School Board Recognizes Top Students, Retiring Teachers

By Eliza Hallabeck

After recognizing students who earned placement in the academic top five percent of the graduating Class of 2012 before the Board of Education on Tuesday, June 5, Newtown High School Principal Charles Dumais announced Ajit Singh and Erin Begg as this year’s valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively.

“Although Newtown High School has gotten rid of class rank, we reserve two and that is the valedictorian and the salutatorian of the class,” said Mr Dumais, who stood in the middle of Ajit, Erin, and the students’ parents. “So, I am proud to present Newtown High School’s Class of 2012 salutatorian and the valedictorian of the Class of 2012.”

Before Ajit and Erin were announced as the valedictorian and the salutatorian, each of the students who placed in the top five percent of the class was named and, if present, asked to stand before the board and members of the public. BOE Chair Debbie Leidlein, Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson, and Mr Dumais also shook hands with each student, congratulating them for their achievement.

Other students named in the top five percent of this year’s graduating class were Robert Beier, Meaghan Davis, Abbey Doski, Hunter French, Jessica Haitz, Lauren Harrison, Linda He, Mikaela Kemsley, Jessica Lajoie, Marina Lleonart Calvo, Jessica Lynch, Hannah Maret, Donald Morrissey, Justina Paproski, Maximilian Schmitt, Luke Shearin, Amanda Stanton, and Joanna Wollman.

Dr Robinson also acknowledged two students who were selected by the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) to receive the association’s Student Leadership Award. One female and one male student from each of CABE’s districts are recognized annually. Hannah Maret and Luke Shearin earned the award this year.

Retiring Teachers

“It is very fitting,” Dr Robinson continued after recognizing Hannah and Luke, “that the night that we get to recognize our outstanding graduates is also the night that we are going to recognize retirees who have helped make your education so successful.”

Both Newtown Middle School French teacher Nancy Maxwell and NMS math teacher Linda Dale Mulholland were asked to come before the board to be recognized for their years in the school district. Ms Maxwell has been a French teacher for 17 years, according to Dr Robinson, and Ms Mulholland has been a math teacher for the last 20 years.

Dr Robinson said Hawley’s math/science specialist Debbie Cowden, who has taught in Newtown for 19 years; Sandy Hook School physical education teacher Jan Huot, who has taught in Newtown for 15 years; and Reed Intermediate School’s library/media specialist Virginia Snowden, who has taught at the school for the last eight years, are also retiring but could not make it to the Board of Education’s meeting Tuesday night.

Dr Robinson presented both Ms Mulholland and Ms Maxwell a gift and thanked them for their time in Newtown.

 Video from the meeting is available with this story at www.newtownbee.com.