Ansonia students learn to start a garden

John G. Prendergast Elementary School sixth graders in Ansonia, Janel Xayarath, left, and Makayla Godfrey start work Thursday on a vegetable garden behind the school. They were being directed by FoodCorps representative Eileen Garcia of New Haven, who has been working with students at the school.


The story is posted here.

Ansonia 6th graders, school principal have fun in dirt

ANSONIA - John G. Prendergast School Principal Joseph Apicella Thursday helps sixth graders prepare ground for a vegetable garden. Stay tuned for a story in the New Haven Register.

Ansonia school to hold spring fair

ANSONIA - John G. Prendergast Elementary School will hold a Spring Vendor Fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 5 at the school, 59 Finney St.

There will be an Easter egg hunt, games, prizes, crafts, music, bake sale, and more. Rain or shine.

For information contact Samantha Endres, 203-732-3594 or e-mail redfish_bluefish@hotmail.com. Put Prendergast Spring Vendor Fair in subject line.  

This is taken from a press release.

Ansonia educators get students ready to rock the tests

Contributed photo

ANSONIA - John G. Prendergast Elementary School rock band, “John G. and the Panthers,” pose for photos after Friday's exciting pep rally performance in the gym.  Prendergast staff sang and danced during the performance to encourage students to “rock” the state tests.

Pictured from left: Assistant Principal Sherrod McNeill, Social Worker Ryan Sherman, 5^th Grade Teacher Chris Pytlak Principal Joe Apicella, School Psychologist, Denise DeRosa, and Music Teacher, Joe Hudson,


This is a press release from John G. Prendergast School.

Funding boosts after-school program in Ansonia

Thanks to recent funding from the Valley Community Foundation and the D’Addario Community Fund, 95 students at Ansonia Middle School, John G. Prendergast and John C. Mead elementary schools in Ansonia will continue to participate at no cost in academic, enrichment, and recreational after-school opportunities.

The programs are designed to complement their regular school day.

The program also provides opportunities for the families of these students to participate in additional educational programs.

It’s all part of an after-school project called The Charger Club Program, initially funded by the state Department of Education’s 21st Century Community Learning Center program.

The 21st CCLC programs are funded for five years, with three years of full funding, the fourth year at 75 percent funding, and the final year at 50 percent funding.

 As the program was nearing the end of its fourth year of funding, the Ansonia Public Schools needed to secure “gap funding” for the program to continue at the same level of service for the fifth year without having to charge students and families to participate in the program.

Enter the Valley Community Foundation and its competitive grants process, which began earlier this year.

The APS submitted an application to the Foundation, was encouraged to participate in a rigorous site review process in the summer, and was recently awarded $25,000 through this process.

“The Charger Club program was one of only 17 grants awarded by VCF this year, and the only one in the education category,” said VCF President Sharon Closius.
“We were so pleased to be able to provide more than 75 percent of the request from the Ansonia Public Schools.”
As VCF finalized its grant process, staff reached out to donor advised fund holders to help support projects that were being recommended for funding.
 “We had a tremendous amount of funding requests this year,” said Closius, “and we have several donors who were willing to help us add monies from their funds to support various projects that VCF was unable to fully fund.”
When contacted about the opportunities that were available, Tom D’Addario of the D’Addario Community Fund was immediately interested.
“We knew that we had money available to grant out in our Fund this year, and that we wanted to assist wherever we could," he said. "Helping middle school students and their families with this after school program was a perfect fit for us – providing support that encourages kids to complete their homework as well as participate in recreational and enrichment opportunities is so impactful. We were so glad that we were able to contribute to this most worthwhile project.”

For the past four years, The Charger Club program has been providing 95 students in Grades 6-8 with homework assistance by Ansonia Public Schools’ teachers, as well as recreational and enrichment activities through the Boys and Girls Club in Ansonia.

Additional enrichment and family educational programs are offered by several other partnering groups, including Valley Regional Adult Education, Valley Kids Belong, and Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut.

“The Charger Club is a valued and important part of the extended school day for 95 of our families,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carol Merlone said.
"We have been able to offer the program free of charge to our families for four years, and we are very pleased to be able to continue to do so this year, with program staff focused on expanding programming for the entire family.”

“We have a great team of teachers, students, families and partnering organizations who are proud to be part of the Charger Club,” said Eileen Ehman, Project Director and Grants Manager for Ansonia Public Schools.
“We all want to thank VCF and the D’Addario family for supporting our program, which follows the motto of our school district: moving from good to great!”

For information about how to establish a fund or contribute to VCF to support programs, contact Sharon Closius, VCF President and CEO, at 203-751-9162 or at sclosius@valleyfoundation.org.


This is taken from a press release from the Valley Community Foundation.

Tears, smiles seen at playground dedication in Ansonia

ANSONIA - Friday's dedication of the John G. Prendergast School playground in memory of Catherine Violet Hubbard, 6, of Newtown was filled with emotion.

Catherine's brother, Frederick Hubbard, 8, left, hands animal crackers to kids as they enjoyed the slide for the first time.
The cookies were in honor of Catherine's love and concern for animals.

The Hubbard family is building an animal sanctuary in Newtown in her memory.

As I watched the kids I was wishing I could have had a ride down the slide. Looks like fun!

A beautiful garden was created in Catherine's memory. Names of the Sandy Hook Elementary School victims are written on the colorful butterflies. The flowers are pink and purple, Catherine's favorite colors. A flowering plum tree stands in the center.

A poem, "The Butterfly," specially written by David Snitzer, was inscribed on a plaque placed in the  garden. 

Signs offer visitors information about the evolution of this outstanding project. 

The big kids (sixth graders) had to wait at the end of the line to get their chance to try out the slide.

Playground dedicated today in Ansonia

Stay tuned for a story in Saturday's New Haven Register.

Project at Prendergast School in Ansonia stirs emotions

Playground built in memory of Sandy Hook victim; dedication set

ANSONIA - It has been almost two weeks since the start of construction of a playground at John G. Prendergast School in memory of Catherine Violet Hubbard.
She was a first grader who was among the 26 victims of the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

Even though my colleague and staff photographer Peter Hvizdak was there I took several photos, because I planned to write a blog post. But I've had trouble starting it.

I had the honor to speak briefly with Catherine's mother, Jenny Hubbard, and to say hello to three other mothers whose children died on that horrific day.

Jenny Hubbard said she takes life "day by day."

She said she was glad her son, Frederick, 8, was able to play a big part in the playground construction. He was even named job foreman that day.

"He's doing it for his sister," she said softly.

Frederick Hubbard, 8, was more than ready that morning to start building the playground.

 

Ansonia Superintendent of Schools Carol Merlone, left, greets mothers of victims. 

Prendergast art teacher Danine Curtis draped a green and white paper-heart chain along the fence. Green and white are Newtown's colors.  

 

 Workers get ready for the build.

The playground is one of 26 that will be built in memory of the victims through the efforts of Bill Lavin, president of the New Jersey Firefighters’ Mutual Benevolent Association. He is being assisted by fellow firefighters, construction workers, family and friends.

This is the specially labeled truck that carried construction supplies from New Jersey.

 Frederick was still working hard with firefighters and other volunteers mid-afternoon.

 A ground covering will be added to the play area.

The official dedication of the playground has been tentatively set for 9 a.m. May 31, Principal Joe Apicella said.

Apicella joined the many volunteers and worked for hours that day to get the play area together.

He said a tire swing is on back order and will be a part of the playground.
 

Gentile thanks educators, Malloy after roundtable in Ansonia

Focus on school district's progress 

ANSONIA - State Rep. Linda M. Gentile, D-Ansonia, and state Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, D-Woodbridge, joined Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Education Commissioner Stephen Pryor Wednesday for a visit to John G. Prendergast Elementary School.

The event included a roundtable conversation with administrators and teachers on the progress their education program have achieved since it was approved by the state last year as an Alliance District. 

“I would like to thank the administrators and teachers for their commitment to our students and I would like to thank the Governor and Commissioner Pryor for visiting our school district,” said Gentile. 

“It is apparent from the educators’ remarks that the reading assessment pilot program is a very valuable and welcome tool. This program provides these professionals with immediate data and feedback that they can use to not only gauge student performance and progress, but also make very specific critical adjustments to a child's reading program so that that child can improve their ability to learn," she said.

"I applaud our teachers’ efforts and their enthusiastic support of the program and I hope that we can not only continue with this successful pilot program, but hopefully expand it.”  

The education reform package that Malloy signed into law in 2012 created the Alliance District program, which targets the state’s under-performing schools to receive additional Educational Cost Sharing aid while developing comprehensive reform strategies to turn the schools around.

“The bulk of these state funds are aptly directed at literacy programs in Ansonia’s primary grades, because early reading skills readily translate into a student’s improved ability to learn other subjects in every grade afterward,” Crisco said. 

“Once a student knows how to read, he or she can read about history, math, science – even music – to broaden his or her base of knowledge.”

Ansonia received an additional $539,715, or 3.6 percent in ECS funding, increasing Ansonia’s total education grant to $15,571,383 for 2012-13.

This is taken from a press release from Gentile's office.

Ansonia students learn importance of good vocabulary

Ansonia resident Terry Murphy, far right, reads her book, 'Word Bird Delivers The Eight Parts of Speech' to fourth graders in teacher Beth Williams' at John G. Prendergast Elementary School in Ansonia. 
Assisting her is Pat Frusciante of Stratford, as Ansonia Mayor James Della Volpe looks on. A character in the book was created in his honor and he was on hand to support the vocabulary project. Patricia Villers/Register


ANSONIA - Terry Murphy has a way with words.
The city resident and grandmother of two is on a mission to help children improve their vocabularies.

To that end, Murphy wrote a book, "Word Bird Delivers The Eight Parts of Speech." It takes place in the Village of Vocabulary.

Murphy recently visited a classroom at Prendergast School to talk to fourth graders about vocabulary. 
She asked them and other students at the school to vote for one of four possible covers for the book, and they selected the one below.

Murphy deserves plaudits for wanting to help children learn how to communicate well, and for having the imagination to make learning about words a fun experience. 

I wish her the best of luck in getting the word out there about the educational book she has written.

Mayor helps Ansonia students learn about parts of speech

Ansonia Mayor James Della Volpe met with fourth graders at John G. Prendergast Elementary School in Ansonia this week. He is holding a page from the book, "Word Bird Delivers The Eight Parts of Speech," penned by Ansonia resident Terry Murphy, far right.
Murphy read the story to students. Her friend, Pat Frusciante of Stratford, center, assisted during the presentation in teacher Beth Williams' classroom.    

Stay tuned for a story in the paper about the presentation.

Superheroes at Prendergast School?

'The Avengers' striking a pose for the cameras.

On Friday I attended a loud and lively pep rally at John G. Prendergast School in Ansonia. The gym was filled with energy and enthusiasm as costumed staff members entertained.

The rally was designed to inspire the third through sixth graders to do their best when they take the Connecticut Mastery Tests next week.  The theme of the rally was "Unstoppable."

Pictured from left are: Assistant Principal Sherrod McNeill as The Incredible Hulk, social worker Ryan Sherman as Spiderman, custodian Jamie Puro as Iron Man, physical education teacher Bob Powers as Wolverine and Principal Joseph Apicella as Captain America.

After-school program in Ansonia offers support, guidance

Jacki Craig, head teacher at Ansonia Community Action, works on an art activity Monday with children in an after-school program at the agency's center at 4 Fourth St., Ansonia.


Several children who used to attend an after-school program at the Tinney Community Center, which was closed in October, now attend a similar program at ACA.
All are students at John C. Mead and John G. Prendergast Elementary Schools in Ansonia.

The program is featured in a story today in the paper.

ACA staff member Tashaw Sistrunk of Ansonia works with a young student on a computer lesson. 

Homework is done, now for some fun

Sisters Maqila Mosley, left, almost 7, and Maliqa Mosley, 10, work on an art activity Monday in an after-school program at Ansonia Community Action. They both attend John G. Prendergast Elementary School.


Stay tuned for a story in the newspaper about the after-school program at ACA.  

Info shared on resource fair in Ansonia

Ansonia mustache mystery solved

On Saturday I posted a 'mystery photo' and posed a question.

You can follow this link to see the answer.

I applaud students and staff at John G. Prendergast Elementary School for raising $500 for Griffin Hospital.

The 'mystery photo' was of Connie Evans, executive director of the Griffin Hospital Development Fund.

In the background was Frank Michaud, who last year established HiM, Health Initiative for Men, at Griffin Hospital in Derby.

Here is a photo of Michaud sporting a fake mustache as he looked over his notes before Friday's assembly.

Kudos to Prendergast pupils for putting two of the six pillars of character they have learned about - caring and citizenship - into practice.  

Ansonia mystery photo shared

Who is this woman wearing a fake mustache, and why is she at John G. Prendergast Elementary School in Ansonia?
 
Stay tuned for a story in the New Haven Register ... 

Alarm evacuates Ansonia polling place

ANSONIA - Voters had to do more than cast their ballots Tuesday afternoon at John G. Prendergast Elementary School. They had to evacuate the building after a fire alarm went off at 2:15 p.m.

A fire department source said there was no fire and voters were able to return to the polling booths.

Ansonia school slates holiday fair

ANSONIA - John G. Prendergast Elementary School, 59 Finney St. will host a Holiday Fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

The fair will feature vendors selling crafts and holiday gifts. There also will be games, activities, and prizes for children.

For information call Samantha, 203-732-3594.

Having fun, building character at Ansonia elementary school

Six pillars of character taught at John G. Prendergast Elementary School in Ansonia include trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship.

These pillars were on display on the school field at an assembly Friday. The event honored eight students who had scored "advanced" in all areas on the Connecticut Mastery Tests last spring. Proud parents photographed their children with Principal Joseph Apicella and Assistant Principal Sherrod McNeill.

After the recognition ceremony teachers and staff dressed in tie-dyed T-shirts created their version of a flash mob and danced to Michael Jackson's 1983 hit, "Beat It" to welcome the children back to school.

It was a fun way for students and adults alike to kick off the new school year. Teachers never did anything like this when I was in elementary school!