Newtown High School Athletic Director Matt Memoli delivered a presentation on the high school’s winter sports performance to the Board of Education during its Tuesday, April 1, meeting.

He was joined by high school athletic staff, along with student athletes from the school’s various high school sports teams.

Memoli said that their numbers as an athletic department continue to grow. Usually, he said they have a little over 300 student athletes, but this winter they reached 357 student athletes.

“So if you look at the entire student body, which I believe is between 1,200 and 1,300, to have over 350 of them participating in sports in the winter ... I think it’s an amazing thing for all of our student athletes,” Memoli said.

As far as winter championships, Memoli said that they had a “really great winter” with some of their teams. The NHS cheerleading team started off by winning the South-West Conference (SWC), then won the Class L CIAC State Championship, and then just recently competed in Massachusetts where they were crowned New England Champions.

The high school’s dance team became State Champions in the Jazz division, girls track and field became SWC Champions for the second year in a row, and the wrestling team was crowned SWC Champions and runners up for State and New England.

Memoli also highlighted the NHS athletic teams’ community service and how they’ve participated in numerous team fundraising nights. Each team has done their own acts of community service this past winter, such as the girls basketball team painting hearts for Hearts of Hope, boys basketball volunteering at the turkey toss free throw competition, and the dance team volunteering at the festival of trees and adopting a family through The Newtown Fund.

As an athletic director, Memoli said that he does not force or make people do anything, but the teams are fully involved in the community every year.

“I think that’s something really special that we’ve had for years, and we really take pride in giving back to the place that we live,” Memoli said.

He also highlighted all of the coaches at NHS, whether they are new or have been there for years.

“It’s a tough climate in high school athletics, but I think here, we’re really lucky to have such genuine people that have been involved for so long,” Memoli said.

He went on to recognize several NHS student athletes who have committed to move on and play their respective sport “at the next level.” Memoli said that the school will hold a full ceremony later in the school year, usually in May, to honor these students.

“This is another testament to the entire culture at Newtown High School, all the teachers, all the staff ... All the coaches and the time they put in to get their kids to play at the next level,” Memoli said.

As for Unified Sports, Memoli said it’s amazing that they’ve been able to do “so many things in such little time.” The unified team hosted a Newtown Youth Academy tournament with over 200 students participating, attended Unified Sports Prom with neighboring school districts for a fun night of dancing, and were even invited to play a game at halftime at the CIAC Championships at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The team also participated in the Special Olympics Polar Plunge this past weekend, raising $2,500 for Special Olympics and the Unified Nighthawks team.

Memoli also highlighted events and endeavors they’re working on in the spring, including the Nighthawks Week of Giving; an Athletic Department food drive where every sports team will work together to solicit donations for FAITH Food Pantry.

“I think [donating to food pantries is] something that gets forgotten about after Christmas, so this is something our spring teams are going to do ... one week, every single game to try to do our part and try to help the community,” Memoli said.

Afterwards, Memoli called on the student athletes in attendance to share a quick synopsis, as well as photos or videos, of their respective seasons.

As for other reports, Superintendent of Schools Anne Uberti shared that the Education budget continues to work its way through the fiscal process and that it’s now under review by the Legislative Council. She added that they’ve had tremendous turnout both in person and through email by the local parent community, and thanked them for their engagement and encouraged them to stay engaged for the upcoming Referendum vote on April 22.

Uberti also shared efforts to “cool their schools” in preparation for hotter temperatures later in the school year. Portable air conditioning units will be installed in the remaining classrooms at Middle Gate Elementary School over April break in case of a hot spell once students return to school.

She noted that electrical work is underway at Newtown Middle School, and is pressing to have a report at the next BOE CIP/Facilities/Finance (CFF) Subcommittee meeting regarding the feasibility of portable units in some, if not all, classroom spaces.

“Even though we know that we can’t reallocate or repurpose the funds bonding for that project, we’re still moving forward to see what the feasibility would be of providing some relief, even if it’s in the hottest areas of the building,” Uberti explained.

She also said they’ll begin monitoring Hawley Elementary School’s HVAC, which experienced issues with cooling during the warmer days of last spring. While Uberti said there were a lot of adjustments made to the system, she added that they weren’t fully able to realize whether they made a difference.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.