Monthly Archives: August 2022

CT Test Results Give Lyme-Old Lyme Schools “Highest Scores Ever” (LOL Supt. Neviaser), Placing Them in Top Tier Across Subjects, Grades

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Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Achieve Highest Place Rankings Across the Board in New London County, Take First Place in CT Rankings on 5th Grade English Language Arts, All Results Feature in Top 10 of State

Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser. (File photo)

LYME-OLD LYME — On Friday, the Connecticut State Department of Education released the results of the 2021-2022 Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), which is the accountability assessment in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics for students in Grades 3-8, and the Connecticut School SAT results.

Numerous articles have been published since with headlines such as this, “Tests show students still not caught up to pre-pandemic levels of proficiency” (The Day) or “Student Achievement Lags Pre-Pandemic Levels” (CT News Junkie)or “Connecticut test scores show extent of pandemic learning loss …” (Hartford Courant).

But if you look exclusively at Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) Schools, the numbers tell a very different story with results not simply holding at pre-pandemic levels but rather in many cases, improving, and in one case — 5th Grade English Language Arts — taking the top place in the state.

Comparing results across all Connecticut Public Schools and School Districts, Lyme-Old Lyme Schools took 5th and 3rd place respectively for the Fifth Grade SBAC in ELA and Math. Eighth Grade results showed a similarly strong result with LOL Schools achieving 4th place in both subjects.

The SAT results were equally strong with LOL Schools placing 7th in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (ERW) and 4th in Math.

Across all these results, Lyme-Old Lyme Schools were consistently the top school or school district in New London County and the only schools ahead of them in the rankings were located in Fairfield County.

Perhaps even more significant than these stand-alone results for 2021-22 is a comparison of where students placed in the pre-pandemic year of 2018-19 compared with these new results. In all but one case, the percentage of students achieving results at or above goal increased or (in only case) held level.

Fifth grade LOL students went from 7th place to 1st in ELA, while eighth grade students held level at 6th place.

In Math, eighth grade LOL students improved from 19th place to 11th, but fifth grade students recorded the only fall in positions moving down from 2nd place to 5th.

Regarding a comparison of the SAT results, 11th grade LOL students rose to 5th place from 7th in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: the same students rose from 12th to 5th place in Math.

Asked by phone his reaction to these remarkable results, especially in light of how most other schools and school districts in the state had fared, LOL Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser said enthusiastically, “We crushed it! These were our highest scores ever. We’re in the top [tier] in everything!”

He went on to explain that he attributed the overall success of the scores to the simple fact that students were in school, “The entire time,” unlike most schools and school districts in the state — LOL Schools were in session from start to finish of the 2021-22 academic year.

Neviaser added quickly that he also knew the results could not have been achieved without the hard work of the teachers, who were, “Absolutely committed to teaching,” throughout the pandemic.

Finally, he noted that the students’ success in many ways reflected the ongoing, “Support of the local community,” and particularly during the pandemic, for which he said he was “Always grateful.”

Editor’s Note: The complete results for the state, districts and schools, and student groups are available on the public EdSight portal at http://edsight.ct.gov.

Lyme-Old Lyme Prevention Coalition Recognizes International Overdose Awareness Day Today With Distribution of Free Naloxone Kits & More

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OLD LYME  — On Wednesday, Aug. 31, the Lyme-Old Lyme Prevention Coalition (LOLPC) is collaborating with Ledge Light Health District, Alliance for Living, NLC CARES Team, and the Old Lyme Ambulance Company to recognize International Overdose Awareness Day.

Between 11 and 11:45 a.m., LOLPC volunteers will be on hand in front of the Old Lyme Town Hall to teach residents how to recognize and respond to an overdose.

Anyone who stops by can also obtain a free Naloxone kit and learn more about community resources, including an important new initiative launching in Old Lyme.

Data has proven that overdose is rising dramatically every year.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), deaths from fentanyl poisoning are fastest growing among 14- to 23-year-olds. The presence of fentanyl both in counterfeit pills and in illicit street drugs poses a grave threat to the safety of teens and adults alike.

Editor’s Note: The ‘Partnership to End Addiction’ launched this new Fentanyl Resource Hub recently: https://drugfree.org/fentanyl-poisoning

Almost Full Auditorium for Aug. 27 Old Lyme Regional Wastewater System Update

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OLD LYME — More than 150 residents attended yesterday’s meeting to review the current status of the proposed Regional Wastewater System. The meeting was held in the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School auditorium.

Senator Richard Blumenthal addressed the audience via a video link as he was on his way to a prior commitment in Bridgeport, Conn.

State Senator Paul Formica (R-20th) spoke in person to the audience.

The slide presentation titled ‘Project Overview and Update’ that was given at yesterday’s meeting can be viewed at this link.

The pre-submitted Q & A (Questions & Answers) that were presented at the meeting can be viewed at this link.

The General Information & News section of the Miami Beach Association website also has important updates  regarding the project.

Editor’s Note: We are trying to determine if the whole meeting was recorded so that we can also share that link.

Meeting on Old Lyme’s Regional Wastewater System Scheduled for 10am Today, No Open Q & A Planned

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Old Lyme First Selectman Timothy Griswold. File photo.

OLD LYME — Old Lyme First Selectman Timothy Griswold gave LymeLine.com an update Wednesday via e-mail on the presentation scheduled today on the Old Lyme Regional Wastewater System.

The event will be held at 10 a.m. in the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School.

Griswold advised that it will be hosted by the heads of the three private beach associations and Sound View Beach Association, and the chairs of the respective Water Pollution Control Authorities (WPCA).

Griswold stressed that this informational meeting is, “an update for beach residents and others.”

He added, “We think an update before seasonal residents head back home is a wise thing.”

Griswold also clarified that, “A number of distinguished guests [Senator Richard Blumenthal, Senator Chris Murphy, State Senator Paul Formica (R-20th), State Rep. Devin Carney (R-23rd)] have been invited but only State Sen. Formica has responded – he will attend via phone. The US Senators have worked on trying to secure funding.”

Griswold reported previously in his Aug. 19 newsletter to residents that State Rep. Devin Carney (R-23rd) is unable to attend.

Questions regarding the project can be submitted in advance to chairman@oldcolonybeach.org for review by the committee. A panel will then select questions to be answered at the meeting and at the end of the presentation, the selected questions will be answered.

There will be no open Q&A after the presentation.

Griswold commented, “This is a very complex and expensive project. It includes not only sewers but storm water drainage and road repaving. The sewer shared assets went out to bid twice and, due to the very high cost, had to be rejected. We believe additional outside funding must become available for the entire project to be viable.”

The meeting will start with the introduction of the four WPCA entities involved with the project.

Then the following guests will make comments:

    • State Senator Paul Formica (R-20th) — by phone
    • Old Lyme First Selectman Timothy Griswold (R)

The next agenda item will be a PowerPoint presentation regarding the project.

The final item will be a review of the selected questions regarding the project, which were submitted in advance. questions.

To attend this session virtually, visit https://oldlymect.webex.com/oldlymect/j.php?MTID=m7bb8ab96d52e54ddb27ed079eb689dfc or dial +1-408-418-9388 and enter access code: 2343 721 4416.

‘Amphora’ Retrospective at Lyme Academy Celebrates 40 Years of Work by Old Lyme Artist Pat Smith

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Pat Smith artwork and journals on display at Lyme Academy of Fine Arts. Photo by Caryn B. Davis.

OLD LYME — The Lyme Academy of Fine Arts presents Amphora, a retrospective survey of four decades of work of the Old Lyme-based artist Patricia Smith (b.1942).

Amphora is both a celebration of the earth and the earliest crafts it bore, and a deeply personal tribute to Smith’s enduring muse. The exhibition will be on view in the Academy’s Sill House Gallery from Aug. 28, through Sept. 18, 2022.

Spanning a wide range of media, this exhibition takes as its signature piece the iconic pottery vessel that defined the ancient world, and represents Smith’s initial calling and primal connection to her creative vocation.

Raised in Manchester, England, Smith found her way to the Greek archaeological site of Knossos at the age of 20. It was there that she fell in love with the art of pottery, and began what would become a lifelong journey into the arts.

In the early 1980s, Smith was initiated into her true material — porcelain — from a fellow potter and collaborator. Together they explored deeply the possibilities of the material, including mold-making and slip-casting with liquid clay, and developed complex high-fire celadon and ash glazes. It was this transformative moment that revolutionized Smith’s conception of ceramics.

Pat Smith Artwork – Porcelain and Paper. Photo by Caryn B. Davis

After relocating to a Soho loft in New York City, and with a studio of her own, Smith’s creativity with porcelain seemed to know no bounds. Black and white elemental pieces gave way to a new series of nerikomi works, which featured (natural) white porcelain streaked with blue veins.

Smith also began producing hand-built bowls, made by overlapping paper-thin strips of porcelain to form an open, woven form. Their raw, torn edges evoke a primal, organic quality that is wholly reflective of Smith’s profound and resonant approach.

In the 1980s and ’90s, Smith was actively working and showing throughout the United States. She taught ceramics at Parsons School of Design for a brief period before leaving her years of teaching to focus on her own work.

She began experimenting with new techniques, such as watercolor and cyanotype, and her porcelain work began to incorporate the expressiveness of these other mediums. Smith continued to work in clay, however, allowing each of the materials she explored to intertwine, engage, and mutually inform.

The artist Pat Smith n her garden in Old Lyme, Conn.

In the late 1990s, Smith left New York with her husband to settle in Connecticut, where she established a new studio, in addition to spending several months of the year at their home in Paris.

These months in Paris without a kiln inspired her to invent new ways of working without clay, leading to another breakthrough, which was the use of paper as a substitute for porcelain. In this way, Smith began to work the paper to produce similar forms and effects that she had achieved in porcelain.

Eventually paper and porcelain were used almost interchangeably, combined with other elements such as thread, cloth, wood or stone, making the two pure white materials contained the essence of the work.

“Making art is a journey, a weaving of recurring themes and inspirations, unraveling layers of the self and illuminating an inner tapestry of memories and images” says Smith. “My own journey has led me from England to France and finally here to Old Lyme.”

Pat Smith’s studio in Old Lyme. Photo by Caryn B. Davis.

Smith adds, “I am so grateful to Lyme Academy for giving me this precious opportunity to share my art.”

Although Smith’s art over the years has clearly extended beyond the making of clay vessels, she maintains that she is fundamentally a potter at heart. The amphora that the 20-year-old carried home from Knossos remains with her today, continuing to serve as the symbolic container of her original passion and now, with this exhibition, the representation of her life’s work.

Editor’s Note: ‘Amphora, A Pat Smith Retrospective’ is on view in Lyme Academy’s Sill House Gallery Aug. 28, through Sept. 18, 2022, Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Forty percent of the proceeds from the sale of artwork from the exhibition will be contributed to Lyme Academy of Fine Arts.