture.

In addition to his loving wife of 65 years, Eileen, survivors include three children, a daughter, Marianne DeVitto of Cheshire, two sons, Thomas DeVitto and his wife Judy of Wolcott and Christopher DeVitto of Huntington, grandchildren, Michael Zingo, Elizabeth, Kristen, Jessica and Sara DeVitto, two step grandchildren, Dean and Joshua Smith, a daughter-in-law, Felice DeVitto, as well as several nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by a brother Lebro DeVitto and a sister, Antoinette Abbot.

Funeral services will take place on Friday, November 15, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. in the Abriola Parkview Funeral Home, 419 White Plains Road, Trumbull, and at 11:00 a.m. in St. Theresa Church, Trumbull for a Mass of Christian Burial. Interment, with military honors, will follow in Nichols Village Cemetery, Trumbull. Friends may call on Thursday from 4-8 p.m.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Children’s Diabetes Foundation 4380 S. Syracuse Street Suite 430 Denver, CO 80237, www.childrensdiabetesfoundation.org.

To light a virtual candle, visit us at www.abriola.com.

Michael ‘Mick’ Buckmir is the new head baseball coach at Stratford High School, it was announced today by Principal Joseph Corso. He is only the school’s fourth head baseball coach since 1946.
Buckmir is no stranger to the Stratford baseball scene, having been a fixture in town for over three decades.
He graduated from SHS in 1983, where he was the starting shortstop for legendary coach Bud Russell for two years. He also played varsity soccer for Russell.
A four-year member of the University of Connecticut baseball program, Buckmir also started two years at shortstop for coach Andy Baylock and hit .320 in 1987. He was the recipient of the prestigious J.O. Christian Award in his senior year.
The junior varsity coach at SHS the past two years, Buckmir previously was an assistant varsity baseball coach at Darien High from 2009-2011.
Buckmir recently ended his 30-year association with the Bridgeport Senior City League, where he was an active player the entire time in addition to serving as a player/manager from 1997-2012.
He also served as a member of the league’s executive board from 2001-2012 before accepting the presidency of the SCL for two years in 2011.
Buckmir follows in the footsteps of two former Stratford High standouts, who later became SHS head baseball coaches.
Jim W. Penders (class of 1928) coached the North Paraders from 1946-1968 and led his teams to four state championships while never having a losing season.
Russell (class of 1954), who played for Penders, led the baseball team for 21 years from 1969-1989 and finished with 19 consecutive winning campaigns.
Buckmir replaced Joe Rietano, who had coached the Red Devils for the past 24 years.

Stratford High School class of 2013 graduate Jessica Harding will be at the Stratford Library on Sunday, Nov. 17, at 2 p.m., to discuss her first book. Books will be sold at $15.

The cast of the SHS production of Fools Samantha Rivera, Nick Kovalik, Will Tait, Katie Schuessler and Megan Aviles; back row: Chris DeCrescenzo, Justin Gendron, Andre Vilarinho, Chris Smith and Austin Bult.

The Stratford Drama Society will present Neil Simon’s comedy Fools, in the school’s John F. Kennedy Memorial auditorium on Friday, Nov. 22, and Saturday, Nov. 23, at 7:30 p.m. All tickets are $8 in advance or $10 at the door. Call 203-380-6777 ext 1234 or email shstickets@yahoo.com for advance tickets.

The cast of ‘Fools’ in rehearsal, Will Tait, Justin Gendron, Nick Kovalik, Chris Smith (seated), Megan Aviles, Kaitlyn Schuessler (seated), Andre Vilarinho, Chris DeCrescenzo, and Samantha Rivera.

Neil Simon’s comedy tells the story of Leon Tolchinsky, who is ecstatic to be starting at a teaching job in an idyllic Russian hamlet. However, upon arriving in the village, he finds people doing things that can only be described as stupid. It turns out that the town has been cursed with chronic stupidity for 200 years, and Leon’s quest is to break the curse. The catch is, he doesn’t know that if he stays more than 24 hours and fails to break the curse, he too will become cursed with chronic stupidity. To further complicate issues, he has fallen in love with Sophia Zubritsky, who is so cursed with chronic stupidity that she has only recently learned how to sit down.

Chris Smith and Kaitlyn Schuessler rehearse a scene.

In explaining the choice of Fools as the fall production, show director Kathleen Murphy said, “I was looking for something different. I read about 15 comedies over the summer, and this one made me laugh out loud. It just stayed with me, and so here we are. It is also a Neil Simon show, so we hope that will be a draw for the audience even though it’s not one of his more well-known ones.”

The cast of includes: Leon Tolchinksy (The Teacher), Chris Smith; Snetsky (The Sheep Herder), Nick Kovalik; Slovitch (The Butcher), Justin Gendron; Yenchna (The Vendor of Various Wares), Samantha Rivera; Mishkin (The Postmaster), Chris DeCrescenzo; Doctor Zubritsky (Sophia’s Father), Will Tait; Lenya Zubritsky (Sophia’s Mother), Megan Aviles; Sophia Zubritsky (The Student and Love Interest), Kaitlyn Schuessler; Gregor Yousekevitch (The Villain), Austin Bult; and Magistrate (The Bellringer), Andre Vilarinho.

The production is directed by Kathleen Murphy and produced by Jeff Leinen. Costuming is by Susan Barksdale and Nancy Zychek, props by Laura Tallberg, and set design by Rich Tallberg and Mike Rich.

The following students were named to the fourth quarter honor roll at Stratford High School:

First honors

Grade 12 — Dorcas Agyeman, Jessye Amoroso, Monica Bright, Veronica Bun, Alicia Centopanti, Abigail Cerone, Zoey Colon, Nicholas DeAngelis, Rebecca Debiase, Joseph Defrancesco, Indumathi Dhakshinamurthy, Aser Docteur, Haley Dunning, Emily Eckel, Kelly Erazmus;

Also, Amanda Gallo, Tyrell Griffin, Jessica Hartwell, Kyle Hill, Daniel Hong, Malika Johnson, Tori Kelly, Robert Koripsky, Danielle LaPierre, Dihcole Lieu, Jasmine Lumasag, Dana Malave, Gina Mariano, Anna Martin, Santiago Mateo, Courtney Mocarski, Brittany Monte, Kaylee Morales, Mackenzie Mortimer, Nicole Navas;

Also, Joy Onyerikwu, Brodey Ott, Jacqueline Paez, Ryan Patrick, Mathieu Plaisir, Demetrius Porter, Josephine Ragland, Jennifer Rodriguez, Margaret Rohrs, Jamie Russo, Zachary Schaefer, Robert Sebas, Zachary Shannon, Christopher Simon, Aimee Sportini, Jacquelyn Temelsiz, Mary Tourigny, Melissa Valdez, Karin Wengenroth, Sarah Yatsinko.

Grade 11 — Keishera Aldonza, Harrison Brooks, Alicia Buynovsky, Quincy Cayton, Kelly Ceccarelli, Andrew Cerone, Jillian Chambers, Jacob Cuevas, Leila Davis, Margaret DeCapua, Jenna Fasanella, Ann Fednard , Camylla Ferreira , Carlos Flores, Brendan Gloss, Kristopher Guzman, Martha Herrera, Jonathan Homburg;

Also, Reid Jefferson, Nicholas Kovalik, Eleanor Lefever, Mcbryan Lesperance, Bryan Lidman, Yasmine Mahmud, Alexander Martin, Eric Mezzo, Milo Mitchell, Madison Norton, Timothy Paproski, Joanne Pierre-Louis, John Rohaly, Robert Rohaly, Rachel Santo;

Also, Alexander Sarmiento, Kaitlyn Schuessler, Anekka Scott-Gray, Miguel Seclen, Frank Sessa, Chayla Sherrod, Emma Sullivan, William Tait, Elizabeth Tallberg, Anna Trahan, Michael Vavala, Andre Vilarinho, Jacqueline Walsh.

Grade 10 — Gabriela Aguieiras, Jenna Amoroso, Jairo Barrera, Bertha Barrios, Samuel Breiner, Julianne Carey, Piotr Chaber, Phinehas Cleary, Mariah Cortes, Livingston Cortez, Marissa Dacruz, Tyler Devellis, Jerry Dinan, Nathanael Domschine, Joseph Dragone;

Also, Christelle Exile, Thomas Ferrara, Ashley Glaudin, Lauren Goodrich, Lance Jamison, Schekina Jean, Stephen Jepsen, Coralie Joseph, Alex Masi, Michael McClean, Tasiana Mesidor, Lauren Padua;

Also, Athanasios Panolis, Melissa Papp, Alexis Rader, Kareem Robinson, Emily Sanchez, Christian Sarmiento, Haley Schaefer, Matthew Schaefer, Ayanna Staton, Anna Velasquez, Kylee Vitka-Lainey.

Grade 9 — Marlene Abouaassi, Julia Barksdale, Elmar Barrios, Laura Battey, Grace Belport, Kristina Bennett, Jackson Bonazzo, Helen Branyan, Timothy Breiner, Daniel Brennan, David Buonantony, Michelle Buzzanca, Gabrielle Camarero, Kyle Carmona, Remy Cooper, John Cox, Joseph Cox;

Also, John Duffy, Shannon Dugan, Elissa Dykes, Jomaris Echevarria, Danielle Evan, Kyle Fasanella, Lenyn Feijoo, Guirlaine Francois, Jayla Frederick, Stephanie Gabriel, Nathan Glick, Gillian Goddard, Katherine Goodrich, Ashley Jean-Pierre, Shaina Joseph, Jason Kelly, Helen Langston;

Also, Megan Leonard, Patrick Lepesko, Willie Llera, Olivia Mastroluca, Mark Mastrone, Joseph McClean, Hamit Nasufi, Gabrielle Olexovitch, Danielle Peterson, Michael Petillo, Aileen Pingol, Sabrina Ramirez, Jeffrey Riccio;

Also, William Rooney, Zohra Sarpas, Tamara Schriffert, Allana Scudder, Christopher Smith, Zachary Smith, Rebeca Spear, Richard Starkey, Daniel Thorstensson, Jakub Tomaszewski, Carlos Umana, Sarah Wright.

Second honors

Grade 12 — Kaila Adams, Josmaydi Artiles, James Auger, Emily Barksdale, Monika Bernardez, Summer Bravo, Kathryn Buonantony, Shannon Carter, Priya Chanda, Christopher Choi, Courtney Clark, Alyssa Cretella-Duprey, Ryan Cueto, Rikita David, Joseph Dinan, Anthony Donfrancesco, Taylor Dunn;

Also, Sarah Emigh, James Frownfelter, Jazmin Gonzalez, Jehla Green, Valeria Guerrero, Salome Inda, Adam Jack, Achija Jean, Isabelle Louis, Giovani Luis, Justin Mamone, Kelsey McBride, Peterlee Mesidor, Kayla Morales, Ivonne Moran, Raphaela Moreno;

Also, Joseph Pacific, Amanda Perry, Claritza Rivera, Brenna Royal, Flaure Sainville, Myra Sampson, Jesse Shannon, Connor Skelly, Kelsey Spada, Amony Stancil, Michael Tecci, Rosa Torres, John Vallerie, Joshua Van Fleet, Peter Volturno, DeAndre Walker, Alec Ward, Amaris Woodson.

Grade 11 — Olaoluwa Atoyebi, Joseph Baptiste, Cristian Barba, Samantha Beck, Anthony Bobko, Maggie Bodington, Isaiah Booker, Stephanie Boston, Andrew Bouchotte, Maxwell Breiner, Rushawn Brown, Danielle Calzone, Jacob Cayton, Meera Chanda;

Also, Timothy Cox, Timothy Das, Liliette Diavua, Matthew DiCostanzo, Brian Evan, Kyra Ezekiel, Tyler Ferrara, Christian Foito, Julia Genetti, Christopher Gonzalez, Gloria Grave Avila, Sarah Henriques, Jephthe Jean, Taylor King-Craigwell, Rebecca Kuzmich, Ivette Lebron;

Also, Daniel Leon, Cassandra Lo, Victor Lopez-Hernandez, Shayla Mack, Margaux Mahoney, Joseph Marsan, Jacob Martinez, Jessi McNeill, Brendan Miller, Angelica Molina, Haley Moore, Joselin Morales, Abbie Perez, Sarita Peterson, Carolyn Petkevich, Anabelle Plaza, Kathryn Posser, Siah Reeves, Andrew Rios;

Also, Sylvia Rios, Edward Rivera, Katherine Rodriguez, Richard Rohrs, Emma Rooney, Gabrielle Rooney, Brandon Russo, Jonathan Sabathie, Nora Scott, N, Rebecca Simon, E’Zhana Smith, Allyson Starkey, Steven Tobey, Alexandra Trahan, Juliana Troche, Ana-Michelle Valente, Kevin Vrabel, Jada Watley, Amanda Wright, Roman Yacik.

Grade 10 — Anthony Alvarez, Alexis Antao, Richella Aurelien, Stephanos Baggeas, Samantha Belport, Shaquanna Borodack, Tyra Breedy, Austin Bult, Austin Burgess, Brianna Bursey, Crisstal Cabrera, Hunter Campbell, Kelleigh Cantiello;

Also, Christopher Carroll, Cassandra Class, Brett Cody, Axel Cuevas, Dariell Diaz, Cierra Donald, Nelson Duque, Jack Erazmus, Derek Falcon, Tarquinn Granado, Kaitlin Hines, Katherine Krasniewicz, Michael Lapia, Albert Matos;

Also, Kevin Mendoza, Bethy Napaul, Mimoza Nasufi, Audrey Pancak, Kristin Pantelis, Kassie Poruban, Laura Quijano Jimenez, Taylor Reed, Natalia Roman, Victoria Sajaw, Lynn Schneider, Jillian Stringfellow, Alexis Williams, Emily Winter, Lauren Wright.

Grade 9 — Jonathan Brooks, Umer Butt, Matthew Canapetti, Ian Carrano, Ricard Castaneda, Frederick Clark, Terence Davis, Daniel DeCilio, Zachary Dillon, Victoria Flowers, Chantal Fraser, Jakarie Fulton, Mackenzee George, Mackenzie Gold;

Also, David Goldstein, Jasmine Gonzalez, Autumn Graham, Tyquaevius Hairston, Christopher Hamilton, Matthew Herrera, Kayla Hughes, Hailey Jorge, Sarah Kotsay, Madison Lazaro, Kornelia Lysik, Justin Monah, Torry Naeem;

Also, Emily Pappas, Brett Patrick, Teresa Petreycik, Eric Redgate, Brianna Rotonto, Alona Scott, Rachel Scott, Noah Shaw, Chynna Sherrod, Fatima Tuziahrah, Akin Warburton Baker, Caitlin Whaley, Jordan Wilson.

The following students were named to the first quarter honor roll at Stratford High School:

First honors

Grade 12 — Keishera Aldonza, Megan Aviles, Samantha Beck, Taylor Binkley, Anthony Bobko, Alicia Buynovsky, Jeremy Calvar, Danielle Calzone, Jacob Cayton, Quincy Cayton, Kelly Ceccarelli, Andrew Cerone, Jillian Chambers, Timothy Cox, Jacob Cuevas, Margaret DeCapua, Jenna Fasanella, Ann Fednard, Samantha Feliciano, Carlos Flores, Christian Foito, Christopher Gonzalez;

Also, Gloria Grave Avila, Kristopher Guzman, Jonathan Homburg, Reid Jefferson, Kristofer Koch, Rebecca Kuzmich, Katherine Lee, Eleanor Lefever, Yasmine Mahmud, Margaux Mahoney, Spencer Marks, Alexander Martin, Jacob Martinez, Eric Mezzo, Milo Mitchell, Haley Moore, Timothy Paproski, Abbie Perez;

Also, Joanne Pierre-Louis, Anabelle Plaza, Kathryn Posser, Edward Rivera, Katherine Rodriguez, John Rohaly, Emma Rooney, Gabrielle Rooney, Rachel Santo, Kaitlyn Schuessler, Nora Scott, Miguel Seclen, Chayla Sherrod, William Tait, Elizabeth Tallberg, Alexandra Trahan, Anna Trahan, Michael Vavala, Jacqueline Walsh, Paige Whitley.

Grade 11 — Jenna Amoroso, Samantha Breaz, Samuel Breiner, Zane Carey, Christopher Carroll, Piotr Chaber, Mariah Cortes, Marissa Dacruz, Christopher DeCrescenzo, Tyler Devellis, Jerry Dinan, Nathanael Domschine, Thomas Ferrara;

Also, Tarquinn Granado, Katharine Himpel, Kaitlin Hines, Carlos Jaramillo, Stephen Jepsen, Michael Lapia, Timothy Leveen, Alex Masi, Ambar Negron, Anthony Rivera, Emily Sanchez, Christian Sarmiento, Haley Schaefer, Anna Velasquez, Kylee Vitka-Lainey, Emily Winter.

Grade 10 — Marlene Abouaassi, Julia Barksdale, Elmar Barrios, Laura Battey, Helen Branyan, Timothy Breiner, David Buonantony, Matthew Canapetti, John Cox, Joseph Cox, John Duffy, Shannon Dugan, Elissa Dykes, Kyle  Fasanella, Jayla Frederick, Nathan  Glick, Katherine Goodrich, Christopher Hamilton, Ashley Jean-Pierre, Jason Kelly;

Also, Megan Leonard, Joseph McClean, Gabrielle Olexovitch, Danielle Peterson, Michael Petillo, Teresa Petreycik, Aileen Pingol, Eric Redgate, Jeffrey Riccio, William Rooney, Zohra Sarpas, Tamara Schriffert, Rachel Scott, Allana Scudder, Chynna Sherrod, Christopher Smith, Richard Starkey, Daniel  Thorstensson, Jakub Tomaszewski, Carlos Umana, Jennifer Vargas.

Grade 9 — Connor Anderson, Benjamin Andrade, Ndidi Anekwe, Connor Anstis, Ross Bodington, Brianna Braham, Alan Brzuszko, Christian Camargo, Danielle Cisero, Nicholas Cody, Jeremy Corpuz, Kathryn Cullen, David Decoteau, Olivia Donnelly, Maia Dufane, Daniel Duque, Thomas Fernandes, Erik Flores, Tristan Frownfelter, Samantha Gangemi, Zachary Gottlieb, Charlotte Haas, Liam Hannon, Kaitlyn Keegan;

Also, Steven Koripsky, Roula Kouvatas, Emma Lacourciere, Jean-Paul Lieu, Caroline Londa, Leanne Lubas, Emily Luciano, Rebecca McMahon, Olivia Murray, Allysa Noccioli, Jenna Noccioli, Sam  Noccioli, Tiffany Owen, Tatyanna Pettway, Angeleen Pingol, Olivia Plavcan;

Also, Martha Polanco, Meghan Reynolds, Samantha Rivera, Vanessa Rivera, Alexis Rosado, Molly Ryan, Daniel Schaefer, Katie Schneider, Raghad Serri, Jeffrey Sharnick, Nathaniel Shields, Khalil Sokunle, Franklin Vasquez, Marguerite Walsh, Kaya Wells, Michael Yacik, Brady Young.

Second honors

Grade 12 — Kristen Alicea, Luke Amiot, Joseph Baptiste, Maggie Bodington, Isaiah Booker, Andrew Bouchotte, Harrison Brooks, Cody Butler, Michael Cannata, Samantha Carroll, Meera Chanda, Matthew Chonko, Patrick Conlogue, Zachariah Correa, Daniel Dellavecchia, Liliette Diavua, Matthew DiCostanzo, Nicolas DiIulio, Brian Evan, Kyra Ezekiel, Tyler Ferrara, Dontrel Flathers, Richard Francois, Julia Genetti, Brendan Gloss, Linsey Gold;

Also, Alexander Gordon, Sarah Henriques, Jephthe Jean, Taylor  King-Craigwell, Nicholas Kovalik, Ivette Lebron, Daniel Leon, Bryan Lidman, Cassandra Lo, Victor Lopez-Hernandez, Matthew Masi, Brittany Mendenhall, Brendan Miller, Shannon Mraz, Madison Norton, Alberto Ortiz, Destiny Ortiz, Alexander Pale, Alaijah Perry-Francis, Nyle Peterson, Sarita Peterson, Carolyn Petkevich;

Also, Siah Reeves, E’mani Riley, Robert Rohaly, Denise Sanchez, Alexander Sarmiento, Anekka Scott-Gray, Thomas Signore, Rebecca Simon, Alexia Smith, E’Zhana Smith, Jacob Sosik, Allyson Starkey, Emma Sullivan, Nour Taleb, Juliana Troche, Ana-Michelle Valente, Anthony Vazquez, Andre  Vilarinho, Kevin Vrabel, Jada Watley, Nicholas Wills, Amanda Wright, Roman Yacik.

Grade 11 — Gabriela Aguieiras, Bertha Barrios, Curtis Boahene, Giselle Bonilla, Shaquanna Borodack, Ashley Bowers, Austin Bult, Brianna Bursey, Andrea Camargo, Phinehas Cleary, Brett Cody, Alexander Colwell, Livingston Cortez, Karen De La Roca, Cierra Donald, Nelson Duque, Derek Falcon, Kelsey Gabris, Jahliah Green, Lance Jamison, Schekina Jean, Destiny Jefferson, Yezenia Jones, Coralie Joseph, Crystal Kantzas, Katherine Krasniewicz, V’eona Lanham, Angela Mariano, Michael McClean, William McDonald;

Also, Kevin Mendoza, Tasiana Mesidor, Rosalina Morales, Alyssa Mucherino, Bethy Napaul, Lauren Padua, Audrey Pancak, Athanasios Panolis, Kristin Pantelis, Stephanie Perez, Kassie Poruban, Laura Quijano Jimenez, Alexis Rader, Taylor  Reed, Jacob Ricco, Kareem Robinson, Victoria Sajaw, Crismen Sanchez, Matthew Schaefer, Lynn Schneider, Jacob Silverman, Emma Simmons, Ayanna Staton, Matthew Tomsheck, Alexis Williams, Miles Wilson.

Grade 10 — Ryan Anderson, Grace Belport, Kristina Bennett, Daniel Brennan, Jonathan Brooks, Joana Brousseau, Samantha Canas, Kyle Carmona, Remy Cooper, Danielle Evan, Lenyn Feijoo, Stephanie Gabriel, Mackenzee George, David Goldstein, Matthew Herrera, Kayla Hughes, Shaina Joseph, Mirjeta Kameraj, Sarah Kotsay, John Lagerfeldt;

Also, Helen Langston, Marc LaPierre, Madison Lazaro, Willie Llera, Maya Marrero, Miguel Marrero, Olivia Mastroluca, Mark Mastrone, Willie McCallister, Darla Moss-Clarke, Emily Pappas, Brett Patrick, Brianna Rotonto, Tyler Schuessler.

Grade 9 — Yasmin Achour, Kirsten Adams, Maher Alsakkaf, Tia Anderson, Mackenzie Bakos, Nara Baldoni, Britney Boursiquot, Amelia Brennan, Jordan Chach, Shawn Chambers, James Dotterman, Stephen Duncanson, Mackenzie Dunn, Dillon Fabrizio, Justin Gendron, Matthew Gerrity, Ryan Gerrity, Rory Hannon, Brooke Haschak, Caitlin Hoey, Jessica Homburg, Paige Hoydick;

Also, Kenaisha Johnson, Haseena Kalam, Khalifa Karim, Emily Kiely, Kelsey Lepesko, Jennifer Medina, Brandy Okrah, Amanda Osenbach, Amanda Pale, Megan Pale, Terry Ramalho, Brandon Rashan, Anginette Repollet, Nicole Richards, Vanessa Russo, Christopher Scott-Gray, Peranai Sirichantho, Cassidi Sutherland, Colin Townsend, Koe Tsutsumi, Rebekah Wargo, Sarah Zuiewski, Hannah Zurlo.

Sikorsky Credit Union is continuing its partnership with the Business Education Support Team (BEST) Program of the Stratford Chamber of Commerce to promote financial literacy at Stratford High School. Pictured: Bob David, board member at Sikorsky Credit Union; Elaine Watson, assistant superintendent of Stratford Public Schools; Brittany Blake, youth initiative coordinator at Sikorsky Credit Union; and Michael Shirling, vice president of retail delivery at Sikorsky Credit Union.

The recent financial crisis exposed consumer behaviors that show very low levels of financial literacy across the nation. People are taking on more debt than they can afford, and often, this debt load starts with college loans. According to the Center for Financial Literacy, it’s critical that financial literacy education be well established in high school.

Staffers at the Sikorsky Credit Union aim to improve the financial acumen of the state’s high school students with an innovative, hands-on solution: in-school branches in several Connecticut high schools. “We saw a need for financial education,” explains Mike Shirling, Director of Retail Delivery, who oversees the operation of the high school branches. “And we decided to partner with schools to solve it.”

Credit Union’s branch at Stratford High School is in its second year. It operates from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., on Wednesdays and Fridays for students, faculty and staff. “Having Sikorsky Credit Union here helping to facilitate our students’ understanding of financial literacy has been a wonderful addition to Stratford High School,” said Joseph Corso Jr., principal at Stratford High School.

While it is not open to the public, those within the school can transact financial business of any kind during branch hours. The branch is staffed by a Sikorsky Credit Union employee, along with paid student apprentices, who will be learning about credit union operations and are actually part of the Sikorsky Credit Union staff. Over the course of the school year, three different students will be working as apprentices and acting as Credit Union ambassadors within the school, facilitating projects to help build financial literacy and get their peers involved in real-life financial issues.

“Financial Literacy is very important, and having our branches in our high schools gives students many great opportunities to learn skills that will stay with them for their entire life.” notes Shirling.

Sikorsky Credit Union also operates branches in Oxford and Seymour High School.

Stratford Continuing Education currently offers a variety of general interest courses for residents of any town or city.

Computer education, stained glass, drawing, knitting, Spanish (beginner and conversational), Italian, budget and money management, the alexander technique, self defense for women, writing for the horror market and fiction writing, and ballroom dancing-basic and Latin/swing, are just some of the classes offered. SAT prep classes and driver education classes are also being offered.

Adults wishing to enroll in the classes may register by mail, come in person to the Continuing Education office, located at Stratford High School. Call 203-385-4270 for office hours.

Look for detailed information, course descriptions, cost, and mail-in registration forms printed in the Community Calendar delivered to all Stratford residents in mid-January, or visit the Stratford Board of Education’s website at stratford.k12.org. Click the District Programs tab, and then Continuing Education, or call us at 203-385-4270.

Tony Musante, actor and hometown son of Stratford, died in Manhattan on November 26, 2013. The cause of death was unexpected complications from oral surgery. He was 77.

Anthony P. Musante was born in Bridgeport, CT on June 30, 1936, to Anthony P. Musante, Sr and Natalie Anne Salerno Musante.

He graduated from Stratford High School in 1954 and Oberlin College in 1958.

Tony is survived by his wife of 51 years, Jane Sparkes Musante, his brother, Thomas A.Musante and his two sisters, Cecelia Musante Sisti and Katherine Musante Walker.

Tony began his acting career while in Stratford High School, and at the Polka Dot Playhouse. His professional career in theater, American and Italian film and television spanned more than 50 years.

Musante was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for his role in “ P. S. Your Cat Is Dead!,” and an Emmy Award for his work in a 1975 episode of Medical Center, “A Quality of Mercy.” He won the Best Actor Award at the Mar del Plata Film Festival for his role in “ The Incident.” Musante played Nino Schibetta, during the first season of the HBO television series Oz.

Tony was fortunate to work with such actors as George C. Scott (The Last Run), Frank Sinatra (The Detective), Martin Sheen (The Incident), Robert Duvall, Joaquine Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes (We Own the Night) and other fine actors such as Bonnie Franklin, Sally Ann Struthers, Meryl Streep, Mickey Rourke, and Michelle Pfeiffer.

On December 4, Tony was buried on Block Island which his much beloved wife Jane described as their “refuge” and “sanctuary for the soul.”

Memorial contributions may be made to Block Island Health Services, 6 Payne Road, PO Box 919, Block Island, RI 02807 or financial contribution to the Tony Musante Scholarship (Stratford High School), c/o Katherine M Walker, 357 Bantam Road, Litchfield, CT  06759.

North Parade Road, which runs between Town Hall and Stratford High School, received its additional designation as Victoria Soto Way when a street sign was recently installed by the Town. The Stratford Town Council approved the additional name last May. Victoria Soto was a first grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School and was slain there as she was trying to shield her students from gunfire. She was a resident of Stratford and graduated from Stratford High School, here at left.

The plan between the town of Stratford and Stratford Public Schools to renovate Stratford High School was put on hold on Jan. 30 as Superintendent of Schools Dr. Janet Robinson found that some questions normally covered in a project’s due diligence phase could not be answered.

Tentative renovation plans began to form in 2011 but never got to the stage of final plans and drawings.

Robinson, who came to the Stratford district last July, said the project was not on its original timeline, so when she met with town officials, it was asked if all options had been explored and if there were any other sites available for a new high school.

Those questions could not be answered, so a new subcommittee is being formed to explore those questions and more, she said.

Joe Crudo, who continues to serve on the Board of Education’s plant and planning committee and who was a four-year board member until December, when his term expired, attended the Jan. 30 meeting and said that a number of officials are concerned that the renovation plan does not address the desire of some to have more of a campus around Stratford High School.

He said other sites will be looked at, including the town’s 14-acre Shakespeare Theatre property.

Board of Education Chairman Andrea Veilleux said that she, too, wonders if the renovation plan is still the best approach. “We found that due diligence was not done,” Veilleux said, so now an analysis will be done, including enrollment, square footage, the current reimbursement rates from the state, and what other land is available.

“I am pleased to have the board work with town on shared vision,” said Veilleux. “We want to be in alignment with the town. This is a positive move.”

It was not immediately clear why the “due diligence” apparently was not completed. Gavin Forrester, who served as Board of Education chairman until December, when his term expired, said, “The project is under the purview of the Town Council and the mayor’s office, as capital projects are not authorized by the BOE.”

The mayor’s chief of staff, Marc Dillon, said he could not answer who had the responsibility for the due diligence and referred the question back to the Board of Education.
Through Dillon, Mayor John Harkins made this statement:

“It is important that the Board of Education be comfortable with any renovation at Stratford High School, especially from a design and programming point of view. If the board wishes to look deeper into their options before moving forward, they have my support to do so.”

It was a little unfair for the new Board of Education chairperson and new superintendent of schools to say that due diligence, that is, background research by committee, was not completed on matters related to improving the building and facilities at Stratford High School.

Due diligence evidently was carried out by building committees and by an architectural firm hired by Town Hall for a project to “renovate as new” Stratford High School, which was built in the 1920s. The project was outlined by the schools’ leadership at the time as a renovation, not the construction of a new school.

Information about other potential sites for a new high school and about building a new school at its current location was not produced in the past few years because that was not in the scope of the committees’ work as charged by school leadership at the time.

Communications related to building and facilities projects for Stratford Public Schools can be tricky at times, because there is a combined responsibility on such matters with the town of Stratford and the Board of Education. Further complicating communications are transitions in leadership.

The most important thing now is that the new schools leadership is clear about the scope of their request for exploratory committee work, and that the work be done thoroughly, efficiently and with some sense of urgency, because tending to improvements at Stratford High is taking a long time.

Former Town Councilman John Dempsey took exception to Board of Education Chairman Andrea Veilleux and schools Superintendent Dr. Janet Robinson saying that due diligence was lacking related to the Stratford High School renovation project, as reported in The Star Feb. 7.

“Due diligence was done, and I take great offense to that,” said Dempsey, who served on the council’s Building Needs Committee that was involved in the building project.
Dempsey said that when the question arose around 2009 and 2010, shortly after the country entered a deep economic recession, about possibly building a new school, he and his committee were told that was out of the question. School leaders and the Board of Education at the time did not ask for Dempsey’s committee to explore other potential sites for Stratford High School, he said.

Town Engineer John Casey agreed that due diligence was conducted for renovation and for education specs and accreditation. Tai Soo Kim architects completed a feasibility study for the town on the high school renovations with recommended improvements.

Due diligence was not done exploring other potential sites for a school, Casey said, because that was not the project specified from the Board of Education at the time.
Veilleux and Robinson agree that, with the renovation project delayed from its original timeline, questions from board members and school parents have recently been circulating around town about whether there is any alternative site in town suitable for a new school.

Veilleux said the decision to establish a new subcommittee to look at questions including potential other sites for a school was a collaborative one made on Jan. 30 between the Board of Education representatives and the town.

Editor’s note and correction: In last week’s report about the Stratford High School renovations (Feb. 7, page 1), comments attributed to Board of Education committee member Joe Crudo were deemed to be accurate, but Crudo was not at the Jan. 30 meeting between school officials and town officials as The Star reported.

The following students were named to the second quarter honor roll at Stratford High School:

First honors

Grade 12 — Maggie Bodington, Alicia Buynovsky, Jeremy Calvar, Danielle Calzone, Jacob Cayton, Quincy Cayton, Andrew Cerone, Jillian Chambers, Timothy Cox, Margaret DeCapua, Nicolas DiIulio, Brian Evan, Jenna Fasanella, Ann Fednard, Samantha Feliciano, Christian Foito, Christopher Gonzalez, Gloria Grave Avila;

Also, Kristopher Guzman, Jonathan Homburg, Jephthe Jean, Reid Jefferson, Taylor King-Craigwell, Nicholas Kovalik, Rebecca Kuzmich, Katherine Lee, Eleanor Lefever, Yasmine Mahmud, Margaux Mahoney, Spencer Marks, Alexander Martin, Jacob Martinez, Eric Mezzo, Brendan Miller, Milo Mitchell, Haley Moore, Brandy Morales, Madison Norton, Timothy Paproski, Abbie Perez;

Also, Joanne Pierre-Louis, Anabelle Plaza, Katherine Rodriguez, Emma Rooney, Denise Sanchez, Rachel Santo, Kaitlyn Schuessler, Nora Scott, Anekka Scott-Gray, Miguel Seclen, Alexia Smith, Allyson Starkey, William Tait, Elizabeth Tallberg, Alexandra Trahan, Anna Trahan, Michael Vavala, Jacqueline Walsh, Paige Whitley.

Grade 11 — Bertha Barrios, Samantha Breaz, Samuel Breiner, Zane Carey, Christopher Carroll, Piotr Chaber, Mariah Cortes, Livingston Cortez, Marissa Dacruz, Tyler Devellis, Nathanael Domschine, Thomas Ferrara, Kaitlin Hines, Enrique Jaime, Carlos Jaramillo, Schekina Jean, Stephen Jepsen, V’eona Lanham, Michael Lapia;

Also, Timothy Leveen, Alex Masi, Michael McClean, Tera-je McLennon, Kevin Mendoza, Rosalina Morales, Ambar Negron, Alexis Rader, Kareem Robinson, Emily Sanchez, Christian Sarmiento, Matthew Schaefer, Ayanna Staton, Anna Velasquez, Kylee Vitka-Lainey, Miles Wilson.

Grade 10 — Marlene Abouaassi, Julia Barksdale, Laura Battey, Kristina Bennett, Helen Branyan, Timothy Breiner, Jonathan Brooks, David Buonantony, Matthew Canapetti, Kyle Carmona, John Cox, Joseph Cox, John Duffy, Shannon Dugan, Kyle Fasanella, Nathan Glick, Gillian Goddard;

Also, Katherine Goodrich, Christopher Hamilton, Ashley Jean-Pierre, Jason Kelly, Helen Langston, Madison Lazaro, Megan Leonard, Miguel Marrero, Olivia Mastroluca, Joseph McClean, Gabrielle Olexovitch, Danielle Peterson;

Also, Michael Petillo, Teresa Petreycik, Aileen Pingol, William Rooney, Zohra Sarpas, Allana Scudder, Chynna Sherrod, Christopher Smith, Zachary Smith, Richard Starkey, Daniel Thorstensson, Jakub Tomaszewski, Fatima Tuziahrah.

Grade 9 — Connor Anderson, Benjamin Andrade, Ndidi Anekwe, Connor Anstis, Ross Bodington, Britney Boursiquot, Brianna Braham, Alan Brzuszko, Jordan Chach, Danielle Cisero, Nicholas Cody, Jeremy Corpuz, James Dotterman, Maia Dufane, Thomas Fernandes, Erik Flores, Tristan Frownfelter, Zachary Gottlieb, Roula Kouvatas, Emma Lacourciere, Jean-Paul Lieu, Caroline Londa, Leanne Lubas, Emily Luciano;

Also, Allysa Noccioli, Jenna Noccioli, Brandy Okrah, Tiffany Owen, Angeleen Pingol, Olivia Plavcan, Martha Polanco, Meghan Reynolds, Samantha Rivera, Vanessa Rivera, Alexis Rosado, Molly Ryan, Daniel Schaefer, Katie Schneider, Raghad Serri, Jeffrey Sharnick, Marguerite Walsh, Kaya Wells, Michael Yacik, Brady Young.

Second honors

Grade 12 — Keishera Aldonza, Shania Bancroft, Samantha Beck, Anthony Bobko, Isaiah Booker, Andrew Bouchotte, Michelle Bravo, Harrison Brooks, Rushawn Brown, Kelly Ceccarelli, Jacob Cuevas, Daniel Dellavecchia, Liliette Diavua, Matthew DiCostanzo, Jose Espinoza, Kyra Ezekiel, Carlos Flores, Julia Genetti, Rodney Johnson;

Also, Wendy Jones, Kristofer Koch, Ivette Lebron, Mcbryan Lesperance, Victor Lopez-Hernandez, Matthew Masi, Adrienne Meneo, Shannon Mraz, Destiny Ortiz, Alexander Pale, Nyle Peterson, Sarita Peterson, Kathryn Posser, Siah Reeves, Edward Rivera, Emelyn Rivera;

Also, John Rohaly, Gabrielle Rooney, Brandon Russo, Alexander Sarmiento, Frank Sessa, Chayla Sherrod, Thomas Signore, Rebecca Simon, E’Zhana Smith, Jacob Sosik, Ana-Michelle Valente, Joi Vickers, Andre Vilarinho, Jada Watley.

Grade 11 — Gabriela Aguieiras, Anthony Alvarez, Jenna Amoroso, Samantha Belport, Curtis Boahene, Kevin Bott, Austin Bult, Brianna Bursey, Andrea Camargo, Phinehas Cleary, Brett Cody, Alexander Colwell, Karen De La Roca, Christopher DeCrescenzo;

Also, Dariell Diaz, Jerry Dinan, Cierra Donald, Jack Erazmus, Derek Falcon, Brenden Figueroa, Kelsey Gabris, Giovanni Gonzalez, Lauren Goodrich, Tarquinn Granado, Allison Granberg, Jahliah Green, Wassim Haddad, Katharine Himpel, Lance Jamison, Coralie Joseph, Crystal Kantzas, Katherine Krasniewicz;

Also, Angela Mariano, William McDonald, Tasiana Mesidor, Albert Messana, Bethy Napaul, Lauren Padua, Audrey Pancak, Athanasios Panolis, Stephanie Perez, Tiara Pomontty, Kassie Poruban, Laura Quijano Jimenez, Taylor Reed, Anthony Rivera, Haley Schaefer, Lynn Schneider, Emma Simmons, Jillian Stringfellow, Patrick Warren, Alexis Williams, Emily Winter.

Grade 10 — Elmar Barrios, Jaydin Beatty-Knight, Grace Belport, Joana Brousseau, Michelle Buzzanca, Gabrielle Camarero, Geraldine Chavez, Remy Cooper, Donielle Daniels, Isabelle Dominguez, Elissa Dykes, Jomaris Echevarria, Danielle Evan, Lenyn Feijoo, Guirlaine Francois, DeAndrea Frederick, Jayla Frederick, David Goldstein;

Also, Autumn Graham, Matthew Herrera, Kayla Hughes, Dialynda Joseph, Shaina Joseph, Sarah Kotsay, John Lagerfeldt, Willie Llera, Maya Marrero, Darla Moss-Clarke, Emily Pappas, Sabrina Ramirez, Alexander Ramos, Eric Redgate, Jeffrey Riccio, Tamara Schriffert, Tyler Schuessler, Rachel Scott, Genesis Torres, Carlos Umana, Jennifer Vargas, Akin Warburton Baker.

Grade 9 — Kirsten Adams, Maher Alsakkaf, Tia Anderson, Angel Arias, Mackenzie Bakos, Amanda Bedat, Amelia Brennan, Shaiann Bridges Potts, Christian Camargo, Lauren Cesar, Shawn Chambers, Angela Cortazar, Kathryn Cullen, David Decoteau, Olivia Donnelly, Samantha Gangemi, Charlotte Haas, Samantha Hackett;

Also, Liam Hannon, Rory Hannon, Brooke Haschak, Paige Hoydick, Khalifa Karim, Kaitlyn Keegan, Emily Kiely, Steven Koripsky, Kelsey Lepesko, Carley Lubas, Kamal Mansour, Rahaf Mansour, Rebecca McMahon, Jennifer Medina, Olivia Murray, Sam Noccioli, Amanda Osenbach;

Also, Amanda Pale, Tatyanna Pettway, Brandon Rashan, Anginette Repollet, Nicole Richards, Vanessa Russo, Sabrina Saad, Christopher Scott-Gray, Nathaniel Shields, Khalil Sokunle, Steven Surmaczewicz, Cassidi Sutherland, Rony Tello-Galvez, Colin Townsend, Koe Tsutsumi, Tyler Verissimo, Rebekah Wargo, Sarah Zuiewski.

To the Editor:

I could not sit idly by and have the Board of Education (BOE) suggest all “due diligence” was not done on various people’s part prior to the approval of the $56 million renovation of Stratford High School.

Sitting on the Building Needs Committee, the committee that approved renovations and sought renovations originally, I can tell you the committee did its due diligence with the information given to us at the time, in my opinion.

After almost three years of planning, choosing an architect, conducting a CREC study, and spending lots of money, now, the BOE, is having second thoughts of moving forward with a much needed project? Perhaps this is could be a stall tactic to scuttle the project, some people may ask? I am going to reserve final judgment, until I see what transpires from the BOE’s study on the matter.

What I will say is, I believe the members of the Building Needs Committee, at the time, did their due diligence. We were told there wasn’t any open space to put the new school on and some grandiose plans to move schools around like musical chairs, was not going to fly.

It would cost $100 million or more to build a new high school. I would remind the BOE it is not up to them to have final say over what happens to Stratford High; it is the Town Council.

I would strongly encourage the BOE to stop wasting time studying things and we all move forward with the Stratford High School project before we miss out on the State funding opportunity. This in turn will cost the taxpayers even more money. Since the people I represent want results with Stratford High, I am strongly urging that this project move forward.

Many people worked too hard to get this project this far, and we are not going to start from square one and waste people’s time and taxpayers’ money. The end result will still be Stratford High is left not getting done, which will not be tolerated.

Jason Santi

Town Council

Building Needs

Committee member,

BOE Liaison Member

The following students were named to the second quarter honor roll at Stratford High School:

First honors

Grade 12 — Maggie Bodington, Alicia Buynovsky, Jeremy Calvar, Danielle Calzone, Jacob Cayton, Quincy Cayton, Andrew Cerone, Jillian Chambers, Timothy Cox, Margaret DeCapua, Nicolas DiIulio, Brian Evan, Jenna Fasanella, Ann Fednard, Samantha Feliciano, Christian Foito, Christopher Gonzalez, Gloria Grave Avila;

Also, Kristopher Guzman, Jonathan Homburg, Jephthe Jean, Reid Jefferson, Taylor King-Craigwell, Nicholas Kovalik, Rebecca Kuzmich, Katherine Lee, Eleanor Lefever, Yasmine Mahmud, Margaux Mahoney, Spencer Marks, Alexander Martin, Jacob Martinez, Eric Mezzo, Brendan Miller, Milo Mitchell, Haley Moore, Brandy Morales, Madison Norton, Timothy Paproski, Abbie Perez;

Also, Joanne Pierre-Louis, Anabelle Plaza, Katherine Rodriguez, Emma Rooney, Denise Sanchez, Rachel Santo, Kaitlyn Schuessler, Nora Scott, Anekka Scott-Gray, Miguel Seclen, Alexia Smith, Allyson Starkey, William Tait, Elizabeth Tallberg, Alexandra Trahan, Anna Trahan, Michael Vavala, Jacqueline Walsh, Paige Whitley.

Grade 11 — Bertha Barrios, Samantha Breaz, Samuel Breiner, Zane Carey, Christopher Carroll, Piotr Chaber, Mariah Cortes, Livingston Cortez, Marissa Dacruz, Tyler Devellis, Nathanael Domschine, Thomas Ferrara, Kaitlin Hines, Enrique Jaime, Carlos Jaramillo, Schekina Jean, Stephen Jepsen, V’eona Lanham, Michael Lapia;

Also, Timothy Leveen, Alex Masi, Michael McClean, Tera-je McLennon, Kevin Mendoza, Rosalina Morales, Ambar Negron, Alexis Rader, Kareem Robinson, Emily Sanchez, Christian Sarmiento, Matthew Schaefer, Ayanna Staton, Anna Velasquez, Kylee Vitka-Lainey, Miles Wilson.

Grade 10 — Marlene Abouaassi, Julia Barksdale, Laura Battey, Kristina Bennett, Helen Branyan, Timothy Breiner, Jonathan Brooks, David Buonantony, Matthew Canapetti, Kyle Carmona, John Cox, Joseph Cox, John Duffy, Shannon Dugan, Kyle Fasanella, Nathan Glick, Gillian Goddard;

Also, Katherine Goodrich, Christopher Hamilton, Ashley Jean-Pierre, Jason Kelly, Helen Langston, Madison Lazaro, Megan Leonard, Miguel Marrero, Olivia Mastroluca, Joseph McClean, Gabrielle Olexovitch, Danielle Peterson;

Also, Michael Petillo, Teresa Petreycik, Aileen Pingol, William Rooney, Zohra Sarpas, Allana Scudder, Chynna Sherrod, Christopher Smith, Zachary Smith, Richard Starkey, Daniel Thorstensson, Jakub Tomaszewski, Fatima Tuziahrah.

Grade 9 — Connor Anderson, Benjamin Andrade, Ndidi Anekwe, Connor Anstis, Ross Bodington, Britney Boursiquot, Brianna Braham, Alan Brzuszko, Jordan Chach, Danielle Cisero, Nicholas Cody, Jeremy Corpuz, James Dotterman, Maia Dufane, Thomas Fernandes, Erik Flores, Tristan Frownfelter, Zachary Gottlieb, Roula Kouvatas, Emma Lacourciere, Jean-Paul Lieu, Caroline Londa, Leanne Lubas, Emily Luciano;

Also, Allysa Noccioli, Jenna Noccioli, Brandy Okrah, Tiffany Owen, Angeleen Pingol, Olivia Plavcan, Martha Polanco, Meghan Reynolds, Samantha Rivera, Vanessa Rivera, Alexis Rosado, Molly Ryan, Daniel Schaefer, Katie Schneider, Raghad Serri, Jeffrey Sharnick, Marguerite Walsh, Kaya Wells, Michael Yacik, Brady Young.

Second honors

Grade 12 — Keishera Aldonza, Shania Bancroft, Samantha Beck, Anthony Bobko, Isaiah Booker, Andrew Bouchotte, Michelle Bravo, Harrison Brooks, Rushawn Brown, Kelly Ceccarelli, Jacob Cuevas, Daniel Dellavecchia, Liliette Diavua, Matthew DiCostanzo, Jose Espinoza, Kyra Ezekiel, Carlos Flores, Julia Genetti, Rodney Johnson;

Also, Wendy Jones, Kristofer Koch, Ivette Lebron, Mcbryan Lesperance, Victor Lopez-Hernandez, Matthew Masi, Adrienne Meneo, Shannon Mraz, Destiny Ortiz, Alexander Pale, Nyle Peterson, Sarita Peterson, Kathryn Posser, Siah Reeves, Edward Rivera, Emelyn Rivera;

Also, John Rohaly, Gabrielle Rooney, Brandon Russo, Alexander Sarmiento, Frank Sessa, Chayla Sherrod, Thomas Signore, Rebecca Simon, E’Zhana Smith, Jacob Sosik, Ana-Michelle Valente, Joi Vickers, Andre Vilarinho, Jada Watley.

Grade 11 — Gabriela Aguieiras, Anthony Alvarez, Jenna Amoroso, Samantha Belport, Curtis Boahene, Kevin Bott, Austin Bult, Brianna Bursey, Andrea Camargo, Phinehas Cleary, Brett Cody, Alexander Colwell, Karen De La Roca, Christopher DeCrescenzo;

Also, Dariell Diaz, Jerry Dinan, Cierra Donald, Jack Erazmus, Derek Falcon, Brenden Figueroa, Kelsey Gabris, Giovanni Gonzalez, Lauren Goodrich, Tarquinn Granado, Allison Granberg, Jahliah Green, Wassim Haddad, Katharine Himpel, Lance Jamison, Coralie Joseph, Crystal Kantzas, Katherine Krasniewicz;

Also, Angela Mariano, William McDonald, Tasiana Mesidor, Albert Messana, Bethy Napaul, Lauren Padua, Audrey Pancak, Athanasios Panolis, Stephanie Perez, Tiara Pomontty, Kassie Poruban, Laura Quijano Jimenez, Taylor Reed, Anthony Rivera, Haley Schaefer, Lynn Schneider, Emma Simmons, Jillian Stringfellow, Patrick Warren, Alexis Williams, Emily Winter.

Grade 10 — Elmar Barrios, Jaydin Beatty-Knight, Grace Belport, Joana Brousseau, Michelle Buzzanca, Gabrielle Camarero, Geraldine Chavez, Remy Cooper, Donielle Daniels, Isabelle Dominguez, Elissa Dykes, Jomaris Echevarria, Danielle Evan, Lenyn Feijoo, Guirlaine Francois, DeAndrea Frederick, Jayla Frederick, David Goldstein;

Also, Autumn Graham, Matthew Herrera, Kayla Hughes, Dialynda Joseph, Shaina Joseph, Sarah Kotsay, John Lagerfeldt, Willie Llera, Maya Marrero, Darla Moss-Clarke, Emily Pappas, Sabrina Ramirez, Alexander Ramos, Eric Redgate, Jeffrey Riccio, Tamara Schriffert, Tyler Schuessler, Rachel Scott, Genesis Torres, Carlos Umana, Jennifer Vargas, Akin Warburton Baker.

Grade 9 — Kirsten Adams, Maher Alsakkaf, Tia Anderson, Angel Arias, Mackenzie Bakos, Amanda Bedat, Amelia Brennan, Shaiann Bridges Potts, Christian Camargo, Lauren Cesar, Shawn Chambers, Angela Cortazar, Kathryn Cullen, David Decoteau, Olivia Donnelly, Samantha Gangemi, Charlotte Haas, Samantha Hackett;

Also, Liam Hannon, Rory Hannon, Brooke Haschak, Paige Hoydick, Khalifa Karim, Kaitlyn Keegan, Emily Kiely, Steven Koripsky, Kelsey Lepesko, Carley Lubas, Kamal Mansour, Rahaf Mansour, Rebecca McMahon, Jennifer Medina, Olivia Murray, Sam Noccioli, Amanda Osenbach;

Also, Amanda Pale, Tatyanna Pettway, Brandon Rashan, Anginette Repollet, Nicole Richards, Vanessa Russo, Sabrina Saad, Christopher Scott-Gray, Nathaniel Shields, Khalil Sokunle, Steven Surmaczewicz, Cassidi Sutherland, Rony Tello-Galvez, Colin Townsend, Koe Tsutsumi, Tyler Verissimo, Rebekah Wargo, Sarah Zuiewski.

To the Editor:

I read with interest Town Council member Jason Santi’s assessment of the stalled Stratford High School project. As a newly elected member of the Board of Education, I’m already tired of each side blaming the other while our students are living with that building in its current state.

Let’s see where Mr. Santi is coming from: He says that the “Board of Education is having second thoughts about the project and is stalling it.” Next sentence he says he is “reserving final judgment until he sees what transpires from the BOE study.” Then he states, “I would remind the BOE that it’s not up to them to have final say over what happens to Stratford High; it’s the Town Council.”

Let’s stop the power play Mr. Santi. This project needs to move forward, I think we would all agree. As you know, the price tag has grown over the past three years prompting the BOE to scrutinize cost and manage the scope of the work tighter.

I would suggest that a special committee be formed to address a project of this magnitude. Members can be selected from the Town Council, BOE, Antinozzi Associates, and the Town administration.

This project has dragged on too long. Let’s work together and get positive results. Let’s stop the finger pointing and get the Stratford High School project moving forward.

Len Petruccelli

Board of Education

BOE Building Needs Committee

Mr. and Mrs. Hugh A. Baird

Mr. and Mrs. Hugh A. Baird, Stratford High School graduates, and former residents, enjoyed their 60th anniversary on Jan. 9, at their home in Belmont, N.H., surrounded by family and friends.

They were married in 1954 at the Stratford Congregational Church with former Stratford native Carl Alber serving as best man. After spending many summer vacations in the Granite State, they moved there permanently in 2001.

Among their 60th wedding anniversary attendees were son, Mark and his wife, Cindy Baird of Pembroke, N.H.; daughter, Mrs. Tammy Newton of Alton, N.H. and granddaughter, Krista Baird of Bristol, N.H.

Patricia Baird is the former Pat Ericson, daughter of the late Francis and Orvar “Duke” Ericson. She taught at the Stratford Congregational Church for many years and also worked at Avco Lycoming and Guilford Gravure in Guilford. A talented quilter, she also is very active with her neighbors participating in numerous Briarcrest recreational activities.

Hugh Baird, brother of Douglas Baird of Stratford Avenue, served five years in the Navy/DOD during the Korean War and is a former editor of The Stratford News. After retiring in 1987 as a community relations manager, he has remained active as a writer, public relations advisor and justice of the peace for the past 15 years.

Rachel Santo

Rachel Santo, a senior at Stratford High School, was recently named a News 12 Connecticut Scholar Athlete.

A three-sport athlete (indoor track, volleyball and lacrosse), Rachel is one of the top students in her class, with a 4.09 grade point average. She is also a member of two honor societies and the vice president of the school’s athletic association.

Rachel hopes to study marketing in college and is considering attending either Georgetown University or Northeastern University.