Who’s ready for camp?

Ridgefield Academy will host six weeks of summer programs that are open to the public. The programs are offered to children ages two through 14, and begin on June 17.

Camp Landmark offers two options — one for kids who are two years old and another for kids three and four years old.

Patriot Camp is offered to children entering kindergarten through fifth grade. A series of themed weeks include “Terrific Trip Week,” “Science Week” and “Survivor Camp.” Also offered are two weeks of split day programs that include “Sparklicious Art Studio” or “Cupcake Wars” in the morning, followed by traditional day camp activities, such as swimming, sports, science, technology and games during the second half of the day.

For middle school students in fifth through eighth grade, Explorer Programs offer a broad variety of half- and full-day programs.

For more information, contact Donna Kauth at 203-294-1800 ext. 106 or at dkauth@ridgefieldacademy.org.

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Local artist Tina Phillips will be honored by Keeler Tavern Museum and History Center at The Ridgefield Arts Council’s annual Behind The Scenes event on May 9 at 7 p.m. at the Ridgefield Library.

For the past seven years, Phillips has been the Art Show Coordinator at KTM&HC, organizing art shows by local artists in the Cass Gilbert Carriage Barn. In the over 55 years Ms. Phillips has lived in Ridgefield, she has volunteered at numerous organizations. Art and teaching have always been her passions and have led her to teach after-school art programs and art therapy programs at Silver Hill. She is currently an art instructor at Founder’s Hall. Ms. Phillips has judged art shows at the Lounsbury House, Ridgefield Women’s Club, and many churches and is always ready to donate a painting, give painting lessons, or offer Paint & Pinot Parties as auction gifts at fundraising events for RABC, ROAR, KTM&HC, and Founder’s Hall. She is an active member and volunteer of the First Congregational Church in Ridgefield and has served on numerous boards, including as President of The Ridgefield Boys & Girls Club.

Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center presents three centuries of the town’s history through the lives of the families that occupied the site starting in 1713. It offers docent-led tours of its period-furnished building February through December (Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, 1:00–4:00 p.m.) More information may be found at www.keelertavernmuseum.org and at Facebook.com/KeelerTavernMuseum, or by calling the office at 203-438-5485. Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center is located at 132 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.

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The Ridgefield Police Department promoted two officers Wednesday morning at the Lounsbury House.

Sgt. Brian Durling was promoted to lieutenant and Officer Shawn Murray was promoted to sergeant.

“We would like to congratulate our newest patrol supervisors, Lt. Brian Durling and Sgt. Shawn Murray on being promoted today at The Lounsbury House,” the Ridgefield Police Department wrote on its Facebook page. “Thank you to all who attended. We wish you both the best of luck!”

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A Ridgefield man was arrested after causing a commotion at a New Fairfield home Monday evening.

Michael K. Detlor, 27, was arrested a little before 5 p.m., after police responded to a call about a man “causing a disturbance and damaging property.”

Detlor was charged with third-degree criminal mischief, interfering with an officer and second-degree breach of peace.

He was processed and released on $2,000 bond, and is scheduled to appear at Danbury Superior Court on May 1.

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Ridgefield High School will host its annual art show in the Black Box Theater Thursday, May 2, and Friday, May 3.

The art show will highlight the work of more than 400 RHS students.

The show will be open 7 to 9 p.m. on May 2. It will be open both days from 7:30 a.m. to 2:10 p.m.

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Tina Sturges and Mary Harold from Ridgefield Guild of Artists, will be guest bartenders at Gallo Ristorante, 5 Grove Street, on Thursday, May 2, from 6 to 9 p.m.

All proceeds will help the Guild’s expanding education program.

In addition, they plan a raffle of a new painting by Pam Stoddart. For more information, visit rgoa.org or call 203-438-8863.

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Winning feels good.

That’s why anyone traversing Ridgefield’s historic Main Street recently has noticed exuberance all around the Keeler Tavern Museum and History Center. The museum’s capital campaign team started its preparation for a campus expansion in November 2016 by acquiring the property at 152 Main Street and, over the last three years, executed that plan by receiving pledges, grants, and individuals gifts that transformed the brick building into a new visiting center — the first stop for its several thousand annual visitors.

Now it’s time to celebrate the payoff — $1.5 million, to be exact — of all that hard work.

“Reaching our initial fundraising goal is not quite as momentous as surviving British cannon fire 242 years ago,” said Hilary Micalizzi, president of the museum’s board of directors, referring to the upcoming anniversary of the April 27, 1777, skirmish that permanently lodged a cannonball in the historic tavern’s northeast corner post.

“But it is an extraordinary milestone — one that speaks volumes about our donors’ generosity and their confidence in our future,” she added.

The capital campaign’s “victory” coincides with this weekend’s Battle of Ridgefield anniversary which Keeler Tavern is commemorating with free museum tours from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 27. On the tours, local historian George Hancock will talk about the story behind the famous cannonball.

There will also be a lecture on the British invasion of Connecticut at the Ridegfield Library at 11 a.m. that same day, and a Battle of Ridgefield walking tour that runs from 2-3:30 p.m.

The battle anniversary concludes with self-guided tours through Olde Town Cemetery from 2 to 4 p.m.

“We want to acknowledge the people who have lived here and who are buried here,” said Hildi Grob, the museum’s executive director and the capital campaign manager.

“To steal Charlie Pankenier’s line, this is the most historic site from Hartford to the Hudson,” added Joel Third, who served as campaign cabinet co-chair along with Micalizzi and Kam Daughters. “We want to keep mining that history and make it new for the people that come through our doors …

“What I think the visitor’s center will allow us to do is engage with our audience to create a new range of stories and enhance the visitor experience.”

Summer fun

There will be a grand opening for the new visitor center from noon to 3 p.m. on July 4 — the same date as the museum’s annual Watermelon Fest.

The free event will feature a dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence and the ceremonial slicing of a watermelon. There will also be a dunk tank where kids can sink King George, live music on the terrace, and an art show in the Cass Gilbert Carriage Barn. If that’s not enough to put visitors in a nice, summer mood, there will be free watermelon, lawn games, craft-making tables, and food trucks.

“The watermelon comes from an old Keeler Tavern tradition,” Grob said. “When we first opened in 1966, we gave away free watermelons.”

And for those who want a tour, the museum will have its first floor open for visitors to hear the story about the cannonball. They’re also welcome to visit the museum’s gift shop.

Of course, the main attraction will be the new visitor center.

A grant from Ridgefield Thrift Shop helped cover the cost of the welcome center’s reception desk.

During the opening ceremony, visitors can also watch an orientation video to understand some of the site’s fascinating stories while seated on a bench built by an Eagle Scout (video equipment underwritten by the Ridgefield Women’s Club and Rotary Club). There will also be a presentation on the museum’s future collections storage and research facility on the lower level, which is being made possible through grants from the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD).

In addition to grants, a trio of donors — Anita and Nick Donofrio, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, and the Anne S. Richardson Fund — pledged $100,000 or more to the capital campaign. 

“This project is as deserving as any I’ve ever seen,” said Nick Donofrio, honorary chair of the campaign.

Donofrio, who has been involved in philanthropic endeavors large and small all over the country, called the acquisition of 152 Main Street a “gutsy move.”

“The museum’s leadership has really made history with this project, and as a community — as a region, in fact — we’re going to benefit from it for decades to come,” he said.

Keeler Kids

The opening ceremony on July 4 will kick start a busy month for the history center. The first session of Keeler Kids runs July 15 to July 19 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and will cover life in early Ridgefield for students in first through third grade.

“Ridgefield’s first post office opened in the Keeler Tavern in 1792,” Grob said.

“Before telegraph and telephone, before text message and email, the postal service carried news throughout the 13 colonies and early United States,” the museum’s website adds. “Campers will join Timothy Keeler as deputy postmasters along the post road, establishing their post offices and ensuring the news reaches its final destination.”

The following week, students in fourth through sixth grade will go to camp to learn about cabinets of curiosities — the first American museums.

“A predecessor to museums, cabinets of curiosities reached the height of their popularity in the 19^thCentury when everyone from princes to armchair scientists proudly showed off their collections. From natural specimens to man-made objects, from ancient artifacts to the newest technological wonders, everything was collected. Over the week, campers will collect and curate objects to create their own cabinet of curiosities.”

Keeler Kids final session for students in the seventh grade and up will run from July 29 to Aug. 2. It will cover vintage fashion “based on historic costumes from the 19th century in our collection,” according to Grob.

‘Beyond the cannonball’

The hands-on, educational activities for kids mirror what the history center’s leadership would like to offer its adult visitors when they come to the 3.8-acre campus with 350 feet of Main Street frontage.

“There’s a whole 300 years of history here that people don’t realize — our history goes way beyond the cannonball and the tavern, but it’s hard to get away from that colonial history sometimes,” said Third. “There’s the Founding Era, the Civil War, and the Gilded Age. Of course, we don’t mind if people come for the cannonball but we want them to stay for the other stories and to keep coming back.”

To that point, Grob believes the new visitor’s center will help the museum retain visitors and have them return for second, third and fourth visits — and possibly even more.

“We’re more than just the tavern, we’re more than just the beautiful gardens,” she said. “This place has many purposes: Business, education, gardening, research, science …. we’re developing a medical program that will cover the history of disease. …. We’re always looking for more.”

Educational programs from students continues to be the bread and butter though.

“Our school programs have tripled,” Grob said. “We’re going to have more than 2,500 student visitors this year … and some of the grants we receive go toward underwriting the cost of busing in students from underprivileged communities. …

“We’re developing curriculum here that delves into the history behind race and also the history of gender,” she added. “We want to be able to look behind and learn from the past and connect it to the present and also use it to try and think about what the future might look like. …. One of our biggest goals is developing a civics component in our educational programs and shining a light on this participatory system we call democracy.”

Finish line?

Although victory has been declared, the fundraising campaign isn’t over.

Keeler Tavern Museum and History Center will continue to solicit commitments and gifts through 2021, aiming to hit the $2-million mark.

The additional funds will enable the center to further pay down the mortgage that funded the purchase; develop new multi-media tours, exhibitions and programs that tell the expanded campus’s many stories; and create a new archive storage and workroom facility in the visitor center’s lower level.

The latter is planned to open in December.

“When we discussed fundraising at the beginning, we were adamant that we wouldn’t spend money until the funds came in and we’re still making sure we are being fiscal responsibility with our donors,” Micalizzi said.

“We are working hard to prioritize our projects to make sure we’re not exceeding past what we have raised. … We don’t want to bite off more than we can chew.”

“From the beginning, the money that came in has been used to pay off the mortgage of this building,” added Third, who has also served as board president in the past.

Micalizzi said the new visitor center, and the fundraising behind it, has been a wonderful outreach opportunity for the Keeler Tavern Museum.

“We want to partner with this community as much as possible,” she said. “We want to inform the community about what we’re doing but we also want to illicit feedback and work together with the town …

“The money that has come in, we’re putting right back into the community,” she added. “We’ve kept the money right here in Ridgefield, hiring local contractors and local businesses to help us with our development process. And we’re not done. We still have a lot more to do to transform our site.”

Tours of the Keeler Tavern are offered Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, from 1 to 4 p.m. More information can be found at keelertavernmuseum.org or Facebook.com/KeelerTavernMuseum.

“Right now, we’re only open nine hours a week,” Grob said. “Our goal is to have the capability if having the visitor center and museum open for 20 hours each week, or possibly even more. We would all like to be full time.”

“Other museums are shrinking but we’re growing,” added Micalizzi. “We’re always looking for more and we want to stay relevant. We have 300 years of history and we intend to keep it alive.”

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Addison Avery-Payne, a sixth grader from Ridgefield, has achieved a fully-functioning prototype thanks to help from Glastonbury-based Ideaz and New Britain-based Stanley Black and Decker.

Her creation, “Out-Fit,” won at last year’s Connecticut Invention Convention. She then won at the 2018 National Invention Convention, and was chosen as one ten students to work with a firm to improve her prototype.

The invention is both practical and helps the environment.

Out-Fit “is an extendable bamboo hanger designed as the one hanger needed for life,” explained Addison. “It fits every size of clothing from baby to tween to adult. Currently, there are no hangers on the market that accommodate tween clothing. Our in-between sized clothes fall off the tiny baby hangers, and don’t stretch enough for adult hangers. This results in massive numbers of plastic baby hangers, tens of millions if not hundreds of millions, being thrown into landfills over the years.”

“Addison’s first prototype was made of simple materials she found around her home,” added Dave Mathieu, co-founder of Ideaz.

Mathieu’s team is made up of industry-leading experts who specialize in product design and engineering. Andrew Reed,, senior industrial designer, assisted Addison in improving the design.

“Over the last 10 months, Addison researched the market and provided guidance to the design team at Ideaz,” Mathieu said. “The next level prototypes represent an important milestone where Addison can now get valuable feedback on her product.”

“The criteria used to evaluate the initial concepts included communication, critical thinking, and environmental awareness,” Mathieu added. “The Out-Fit is an eco-friendly clothing hanger which expands in size as a child grows, allowing families to use one set of hangers for life.”

Addison will be traveling to Ideaz headquarters, 75 Nutmeg Lane in Glastonbury, on Monday, April 29, at 1 p.m. for the official unveiling.

“This is a great story that showcases the importance of invention education and our partnerships with our sponsors and industry,” said Danny Briere, chief entrepreneur officer and global director of Invention Convention Worldwide, which runs the annual convention. “Now her product is designed and ready for next steps.”

This year’s Connecticut Invention Convention is taking place at the University of Connecticut on Saturday, May 4. The National Invention Convention will take place at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. from May 29 through May 31.

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The sixth annual BBQ & Music Fest — formerly known as Ridgefield Gone Country — will take place May 4 and May 5 at The Lounsbury House on Main Street.

The Rotary Club of Ridgefield, which donates 100% of the proceeds to charitable organizations, has announced that the Lounsbury House would be hosting the event for the sixth straight year. It was previously reported that the barbecue festival would be held at St. Stephen’s Church.

This year’s festival will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 4, and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 5. Nine bands will perform over the course of the two days.

“This year’s event will be even bigger than last year’s,” said Rotary Club member Joe Savino. “Due to the larger event, we are thankful to the Lounsbury House for supporting us and we also want to thank St. Stephens for all their efforts in helping us ensure a successful event. A full slate of nine bands will perform. We will also have an ABBA Tribute Band sponsored by Barts Tree Service.

Last year’s barbecue festival drew more than 7,000 people to Ridgefield’s historic downtown. The event features a world class barbecue championship,  kid’s rides, a riding bull, live music and plenty of food. It will coincide with Downtown Ridgefield’s Spring Stroll.

One of the headline events for the BBQ Festival weekend will be the Connecticut State BBQ Championship. This is sanctioned by the Kansas City BBQ Society and Northeast BBQ Society. There will be 30 barbecue masters competing for the championship.

Tickets prices are the same as last year: $10 for adults and $5 for students. Children under 12 are free. Learn more about the event at RidgefieldBBQCT.com.

The proceeds of this event are returned to scholarships and charities via the Rotary grant process

To learn more Ridgefield Rotary, its mission, its people and upcoming events. Visit us ridgefieldrotary.org or on Facebook.

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The Ridgefield League of Women Voters will hold its annual art raffle fund raiser and guest bartender event at Gallo Ristorante on Tuesday, May 14, from 6 to 9 p.m.

The highlight of the evening will be the drawing of the winning raffle ticket for Ridgefield artist Rhonda Gentry’s painting “Yellow Roses” which she has donated to the League.

When asked why she had decided to be the artistic contributor to the League’s fundraiser, Mrs. Gentry said: “ I was happy to support their mission, especially in the current state of our Nation. With next year, 2020, being the anniversary of the 19th Amendment, I’m happy to contribute to the Ridgefield League of Women Voters and join in celebrating women’s involvement and achievements in the development of our Country and inspiring the next generation to make their voices heard.”

This is the League of Women Voters fifth annual art raffle fund raiser and guest bartender event at Gallo.

“We are extremely grateful to Chef Raphaele Gallo for his support of the League and his extraordinary generosity in hosting this event,”said Marilyn Carroll, President of the Ridgefield League. “We are very proud of the educational programs and voter information events we provide to the community and with help from generous Ridgefielders like Chef Gallo and Mrs. Gentry, we will be able to continue our mission to ‘help democracy work.’ This event is open to the public and is held on ‘referendum’ day.

Carroll encouraged all Ridgefielders to stop by Gallo’s after they vote at Yanity gym and celebrate their right to vote with a drink and/or dinner to support the League. To purchase $5 raffle tickets visit rlwv.org or call or text 203-313-9930.

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Ridgefield High School has released the third-quarter honor roll for the 2018-19 school year.

High Honors

Grade 9

Steve Abraham, Megan Adakonis, Alena Alexander, Kavya Anand, Alexia Anglade, Melissa Ascher, Finnegan Atkins, Brooke Axel, Jackson Badeer, Marguerite Bellotti, Evan Bellusci, Alexander Blaha, Riley Blake, Griffin Blood, Alyssa Boxer, Ella Brassinga, Abigail Breitenbach, Jada Briscoe, Lauren Brooks, Ella Brown, Emily Brown, Carl Browning, Daniel Bucciero, Matthew Bucciero, Arianna Calle, Carina Carfi, Lindsay Carroll, Julia Carrozza, Lola Casano, Christian Chang, Hersha Chauhan, Tiffany Chen, Molly Christel, Carli Ciavarelli, Julia Clavi, Miranda Clements, Meredith Clifford, Christopher Colletto, Stephen Colletto, Evan Collins, Morgan Cone, Justine Corsilia, Finn Cronin, Alyza Crook, Sofia Daigle, Lily Daubenspeck, Isabella DeSantis, Hailey DeWalt, Sophie Desmarais, Olivia Dillon, Ryan Donovan, Katherine Dowd, Alexandra Eagle, Marlene Edwards, Amelia Fennessey, Luca Filgueira, Adelaine Fincham, Emily Fox, Brooke Fuller, Samantha Gagnon, Grace Galasso, Curran Garganigo, Sofia Garrett, Nina Gatje, Octavia Gelfman, Logan Gels, Cailin Goetz, Ayla Goldstein, Madeleine Gonley, Sara Hansen, William Harford, Melissa Harris, Annie Haughney, Olivia Heimbauer, Tessa Hilford, Coleman Hoffner, Elizabeth Holloway, James Hooker, Alexander Hornig, Caroline Imbrogno, Tyler Ingram, Benjamin Jolly, Emma Joyce, Chloe Jureller, Moera Kamimura, Ingrid Karlson, Sydney Katz, Karilyn Keaveny, Lauren Kim, Alexandra Koelzer, Allison Kramer, Aerin Krys, Maia Labbe, Ariel Langberg, Evie Langston, Jacqueline Lehaney, Abigail Lepanto, Henry Levitt, Camryn Liem, Robert Liesegang, Alexander Lossenko, Molly Lyons, Ellen Maerean, William Magee, Brooke Manganiello, Alison Manolakakis, Jaquelyn Mantione, Diana Martsen, Sean Maue, Caroline McGrath, Jack McGuire, Carter Mendez, Presley Milton, Ella Miner, Ritvika Misra, Jordan Anna Mooney, Molly Moriarty, Siovhan Moroney, Eliza Morris, Aurore Msays, Zachary Muldoon, Kendra Mulhern, Ian Murdock, Eloise Murphy, Priya Natarajan, Alexander Ni, Eva Niemeyer, Colin O’Keefe, Lukas Overlock, Rebecca Pasto, Jillian Pastore, Sasha Peck, Kaylie Perhamus, Emma Phair, Caroline Pickett, Claire Poremba, Sabrina Porter, Allison Price, Jackson Ragland, Sarah Rapaglia, Katherine Rector, Isabel Redrup, William Richards, Riley Riebling, Scott Robert, Evia Rodriguez, Natalia Roseff, Rachel Rudnicki, Leo Santisi, Alexa Sasse, Alexandra Schuster, Abby Segalman, Natalie Sganga, Cara Sheafe, Sara Shepherd, Sarina Sheth, Solhwi Shim, Anna Sidovar, Ethan Snyder, Michael Stamatis, Angelina Stofka, Madeline Thomas, Lauren Toia, Alexis Urbanz, Caroline Vilinskis, Hannah Vollen, Katherine Ward, Nicholas Warner, Madeline Weir, Haydn Wilfinger, Claire Wilkinson, Sophie Williams, Kevin Yang, Emma Young, Harley Zins, Andrei Zubek, Adin Zusel, Ellis Zusel, Josiah deGrasse

Grade 10

Beatrice Altopp, Kaitlyn Arbucci, Guillermo Bichara Guzman, Julia Bongo, Annika Bonwetsch, Alexander Bornstein, Luke Boylan, Ainsley Brady, Santiago Briones Lopez, Steven Brodsky, Jack Brown, Kathryn Bucci, Emily Buonocore, Noah Butler, Alison Caiola, Joseph Campos, Evelyn Carr, Ellie Carter, Jackson Carter, Colin Carvo, Kelly Chittenden, Kenneth Choi, Olivia Clausen, Caroline Clifford, Christopher Colucci, Audrey Conte, Christopher Cordano, Jacob Corsilia, Alexandra Costigan, Shea Coughlin, Sean Courtney, Ryan Crist, Ava Critchell, Maxwell Crowley, Maeve Cunningham, Brett D’Alexander, Luke D’Antonio, Lukas Dapkus, Makena Davi, Gillian Davis, Ava De Palo, Isabella DeMassa, Charles DeMatteo, Alyssa DeStefano, Olivia DeStefano, Chaz DellaCorte, Vanessa Diana, Alexandra Dillulio, Miranda Dodd, Andrew Dong, Kate Dougherty, Megan Dunphy, Selin Durmus, Gavin Egerton, Matthew Eiben, Jack Englert, Chad Eskenazi, Hunter Eskenazi, Lily Faillaci, Olivia Federici, Aidan Flaherty, Kathleen Flynn, Allison Foley, Tara Ford, Emily Fox, Bridget Galloway, Katherine Garson, Shelagh Garst, Owen Gaydos, Rylie Giles, Sydney Giordano, Gianna Greco, Amos Grey, Julia Grey, Claire Griffin, Grady Griffin, Isabel Griffith, Mary Hage, Emory Haines, Jason Hartnett, Aaron Haynos, Julia Herlihy, Kiralyse Hermann, Logan Higginson, Luke Hisiger, Ainsley Hoemann, Bridgette Hogan, Matthew Hogan, Susanna Howard, Zhiyan Huang, Jack Hudson, Liam Huff, Connor Hunt, Edward Hunter, Wyatt Jacobson, Jonathan Jelkovac, Matthew Johnston, Michaela Kane, Lakshmi Kanumuri, Evan Kaye, Lucas Kaye, Brian Keaveny, Kloe Keidel, Liam Keppler, Charles King, Alyson Kirsch, Harrison Konopka, Michael Kovacs, Aidan Kratz, Nina Kropas, Lucinda Kubrin, Katrina Lebl, Juwon Lee, Julia Levine, Matthew Levy, Jessica Lomax, Isabella Lussi, Kara Macdonald, Joseph Mahoney, Matthew Martinez, Grace Matthews, Natalia Maxham, Kaelyn McEvoy, Rory McGrath, Samantha McLemore, John McLoughlin, Norah McNeece, Grace Michalowski, Ariana Mirfakhraie, Sarah Moussavi, Lashawnna Mullins, Tyler Munson, Maiki Muursepp, Shreyas Nandan, Jamie Narciso, Echo Nielsen, Mackenzie Noonan, Collin Norcross, Emmett O’Malley, Spencer Ogden, Philip Panzeca, Aarav Patel, Diego Pepe, Leif Perkins, Riley Peters, Sophia Puchall, Jeffrey Pupazzoni, Isabella Reinhardt, Natasha Riek, Antonella Risi, Gianna Rus, Carter Schroppe, Alexa Serby, Hannah Seward, Mason Sibley, Avery Simoneau, Devansi Sinha, Anna Skare, Jillian Skor, Owen Sleigh, Tarah Sleight, Serena Stein, William Stewart, Megan Sullivan, Miriam Sullivan, Elena Tittel, Rachel Tomasetti, Anna Vasconcelos, Isabel Voellmicke, Dmitri Volkov, Kristen Wagnblas, Lily Walsh, Frederick Whipple, Kelsi Wilkenloh, Madeleine Wilson, Matthew Wong, Andrew Yu, Alexis Zacharakos, Stephanie Zacharakos, Emily Zagorec, Julia Zangre, Matthew Zhang, Lisa van Gompel

Grade 11

Julissa Acevedo, Laura Anandappa, Caitlin Aronson, Kellan Barrett, Lucy Basile, Savannah Bell, Todd Benson, Adam Biernat, Reagan Bonadies, Ritwik Bose, Alice Bradburn, Ellie Brady, Keenan Briggs, David Brodsky, Hanna Brody, Matthew Brooks, Matthew Brooks, Hailey Brown, Ian Brown, Frank Bua, Grace Bucci, Jillian Buczek, Matthew Carpenter, Stephen Chen, Emily Christel, Charles Coffin, Jillian Collins, Alana Condron, Ava Cowles, Edward Daubenspeck, Jacob Dell, Dylan Desmarais, Allison Donnelly, Carolyn Donovan, Jarred Drickler-Bourgart, William Everdell, Jillian Feurman, Claire Filaski, Liam Flaherty, Gina Formisano, Alyssa Gagnon, Kate Gallagher, Molly Gels, Grace Goldberg, Hana Goldstein, Riley Gousse, Joshua Grossman, Amy Grove, Dean Habeeb, Tyler Hadar, Alexander Hanna, Bailey Harriott, Lexi Held, Colin Hogan, Luke Holian, William Hooker, Luke Hruska, Christopher Hulbert, Ella Isley, Shane Jaeger, Laura Jeniski, Jack Johanson, Grant Jones, Simon Jupp, Isabella Jureller, Melanie Kardos, Jeannette Kim, Alexandra Kinkead, Jackson Kuwata, Katherine Landler, Emma Langis, Conor Lavelle, Celine Lee, Matthew Lefebvre, Joyce Li, Julia Lin, Luisa Lindinger, Madison Londona, Katherine Lynch, Emma Lyons, Taylor MacDonald, Caroline Malley, Nicholas Mantione, Grantham Martin, Caroline McGeary, Julia McGeary, Falyn McGoey, Madeline McGrath, Kevin McNicholas, Questin McQuilkin, Finn Meachem, Makana Meier, Henry Meyler, Lily Meyler, Margaret Moran, Aurora Mu, Charles Mueller, Madelyn Muldoon, Ajay Natarajan, Olivia Nazworth, Stephen Nazworth, Helen Ni, Eliza Oakes, Jacquelyn Palmiotto, Jennifer Paul, Margaret Pell, Jonah Pereyra, Juliet Petersen, Reva Podila, Timothy Porter, Walker Pratt, Isabelle Pugh, Benjamin Ragland, Manushi Raj, Sophie Reale, Leo Rector, Alec Rodriguez, Arshdeep Sandhu, Zachary Sawtelle, Sarah Scheck, Maximus Schoepfer, Chelsea Schwartz, Emily Sganga, Ryan Sierakowski, Chiara Signorelli, Stefan Sigurdsson, Sophie Simonsen, Makena Skrobar, Caitlin Slaminko, Sophia Smith, Brian Song, Christian Spallone, Alessia Standish, Miles Stoddart, Ryan Taylor, Alyssa Teutemacher, Lauren Thompson, Hannah Tomasetti, Lauren Tsai, Yash Vaidya, Timothy Vanni, Quentin Vergara, Leena Vieltojarvi, Grat Walker, Jenna Walls, Michael Wang, Ryan Warner, Luke Welsh, Aubrey White, Olivia Wieland, Stephanie Yee, Dylan Zappala, Valerie Zhang, Cornelius van Wees

Grade 12

Lazar Agoev, Dominic Ammirato, Olivia Anderson, Sterling Bachman, Evan Bayer, Lauren Bayer, William Berta, Cole Blackwell, Ryan Bogursky, Nicole Bottone, Dackerie Bowes, Quinn Brewer, Annabel Briody, Conor Broderick, Emma Brody, Patrick Browne, William Bryant, Avery Buckanavage, Liam Byrne, Weston Carpenter, Eugenia Cashman, Lauren Castle, Renee Cauchon, Andrea Chakraborty, Owen Cherner, Nicholas Clavi, Rebecca Cohen, James Crawford, Nicolas Cullinan, Anthony D’Onofrio, Sydney D’Orso, Aras Dapkus, Megan DelGiudice, Emma DiMiceli, Luke Faillaci, Ava Fazio, Allan Feygin, Ryan Francis, Emilie Frias Lizardo, Julia Garrett, Joanna Gengo, Sean Gordon, Tyler Gordon, Sophia Haber, Allison Hard, Vidur Hareesh, Gretchen Healy, Avery Hermann, Sara Hunt, Spencer Jamieson, Emiko Jay, Connor Jewell, James Kane, Kenley Kegler, Austin Kim, Katharine King, Samuel Klotz, Elisa Kovacs, Tarini Krishna, Daniel Krista-Kelsey, Julia Lawler, Jenna Leonard, Donata Libonati, Caroline Lieder, Angela Lin, Tadd Long, Anna Lourenso, Alyssa Maiolo, Samantha Margolin, Grace McInerney, Claire Middlebrook, Gabrielle Mignano, Jackson Mitchell, Thomas Mitchell, Leah Moroknek, Abigail Morris, Colin Mulhern, Hayley Murphy, Kwabina Nyamah, Rosemary O’Keefe, Caroline Patafio, Elizabeth Pnev, Alec Pool, Margaret Pratt, Grace Preston, Gabriella Puchall, Dylan Rapp, Omkar Ratnaparkhi, Matthew Restivo, Connor Riebling, Helen Riser, Caitlin Rogan, James Rudnicki, Eduardo Saad, Cameron Scott, Richard Segalman, Benjamin Seward, Brandon Shafer, William Simels, Alexia Skor, Fiona Sleigh, Cassandra Smith, Karley Smith, Evan Smolin, Hannah Snyder, Grace Sturm, Sydney Tole, Claybrook Vaughan, Matthew Vivian, Delaney Walsh, Madison Wanicka, Jonathan Welter, Gracie West, Caroline Whelan, Nidhish Yarlagadda, Rachel Zaslavsky, Daniel Zvon, Sarah de Lange, Simon van Wees

Honors

Grade 9

Joseph Addotta, James Ahern, Bradford Alexander, Joshua Barnett, Evan Bender, Marley Bender, Julia Bergmann, Katherine Bitner, Adeline Blandford, Aidan Bogursky, Miranda Bonitatebus, Julia Bragg, Hadley Brooker, Brendan Busby, Kevin Busby, Maxwell Butler, Emiliano Caballero Maldonado, Alexandra Cacciapaglia, Elizabeth Cacciapaglia, Andrew Castelluccio, Aiden Chang, Jacqueline Chelednik, Gabrielle Cioto, Ryan Colsey, Christopher D’Orso, Anya DeLucia, Carter Deane, William Despirito, Jack Dovaras, Alexis Dunn, Bianca Ennis, Lucas Ferreira, Matthew Gallagher, Grady Gernert, Emma Gibson, Aditya Gorakhiya, Christopher Hamilton, Angus Inall, Timothy Isidro, Kayla Johansen, Reed Koh, Christopher Lauretani, David Llanos, Charles Loeber, Patricia Lourenso, Henry Luft, Jared Lugones, Gianna Maisano, Alexander Mandelker, Matthew Marczak, Jacob Margolin, Nicholas Masi, Kyle McCormick, John McGoey, Declan McNamara, Benjamin Mickool, Luke Mignano, Quinton Miller, Stella Morelli, Caroline Mueller, Alyssa Napoli, James Nightingale, Avery O’Brien, Sean O’Hara, Kai O’Malley, Allison Ouellette, Summer Pascua, Camille Patry-Beran, Nicolas Pelaez, Eric Pereira, Alexandra Pnev, Phoebe Poremba, Melissa Pratt, Sarah Pratt, Ava Quane, Anna Rapaglia, Kyle Rapp, Philip Reiner, Olivia Resnick, James Riina, Ava Rodgers, Sydney Rosen, James Ross, Jack Schaefer, Charles Seter, Matthew Shepard, Kyle Showstead, Addison Siburn, Lindsay Sierakowski, Justin Silliman, Annalisa Squitieri, Ava Steneken, Aidan Stern, Mitchell Tatge, Christian Thompson, Kaden Thompson, Finn Tidbury, Ashlee Tuccio, Henri Vieltojarvi, Daniel Weiss, Mary Whelan, Luke Winkler, Tyler Zolotorofe

Grade 10

Nicholas Agliardo, Emma Alessi, Faith Arnold, Grayson Artzt, Sophie Atkins, Jillian Bailas, William Baker, Cynthia Ball, Luke Barrientos, Alyson Bell, Stephanie Bishop, Jack Bohrer, Kian Broderick, Mitchell Brown, Connor Bruce, Christian Calabro, Liam Carcich, Spencer Carlson, Alyssa Carvo, Bryan Carvo, Harrison Cluney, Aaron Cohen, Christina Colin, Tristen Connelly, Kirsten Contreras, Ryan Contreras, Gianni Coraci, Emma Courtney, Katelyn Cox, Connor Craigen, Alexander D’Entrone, Eliza Dai, Alexander Dankowski, Kyra Davis, Allegra Devoe, Brendan DiMiceli, Finn Dinkel, Liam Dinnan, Leah Dodd, Daniel Donovan, Steven Eiben, Natalie Esikumo, Alexander Failla, Cameron Farrow, Andrew Filippelli, Matthew Flavin, Kathryn Fleming, Michela Flood, Nya Fozouni, Graham Furey, Sarah Gagliardi, Samuel Gardos, Deana Garst, Sofia Gasparo, Sophia Giordano, Ludwin Godoy, Madison Gotti, Katherine Gray, Gabriel Guter, Hannah Hackett, Connor Hall, Ethan Hall, Abigail Hawkins, Tristan Ho, Logan Holder, Ilka Huseinovic, Phoebe Inall, Erik Janzon, Ella Kagan, Maxwell Kaye, Eli Keeler, Julia Knick, Jaime Kunzmann, Sophia LaManna, Steffan Labuschagne, Logan Lachemann, Christopher Lang, Christopher Lanzarone, Caroline Lasberg, Kayla Lavatori, Luke Lescinskas, Timothy Llewellyn, Isabelle Lubguban, Catherine Maguire, Samuel Marcus, Amit Markos, Samuel Martin, Holly Mauro, Harry Mayson, Kara Meenan, Antonia Mercurio, Ethan Mills, Luke Nelson, Georgia Novik, Cate Ousey, Julia Palmiotto, Jamie Pan, Sophie Parks, Anne Pfohl, Rachel Pool, Olivia Raissis, Sydney Reardon, Mills Rosenblatt, Alexander Scavone, Casey Schmer, Ryan Shirvell, Iryna Simpson, Jackson Trotter, Xander Van Den Nieuwenhuizen, Mitchell Velasco, Emily Vides, Daniella Vucci, Alastair Ward, Alexandra Westrick, Brendan Williams, Jack Williams, Tess Williams, Matthew Yodice, Kate Zangre, Hannah Zipkin, Benjamin Zou, Michael Zvon, Kaitlin van der Noll

Grade 11

Luela Alexander, Callie Amill, Charlotte Anglade, Emma Armstrong, Marc Aussavis, Ian Austin, Dennis Behunick, Lindsay Bertolino, Alexander Bissing, Maxwell Bornstein, Philip Bouchev, Hannah Boylan, Benjamin Brewster, John Briody, Warren Brooks, Addison Brown, Lillian Brown, David Bryce, Alison Campbell-Gibson, Lauren Caramadre, William Carbonari, Pablo Carmona, Emily Carr-Lonoff, Isabella Carrozza, Juliette Castagna, Olin Clancy, Christopher Clark, Kate Collins, Marie Condron, Annie Cozens, Stephanie D’Orso, Ramiro Davila Salgado, Jianni De La Cruz, Matthew DeLuca, Trevor DeMarco, Philip DeRaffele, Raymond Dearth, Madelyn Dec, David Deem, Griffin Dempster, Maximo DiMarzo, Nicholas Dillon, Jack Dowd, Dennis Dowding, Rory Dulecki, Madeline Edgerly, Zella Ertl, Michael Ferrandino, Philip Ferreira, Michaela Fitzgerald, Dylan Flood, Audrey Forster, Dustin Fox, Daniel Furneri, Victoria Gibian, Tyler Gillman, Isabella Giordano, Sabrina Grizzaffi, Colin Hartmayer, James Hourihan, Alexandra Imbrogno, Catherine Irving, Sarah Isaac, Elizabeth Jasminski, Ishaan Kalani, Gunnar Karlson, Graciela Kennally-Presslaff, Cassidy Kepcher, Emma Kiernan, Emma Klotz, Julia Kocsis, Aakanksha Koppisetti, Ana Kowalczyk, Colin LaCoille, Katherine Langis, Daniel Laudati, Juliana Lepanto, Kyra Linekin, Owen Luft, Lorence Lukanyuk, Charles MacArthur, Christopher Macchia, Ryan Maguire, Alexandra Man, Nina Masi, John Mathes, Arnav Mathur, Hallan Maxwel, Conor McCann, Cameron McClellan, Kiera McCrohan, Samuel McDonough, Luke McGarrity, Kiley McNamara, Elizabeth Moore, Paola Morgan, Siobhan Morris, Ryan O’Sullivan, Eliza Overlock, Catherine Petersen, Tess Pisanelli, Brooke Pougnet, Ryan Pratt, Seth Prusko, Holden Quane, Emma Ratnavel, Deziree Rendon, George Rioseco, Mia Rizzo, Raquel Robinson, Hailey Robson, Diego Rodriguez, Lauren Rose, James Rush, Clodagh Ryan, Gabriel Saad, Ben Sakdinan, Olivia Seal, Phoebe Seidenberg, Timothy Sganga, William Sibley, Jemma Silvestri, Tyra Small, Liam Smith, Matthew Sorgie, Clinton Stafford, Joseph Suozzi, Colin Tarpey, Delaney Towers, Isabel Trinkaus, Isabelle Trozzi, Logan Tunnard, Harini Vel, Kate Wagner, Kiley Walsh, Brennan Ward, Lily Warren, Mya Watson, Devin Watts, Abigail Winkler, Martin Wirth

Grade 12

Christopher Albin, Suhyun An, Sophie Banette, Haley Barkan, Jessica Bell, Francesca Bermudez, Rachel Bodner, Taylor Brown, Jenna Budicini, Megan Burke, Joshua Burns, Robert Buthorn, William Butler, Danielle Butz, Evan Canavan, Hannah Carr-Lonoff, Allison Catizone, Sarah Chupka, Lucy Collins, Alexandra Colonna, Matthew Colucci, Catherine Conroy, Andrew Conte, Stephanie Coraci, Jack Costello, Julia Culhane, Carrina Dabroi, Lucas Dalton, Dylan Davis, Kevin Davis, Elizabeth DeMassa, Maia Debarbieri, Sarah DiMiceli, Anna Doman, Elaine Doman, Grace Egan, Molly Egan, Theresa Eland, Ian Ferguson, Mackenzie Fowler, Emily Furfaro, Ryan Garson, Nicholas Gasparo, Sebastian Gasparo, Madeline Gellatly, Noah Gels, Thomas Gioffre, Brendan Gleeson, Arden Grant, Sierra Gundersen, Mia Gurrieri, Mark Habeeb, Jenna Harford, Alexandra Hart, August Heminway, Anna Hirsch, Caroline Holloway, William Hongach, Devin Hornig, Caitlin Inall, Emma Jelkovac, Annabelle Jones, Bridget Kager, Christina Kinsbourne, Campbell Kinsman, Anthony Krista-Kelsey, Anna Kuhn, Riley Kunzmann, Matthew Lavorgna, Cassandra Lebl, Samantha Lehaney, Jasmine Lilly, Rachel Lynch, Lauren Maiolo, Sean McCormick, Braeden McSpedon, Shane Meyer, Logan Milot, Kurt Monahan, Andrea Murphy, Marina Murphy, Brenden Nieto, Mario O’Brien, Elizabeth O’Connor, Jillian O’Keefe, Sarah Odeen, Emily Paribello, Daniel Parson, Joseph Pastore, Christian Pennino, Ward Perrott, Madison Peters, Dane Phippen, Christopher Piniella, Charles Poremba, Anna Price, Kiili Quick, Paige Raymond, Benjamin Riek, Pierce Savino, Aidan Schwartz, James Sharp, Ryan Sheafe, Hunter Sims, Caroline Smith, Anna Sorgie, James St. Pierre, Austin Stietzel, Jackson Tatge, Maeve Tobin, Danielle Trant, Miles Tullo, Matthew Walker, Ben Warner, Shannon Watters, Evan Wein, Jayden Weiskopf, Ashley Welter, Arielle Wiener, Spencer Williams, Grant Yaun, Nicholas Yulo

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On April 10, 22 Ridgefield High School (RHS) students visited the offices of Merkle Group, a global marketing agency that specializes in digital data driven technology. It was an exciting opportunity for the students to see first-hand how a marketing agency provides creative solutions to their clients.

“We think it is very important for students to see how people are working in real-world business situations,” said RHS Business teacher Keith Brown. “Merkle Group very generously invited our students to come in and share with them how their company develops digital advertising campaigns for clients. It really gave the students an experience of what it would be like to work in a digital agency.”

This year, the RHS business department organized a series of field trips for business students including a visit to MetLife Stadium and The New York Jets organization, Junior Achievement Stock Market Challenge in Stamford, DECA (Career Development Conference) and FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) state competitions and a trip to Dutchess County Courthouse in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to experience real life trial and interviews with many legal professionals.

For more information about Business classes at Ridgefield High School, please contact Jesse Peterkin at Jpeterkin@ridgefieldhs.net

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Realtors, Boys Scouts, town officials — Rid Litter Days drew plenty of support around Ridgefield this past weekend.

Ridgefield Board of Realtors did their part to help keep our town beautiful,” reported Laura Rubinfled. “Thanks to our volunteers who cleaned up Main Street on Saturday morning: Annmarie Del Franco, Debi Orr, Colette Kabasakalian, Pei-Chi Lin. John Nigro, Art Meyer, Maureen Culhane,Jefferson Guthrie,  Affiliate Partner Kelly Molloy, Mary Pat Sexton, Past President and Toni Riordan, 2019 RBOR President.”

The realtors weren’t alone.

Boy Scouts from Troops 19, 76 and 116 were joined by First Selectmen Rudy Marconi and Ridgefield Parks and Recreation member Joe Barczak Saturday morning.

Trash was cleaned up on Main Street and other major town roads, like Farmingville Road.

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A Keeler Close man was arrested on two counts of criminal mischief in the second degree and disorderly conduct for throwing rocks at moving car on Main Street in Ridgefield at 9:35 p.m. Wednesday, April 24.

Ridgefield police said Michael Detlor, 27, was found on Main Street after several 911 calls were made about rocks being thrown at cars.

According to a report, Detlor was processed at police headquarters and released with a promise to appear in court on May 9.

Two days prior to his arrest in Ridgefield, Detlor was arrested after causing a commotion at a New Fairfield residence. 

New Fairfield police arrested Detlor a little before 5 p.m. on April 22 responding to a call about a man “causing a disturbance and damaging property” at a Lloyd Avenue home in town.

Detlor was charged with third-degree criminal mischief, interfering with an officer and second-degree breach of peace.

He was processed and released on $2,000 bond, and is scheduled to appear at Danbury Superior Court on May 1.

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Cleanup plans for the former Venus Oil property along the Norwalk River have gotten tentative approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission and Inland Wetlands Board.

“Our concern here is the river,” Chairwoman Rebecca Mucchetti said at the April 23 public hearing on the plans. “Right now, everything that floods across this site floods into the river.”

The two agencies voted to have their staff draft formal resolutions — which will be brought back for review and final votes on May 14 — granting the estate of Michael Venus a summary ruling from the wetlands board and a site plan approval to restore areas in the floodplain disturbed without permits on the Venus property at 865 Ethan Allen Highway and at the neighboring 901 Ethan Allen Highway property.

A special permit approval for continued operation of a contractors yard at 865 Ethan Allen Highway was also tentatively approved, with a resolution needing a final vote from the Planning and Zoning Commission due back on May 14.

The late Michael Venus, proprietor of the long inactive Venus Oil company, served on the Board of Selectmen, the Police Commission and the Parks and Recreation Commission. He died in July 2018.

His estate now owns the 1.6 acre former Venus Oil property at 865 Ethan Allen Highway — just east of the Norwalk River, behind the Ace Tire shop off Route 7. The site is now used by a various tenants as a contractors yard.

The owners of the adjacent 901 Ethan Allen Highway property had agreed to the cleanup plans — the disturbed area encroaches onto their property — but did not back continuation of the contractors yard.

There was no public comment at the hearing.

Town lawsuit

There is a long public record on the site. Venus Oil went out of business in the 1990s, and town land use authorities have been pursuing concerns about the property for five years.

In 2014, Planning and Zoning Director Richard Baldelli told the hearing on April 23 that he and former Town Planner Betty Brosius had been called to the site, along with the town fire marshal and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) emergency response team. Earth work was being done at the time.

“The odor of oil that permeated the air was so strong one of the neighboring businesses called the fire department and the fire department called DEEP,” Baldelli said.

A cease and desist order had been issued with five violations, he said.

The town and the Venus estate are due to face off in court over matter in June. Attorney Peter Olson, representing the Venus estate, told the April 23 hearing that one of his goals was to get the situation straightened out before the scheduled court appearance — without admitting to any violations.

Any more ambitious development plans would be something for the future.

“Right now, we’re trying to preserve the status quo and get out from under this litigation,” Olson said.

Contractors yard

The special permit approval being sought would legalize and enforce some order on the continued operation of a contractors yard on the site, where there’s a garage type building with four bays, a large long unused oil tank and apparatus for filing trucks with oil, and a “hodgepodge” of trailers, containers and parked vehicles. Tenants there include a heating and plumbing contractor, an auto upholstery business, and several landscapers.

“There are trailers, containers and sheds — I think six, including the shed,” Olson said.

The cleanup plans that won tentative approval include removal of asphalt millings, landscape elements, other fill, and some of the various stored items and storage containers.

Some trailers “will be removed from the site,” he said, but three trailers that are occupied by tenants would remain in use, under the plan.

The property is crossed by a zone line so that part of it is in a two-acre residential zone and part of it is in a B-2 commercial zone. Part of the plan is to “take all the uses associated with the contractors yard and relocate them” to portions of the property that are in the commercial zone.

After cleanup, areas along the Norwalk River would be seeded with a “conservation mix,” access would be limited, and the river would be protected from erosion and sedimentation.

A requirement would be that the work couldn’t reduce the flood storage capacity of the site.

Oil tank

The 45-foot tall heating oil tank on the property is from the Venus Oil business, which ceased operations in the 1990s.

Olson told the hearing that Michael Venus had said he didn’t believe the area around the tank would need environmental remediation.

“He told me the soil was tested and is clean, and that the tank was empty,” Olson said.

Venus dropped plans to remove the tank after the price for recycled metal fell. “It was going to cost him $30,000 rather than earn him $40,000,” Olson said.

Planning Director Baldelli said tank removal would have to be approval by federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers.

“The EPA, through the Army Corps, told us if the tank is removed, they would be the ones,” Baldelli said. “…The EPA, through the Army Corps, is the responsible party for tanks of that size.”

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Five houses and one townhouse worth a total of $4,482,000 changed hands in deeds filed with Town Clerk Wendy Lionetti from April 17 to April 23, with $11,205 collected in conveyance taxes. Ridgefield property transfers include:

30 Woodchuck Lane: Estate of Adele Handlers of Layfayette, Calif. to Jason Kenney of Stamford, April 17, $550,000.

145 South Salem Road: HHC Holdings LLC of Naples, Fla. to Katherine Castano and Elizabeth Barrett of Armand Road, April 18, $1,350,000.

31 Catoonah Street, Unit C: Russell Sturges of New York, N.Y., to Trust of Richard Conway, April 22, $577,000.

5 Mountain View Avenue: Jonathan Coulombe to Kenneth and Leigh Anne Turner of Wyoming, Ohio, April 23, $700,000.

19 Schoolhouse Place: Trust of Matthew Price to Leonard and Kathleen Gallo of Stamford, April 23, $950,000.

548 Branchville Road: Dave Wilhelm to Natalie Rickman of Abbot Avenue, April 23, $355,000.

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In honor of National Day of Prayer, Ridgefield resident, Priscilla Black, will set up Prayer Stations in downtown Ridgefield’s Ballard Park at the gardens on Thursday, May 2, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event is sponsored by the MidDay Community Bible Study Group of Ridgefield.

Prayer Stations will cover prayer points such as praying for unity in America, as well as for family, government, education, church, military, community, business, media, recent tragic events, and A.S.A.P. (Always Say A Prayer). Visitors may visit the stations in quiet, contemplative, personal prayer.

“It turns out to be quite an experience of praying prayers of intercession for each area,” said Black.“I find myself quite emotional as I pray through the stations.”

For more information about the prayer event and the MidDay Community Bible Study which meets on Thursdays, contact Priscilla Black at 203-431-9768 or pblack35@comcast.net.

For more information on National Day of Prayer, visit nationaldayofprayer.org.

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In an effort to address an emergency shortage of blood at the NY Blood Center, Scotland Elementary School will host a second blood drive this year on Wednesday, May 8, from 4-8:30 p.m., at the school, 111 Barlow Mountain Rd., Ridgefield.

Scotland’s fifth graders will provide entertainment, and snacks and drinks will be provided.

Donors need to be age 17 (with permission from a parent), or older to donate, and and ID is required.

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Swings, tag, foot races, science lessons, trucks in the sand and long conversations about dinosaurs are part of a day’s fun and learning as the RCK Preschool — or the Ridgefield Community Kindergarten, as it’s still widely known, reflecting the historic name of its founding. The town’s oldest private nonprofit preschool is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

“Oh-oh, it’s another dinosaur,” Lucas Rice warned Ryder Hutchings as they played with hand-size versions of the reptilian monsters.

Lisa Byers, director of the preschool, looked on as the dinosaurs did battle in RCK’s outdoor play area Monday, April 22.

“Our goal is just to create an atmosphere conducive to learning, where the kids feel safe and happy,” she said.

Located in the Lounsbury House on Main Street, the RCK Preschool has taught young kids there since 1959. But the preschool traces its roots to the Ridgefield Community Kindergarten founded in 1927 by the Ridgefield Garden Club. That original Ridgefied Community Kindergarten was absorbed by the town Board of Education, which ran it for over three decades until pressure from the school population boom forced money and classroom space to be focused on the primary grades.

Then, RCK opened in 1959 when four community-minded educators organized a group of citizens to continue offering a nonprofit preschool. Today, the school serves children ages two through five, seeking to provide what its educators describe as “a warm and loving environment where children feel safe and happy as they learn and grow.”

Science fun

Monday morning, after outdoor play, the kids assembled into a couple of groups for science fun, and crafty arts. Later, they’d get some early literacy and building blocks of math. But the academics aren’t heavy-handed.

“We do a lot of art, a lot of science, literacy, math. dramatic play — which is all the dress-up clothes,” said Byers. The kids also have “sensory” and “library” time. “Those core fields are part of every day,” she said.

There are also periodic visits from music teacher Elly Pesce and creative movement teacher Carrie Pin.

The “sensory” activities involve “anything, ice, water, rice, shaving cream,” Byers said.

“The whole point of that is to stimulate the senses,” she said. “…We put things in there they can see, feel, touch, hear.”

There’s a focus on fun as Lisa DelGuidice oversees a table full of kids in exploring the strange consistency of something she calls “ooblech” — a substance created to ooze and drip.

What’s going on?

“Playing with science,” said James Korner.

“Ichy,” said Alex Bookis.

“It’s like a solid and a liquid,” said DelGuidice, who makes it for the kids. “It’s just cornstarch and water.”

“Everything in preschool is very sensory. They want to touch and smell and taste, “ she added.

“What makes this so great,” she said of the cornstarch mixture, “it’s safe for them.”

Literacy

Preschool is about learning to play together and socialize, but it also seeks to build toward literacy.

“By the time they’re in the fours, they’re learning the basic sight words — ‘is,’ ‘the,’ those small two- and three-letter words — and beginning to string words together to make sentences.,” Byers said.

A nearby blackboard showed three sentences, all similar but for a different last word — followed by a picture: “Here is a sun. Here is a cloud. Here is a snowflake.”

Some lessons aren’t academic at all.

“I still see the play-dough out on the table,” teacher Karon Doerr told a group of three-year-olds who’d begun to disperse to other interests. “Everybody helps.”

The kindergarten outlines three principal objectives for students:

“To provide opportunities for interaction with peers in a setting conducive to developing positive social relationships;”

“To provide developmentally appropriate experiences to meet the needs of the child.”

“To provide opportunities for meaningful play, based on the child’s individual needs, interests and abilities, which will build important foundations for future growth.”

In addition to Byers, the director, the RCK staff consists of six teachers. Melinda Kovack and Anna Delfino have 14 four-year-olds; Lisa Kelley and Karon Doerr have 14 three-year-olds; Lisa DelGiudice and Lisa DiCamillo have eight two-year-olds.

The two-year-olds come to school Tuesday and Thursday. The three-years-old go four days — Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. And the four-year-old have a full week, Monday through Friday.

Classes are in the morning, from 9 to 12, with options for extended day classes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

The RCK Preschool is planning a 60th anniversary gala fund-raiser on May 11 at the Lounsbury House, and is inviting Ridgefield’s adults to join in the celebration and the fun.

“All proceeds from the 60th Anniversary Gala Casino Night will go toward continuing our proud tradition of bringing quality preschool education to Ridgefield’s children,” RCK said in a release.

RCK is also welcomes donations aimed at extending its 60-year tradition of nonprofit preschool.

“We’re this well-hidden secret,” said Byers. “People don’t know we’re here. Because the building’s a historic landmark we’re not allowed to put any signage on the street.”

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Woodcock Nature Center invites the community to join local chef and author Cristina Lombardozzi and Ridgefield farmer Pete Campbell for an afternoon of food and discussion about the health benefits of eating locally sourced, sustainable foods that also “nourish the soul.” The event is Sunday, May 5, at 3 p.m., at the Pavilion at Woodcock, 56 Deer Run Road.

Attendees will enjoy samples from recipes in Lombardozzi’s new cookbook, “Nourished. From Field to Fork.” It is inspired by visits to Woodcock board member Pete Campbell’s Horseshoe Farm and includes photographs by Lombardozzi’s daughter, Kate. Using Campbell’s fresh produce, the book showcases recipes that align with the low-allergen, low-inflammation eating style Lombardozzi recommends to her clients.

Participants will learn more about her approach to eating and wellness developed from her experience as a certified nutritional coach, an AFAA-certified personal trainer, and spinning and TRX training instructor. Guests will also sip Campbell’s “famous” margarita while hearing about his commitment to sustainable agriculture and re-connecting with nature before heading home with a special gift.

Tickets are $75 and include food and drink. “Nourished. From Field to Fork” will be available for purchase for an additional $35. Proceeds benefit Woodcock Nature Center’s community programs.

To purchase tickets, visit woodcocknaturecenter.org/nourished.

For more on Cristina Lombardozzi and “Nourished. From Field to Fork” visit nourishtrainthrive.com.

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