Monthly Archives: April 2020

Lyme-Old Lyme High School Ranked 17th in Connecticut in US News & World Report’s ‘2020 Best High Schools’ 

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Lyme-Old Lyme High School has just been named the 17th Best High School in Connecticut by US News & World Report.

LYME & OLD LYME — Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) was named the 17th best public high school in Connecticut by US News & World Report in their listing of 2020 Best High Schools published April 21, 2020. It was the only non-magnet high school to be included in the Top 20 in either New London or Middlesex County.

Anita Narayan, managing editor of Education at U.S. News, said in a press release, “The Best High Schools rankings provide the most comprehensive, data-based information on nearly every public high school in the country,” noting that the report compared data from 17,700 high schools,  “evaluating how well they serve all of their students, regardless of economic or ethnic background.” Lyme-Old Lyme High School ranked nationally at #754.

Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser commented, “It is extremely rewarding to see Lyme-Old Lyme High School ranked so high compared to other schools across the state, and especially in the local region. It validates the extraordinarily high quality of teaching that our students receive and the positive, holistic experience they gain at our schools.”

Lyme-Old Lyme High School graduates regularly go on to attend some of the top schools and colleges in the country. Photo by Kim Tyler.

Neviaser added, “Year after year, LOLHS graduates are accepted into a wide range of diverse and highly selective schools across the US and in some cases, internationally. The Lyme-Old Lyme School system has become a pipeline to the Ivy League schools and the “Little-Ivies” in addition to such schools as Duke, MIT and Stanford.”

Facilities at the high school are exceptional with state-of-the-art technology implemented throughout the building thanks to a $49 million renovation project completed in 2014.  The math, science, language, and technology and engineering areas along with the art, music, drama and athletic facilities are now of a quality and sophistication that resembles a college environment, rather than a high school.

Chinese is a popular elective class at Lyme-Old Lyme High School.

Current enrollment at LOLHS is 481 students across Grades 9 through 12 and the average class size is between 15 and 18.  The school offers a full spectrum of core subjects taught in-house, including 17 Advanced Placement subjects, and also an extensive range of online classes taken through the Virtual High School program.  Students also have the option to pursue the acclaimed Techno-Ticks robotics program along with more than 35 other extra-curricular clubs including High School Bowl, Mock Trial, and Key Club.

The Wildcat teams of Lyme-Old Lyme High School consistently bring home numerous sports awards. This photo was taken after both teams had won their respective Shoreline Soccer Conferences in 2018.

Lyme-Old Lyme High School enjoys exceptionally strong music, drama and art programs, which have been recognized with numerous awards both at the state level and nationally. The school’s athletic program has similarly received innumerable honors over the years and is proud to have several past, present and future Olympians among its alumni.

Lyme-Old Lyme Schools accept students who reside outside Lyme or Old Lyme on a tuition basis.

For further information on Lyme-Old Lyme Schools, visit Region18.org or call Superintendent Ian Neviaser at 860-434-7238.

 

Lyme Board of Finance Hosts Virtual Public Hearing on Proposed 2020-21 Town Budget Tonight; Call for Access Info to Meeting by 4pm

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Lyme Board of Finance Chairman Dan Hagan.

LYME  — The Lyme Board of Finance will host a Public Hearing on their proposed 2020-21 budget Tuesday, April 28, at 6:30 p.m. View the agenda at this link.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the hearing will take place virtually since the Governor’s Executive Order 7B temporarily suspends the In-Person requirement for municipal public meetings.

To obtain access to the Lyme Public Hearing, contact Jennifer Thomas at jen@townlyme.org no later than 4 p.m. on the day of the meeting.

To further enhance public input, the Lyme Board of Finance has established an email address at lymebudgetcomments@gmail.com, so you can send in questions or comments about the proposed budget in advance of the virtual Budget Hearing.  This mailbox is open and will be monitored through April 28.  All e-mails received will be addressed as part of the virtual Budget Hearing on April 28.

View the proposed Lyme 2020-21 budget at this link (scroll down.)

The budget will be approved at a regular board of finance meeting scheduled for May 12.  The board of finance has been authorized to approve the budget without a town meeting this year. This is also a result of the Governor’s Executive Order 7B.

Read a more detailed analysis by Mary Biekert of The Day of the proposed 2020-21 town budget for Lyme, which includes an $80,000 allocation to cover potential costs related to the coronavirus response, at this link. Biekert’s article was published April 8.

Musical Masterworks, Community Music School Accepting Applications for Scholarship in Honor of Nancy D. Thomas

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OLD LYME — Musical Masterworks and Community Music School (CMS) have announced that applications are open for their fourth annual scholarship to honor the memory of Nancy D. Thomas.  

Thomas was a well-known and beloved piano instructor with Community Music School for 30 years and initiated the Kindermusik program and Kate’s Camp for Kids at CMS.  She influenced the lives of many young musicians and inspired their talents.  “We are thrilled to provide an additional opportunity for young people to study music and are so honored to have Musical Masterworks by our side in this partnership.” said Abigail Nickell, CMS Executive Director.

Thomas also was on the staff of Musical Masterworks for almost 25 years.  She was fastidious in her responsibilities working with all the musicians onstage and was well loved by all.  “Nancy was an indispensable part of Musical Masterworks.  We are delighted to be partnering with her beloved Community Music School in establishing this scholarship in her name, so that more young people can discover the power of music in their lives. We believe this would have pleased Nancy immensely,” said Alden Rockwell Murphy, President of Musical Masterworks.

Community Music School and Musical Masterworks are delighted to honor Thomas’s memory with the Musical Masterworks Scholarship in Honor of Nancy D. Thomas, which will provide a one-time award of tuition for a middle school student to take music lessons, each lesson of 30 minutes length, for one full academic year (34 weeks) at CMS.  The five-year scholarship was established in 2017 and will be awarded annually through 2021. 

To be eligible, the candidate must be a student of classical voice or instrumental music and reside in Middlesex County or New London County. 

Interested students must complete an application and submit an audio recording of two pieces of classical music in contrasting styles as well as a written recommendation.  A three-member jury comprised of representatives of both CMS and Musical Masterworks will review applications.

The application deadline for the scholarship is June 22, 2020, and the scholarship recipients will be notified mid-summer. To obtain an application, contact CMS at (860) 767-0026.

Community Music School offers innovative music programming for infants through adults, building on a 37-year tradition of providing quality music instruction to residents of shoreline communities. CMS programs cultivate musical ability and creativity and provide students with a thorough understanding of music, so they can enjoy playing and listening for their entire lives.  Learn more at www.cmsct.org or call 860.767.0026.

Musical Masterworks brings to Southern New England world-class chamber music performances and outreach programs which attract, entertain, and educate a diverse audience. Now planning its 30th season, Musical Masterworks offers five weekends of performances from October through May in Old Lyme.  Learn more by visiting www.musicalmasterworks.org or by calling 860.434.2252.

State Offers Free Face Masks to Essential Small Businesses; Masks to be Distributed by Town Where Business Located

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LYME-OLD LYME  — Updated 12:15pm Governor Lamont announced that his administration is partnering with the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) and its affiliate CONNSTEP on an initiative to distribute free face coverings to eligible, essential small businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
Eligible businesses include those defined as essential businesses by the Department of Economic and Community Development.

“The more proactive measures we can take to prevent the spread of this virus and keep everyone healthy, the sooner we’ll be able to reopen operations,” Governor Lamont said. “We were able to secure over 4 million masks this week that have replenished our supplies and put us in a position to support small businesses. I appreciate our partners at CBIA and CONNSTEP for partnering with us on this effort to get those needed face coverings out to essential employees.”

Eligible essential small businesses can request up to two free face coverings per employee by filling out the form at this link.

Small businesses are strongly urged to create their own face coverings following CDC guidelines. This will ensure the limited supply of coverings go to small businesses that are struggling to secure their own supply.

Requested face coverings will be distributed next week through the municipality in which the business is located. The local municipality will then contact businesses with a date, time, and location to receive the requested masks. The distribution will continue while supplies last.

The initiative is intended to help small businesses comply with the governor’s executive order requiring dace coverings to be worn whenever social distancing is not possible, including in essential businesses.

Old Lyme Fire Marshal David Roberge explained to LymeLine this morning that he will be the person receiving a supply of masks from the state for Old Lyme-located businesses. He therefore will also be the person contacting Old Lyme-based businesses to arrange delivery of the masks after the business has requested masks on the form mentioned above. If business owners have any questions regarding the program, they should contact Roberge at 860-434-1605 ext. 231.

Roberge said, “If there’s a small business out there that we can help, then we want to do it.”