Even though this school year is rapidly approaching the finish line, Joan Crick still has her school days in mind. If you are a long-lost member of the Hawley High School, your schoolmate, Joan, is coordinating a reunion for all Hawley High School students and graduates. A gathering is planned for Saturday, May 21, beginning at 5 pm, at The Stony Hill Inn in Bethel. The theme for the event is “Reunion/Senior Prom Night,” and the evening will feature dinner and dancing. “Glitz,” according to a note Joan showed me this week, is optional. Cost is $60 and she would like to hear from her former classmates by April 23. For more information, contact Joan at 203-426-9497. Checks should be made payable to The Gathering, and they can be mailed to Joan G. Crick, 7 Glover Avenue, Newtown CT 06470.

“I scream, you scream! We all scream for ice cream” — bowls, that is. Maplewood at Newtown hosted a fun family oriented “Spring Fest” at its Mt Pleasant Road facility this past Saturday, to benefit Kevin’s Community Center, and one of the activities was a make-your-own ice cream sundae station. Connecticut Clay Artists created well over 100 handcrafted bowls for purchase at the event — perfect for those ice cream treats — and donated all of the proceeds to KCC. Clay Artist member Karen Pinto has let me know that there are still some ceramic bowls for sale. If you weren’t able to make it to the Spring Fest, but want to support KCC by the purchase of a bowl, contact Karen at 203-426-8084.

Have you ever wondered how people get to lead the singing of the national anthem at baseball games? The Bridgeport Bluefish has teamed up with Creative Music Center in Monroe to find at least two of its game opening performers for the new season. CMC will be holding two open audition calls for musicians (vocalists and/or instrumentalists) who would like a chance to perform the national anthem at either the May 4 or May 5 Bridgeport Bluefish Game. Auditions are scheduled for April 12, 14, and 15, from 3 to 6 pm each day, and appointments are necessary. Appointments are also filling up fast, I’m told. I double checked this week, too, and was told that those auditioning do not need to be students of the music center to take this chance. So if you’re interested call the store at 203-261-7301 or visit www.TheCreativeMusicCenter.com for further information, dates, and times. Those chosen to perform either as soloists or as a group will receive five free tickets for friends and family to attend the game.

I know the first robin of spring is exciting, but when Deb and Tim Sullivan, and daughters Lianna, Kaila, and Mia, opened their front door this past Tuesday morning, they found many reasons to smile. Their front yard was covered with colorful paper birds and a sign that informed them “You’ve been flocked!”

 The “flock” is from a Newtown Odyssey of the Mind group, a competition team that takes on the challenge to think, create, and solve problems (see related story in this week’s paper), a letter tucked into their door told the Sullivans. The “flocking” team is hosted by the Sullivans’ neighbors, the Grays, and Charlotte, Owen, and Lincoln Gray are part of it. The flock is their “thinking outside the box” way to raise funds for travel to the Odyssey World Finals in Maryland, next month. Seems like a “tweet” idea, to me.

Speaking of flocking, children ages 3-8 are invited to do just that this Saturday morning when Parks & Rec hosts its annual Spring Egg Hunt at Dickinson Park. Grab your best Easter basket, or even a bag, and head to the pavilion of the Elm Drive park. The fun starts at 10 am and will wrap up by 11:30. There will be special prize eggs hidden throughout the park (parents should be cautioned: some of the toys will not be appropriate for children under age 3). Rain date will be April 16 if needed.

Meanwhile, bring a shovel, a bag, or a barrel, and a clothespin for your nose: The  Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard is inviting residents to take away aged horse manure from their manure pile to use as compost in your garden. On Saturdays, April 9, 16, 23, and 30, from 9 am to noon, the Horse Guard at 4 Wildlife Drive, across from Reed Intermediate School, will be open for manure pick up. Signs will be posted at Trades Lane off of Wasserman Way, with directions to the manure piles, and Horse Guard volunteers will be on hand to help. The manure is free, but a goodwill offering to support the Friends of the  Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard is appreciated.

The local food pantries continue to have record numbers visiting. Our neighbors’ needs are a year around thing, so here’s a chance to help out: The Newtown Woman’s Club GFWC, Inc, will conduct its 5th Annual Federation for Food Drive, Saturday, April 16. Members of the club will be outside Stop & Shop (in Sand Hill Plaza, 228 South Main Street), from 9 am to 3 pm, and will accept food and monetary donations during those six hours. The collection will then be divided evenly between the Salvation Army Food Cupboard at Newtown Social Services and FAITH Food Pantry at St John’s Episcopal Church. Both locations are open to Newtown residents, regardless of age or religious affiliation.

The Bald Eagle was considered extirpated from the state of Connecticut by the mid-1950s. As breeding populations in eastern Canada and northern Maine began to recover in the late 1970s, migrant Bald Eagles began to appear in Connecticut during the winter months on open rivers and at hydroelectric dams. In 1992 Connecticut had its first nesting pair of Bald Eagles since the early 1950s. The public is invited to join raptor researcher (and Newtown resident) Larry Fischer as he recounts this remarkable comeback with slides and anecdotes, starting from the earliest winter residents to Connecticut’s first nest and the present population of nesting Bald Eagles, on Thursday, April 14, at New Pond Farm Environmental Education Center in Redding. Larry’s photography collection reportedly includes photos taken after he scaled some of our state’s tallest trees to come face to face with eaglets in their aeries. Cost is $12 per person. Additional information and reservation can be made by calling 203-938-2117 or sending email to kristen@newpondfarm.org.

Carlos Barquero of Costa Rica sent us a quick note last week. Carlos was an exchange student living with the Allan Cragin family back in 1967, and he graduated from Newtown High School. “I have strong emotional ties to Newtown,” says Carlos, who is now the dean of the Business School at the Universidad Latina de Costa Rica. His American “brother,” Kevin Cragin, and Carlos remain in touch. As a matter of fact, the Cragin family attended Carlos’s eldest daughter’s wedding last month in Costa Rica. “I read your paper on the Internet frequently,” says Carlos, and that is the reason he was compelled to get reach out to the Newtown community once again, and say Hello.

As for myself, I’ll be reaching out around town all week for more of my newsy news. Be sure to… Read me again.