Category Archives: Schools

Donations Sought to Fund Renovation of LOLMS Greenhouse by Lyme-OL Food Share Garden, LOL Schools

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The Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School greenhouse pictured above will be renovated by a mutually beneficial partnership comprising the Lyme-Old Lyme Food Share Garden and Lyme-Old Lyme Schools.

Joint Project Will Reduce Local Food Insecurity, Advance Student Engagement

LYME/OLD LYME—The Lyme-Old Lyme Food Share Garden (LOLFSG) is partnering with the Region 18 School District to renovate the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School greenhouse. The project will advance the garden’s mission to reduce local food insecurity while serving as a site to foster student curiosity and engagement.  

​The LOLFSG share of the project is $8000, which represents approximately 40 percent of the renovation costs.  The LOLFSG is raising money through a crowd-sourcing effort supported by Sustainable CT. If LOLFSG can raise $4000, then Sustainable CT’s innovative Community Match Fund will match the remaining $4000. Donations in any amount are welcome. To view an insightful video about the project and/or to donate, visit http://patronicity.com/greenhouserenovation.

This Sustainable CT Fund provides fast, flexible funding to implement projects that align with a variety of sustainability actions. The Fund is structured to support and amplify grassroots efforts that strive to transform their community, neighborhood, and town for the good.  

Access to a greenhouse will allow the LOLFSG to increase production by starting and maintaining plants for late-season crops. While researching greenhouse options, Jim Ward, LOLFSG President, noticed that the aging middle school greenhouse was currently unusable. 

Ward approached RSD 18 administration about a potential partnership to renovate and modernize the structure. Following a series of conversations between school personnel, garden members, and greenhouse professionals, the idea took root.  

This photo shows the current interior of the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School greenhouse prior to the renovation project.

Garden volunteers will also maintain educational exhibits for use by students such as a vermicomposting (worm) bin and a hydroponic display. Teachers and students will have access to the greenhouse for classroom use or club projects.  

The Lyme-Old Lyme Food Share Garden is a nonprofit organization started in 2021 to reduce food insecurity in local communities by growing and donating fresh produce. Located at Town Woods Park, the LOLFSG is a fully volunteer organization. In the past two growing seasons, more than 5000 pounds of fresh produce has been donated to the Shoreline Soup Kitchen and Pantries and the United Way.  

Garden volunteers also compost food waste and maintain a pollinator pathway.  

Lyme-Old Lyme Schools $36.9M Budget Passes Easily in Both Towns-UPDATED

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Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser

LYME/OLD LYME—UPDATED 5/8 with comment from LOL School Superintendent: Yesterday, the Lyme-Old Lyme Schools budget passed easily in both towns with a total across both towns of 356 Yes votes and 95 No votes.

Asked his reaction to the result, Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser responded via text, “We are pleased that the community continues to support our schools and recognizes the importance of an excellent education system for our students.”

The detailed numbers by town, which reflect a remarkably low turnout in both towns, were as follows:

OLD LYME
Yes- 280
No- 89

LYME
Yes- 76
No- 6

Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Announce Quarter 3 Honor Rolls—UPDATED

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LYME-OLD LYME HIGH SCHOOL HONOR ROLL
Quarter 3    2023-24

HIGH HONORS

Grade 12:
Alexis Antonellis, Emma Bayor, Oliver Berry, Alis Bicic, Drew Brackley, Natalie Buckley, Jackson Bullock, Sarah Colangelo, Emma Cook, William Coppola, Ava Cummins, Ella Curtiss-Reardon, Eric Dagher, Sydney Doboe, Marcia Geronimo, Calla Gilson, Sydney Goulding, Alexis Grasdock, Justin Green, Douglas Griswold, Abby Hale, Ella Halsey, Sedona Holland, John Holzworth, Agatha Hunt, Beatrice Hunt, Sabina Jungkeit, Emmerson Kaye, Putt Kongsatt, Elaina Morosky, Katherine Mullaney, Delaney Nelson, Isabelle O’Connor, Grace Phaneuf, Jack Porter, Luisa Raby, Owen Snurkowski, Hannah Thomas, Keara Ward, Louisa Warlitz, Mason Wells, Tyler Wells, Summer Wollack, Duohui Yan, Grace Zembruski

Grade 11:
Christopher Anderson, Ella Austin, Juana Biagioni, Molly Boardman, Amelie Bod, Mark Burnham, Mason Bussmann, Chase Calderon, Andrew Clougherty, Tabitha Colwell, Gloria Conley, Chloe Datum, Caeli Edmed, Anna Eichholz, Davis Fallon, Benedict Frazier, Salvatore Gencarella, Manu Geronimo, Christopher Gibbons, Kaela Hoss, Shyla Jones, Thomas Kabel, Simon Karpinski, Olivia Kelly, Ella Kiem, Peter Kuhn, Elise Leonardo, Evan LeQuire, Andrew Liu, Lana Lopes, Abigail O’Brien, Kanon Oharu, Sophie Pennie, Ryan Shapiro, Kelly Sheehan, Charlotte Tinniswood, Nicholas Turtoro, Kathleen Walsh

Grade 10:
Sienna Bari, Zoe Brunza, Trevor Buydos, Tyler Cann, Julia Clark, Maya Cook, Colman Curtiss-Reardon, Sophia D’Angelo, Christopher Dagher, Rose Dimmock, Elena Gerardo, Chase Gilbert, Alexander Glaras, Christopher Kachur, Thomas Kelly, Emily Looney, Ian Maeby, Serena Mazzi, Carter McGlinchey, Rowen Meisner, Madeline Murphy, Ryan Olsen, Marleigh Piacenza, Luca Signora, Carson St Louis, Andrew Taylor, Margaret Thuma, Gabriel Waldo, Oliver Wyman

Grade 9:
Addison Arndt, Ceciley Buckley, Morgan Buerger, Brooke Burgess, Anna Bussmann, Lillian Calabrese, Chase Catalano, Johanna Coker, Brady Donovan, Elliot Dunn-Sims, Samson Edmed, Angeline Gencarella, Gavin Goulis, Tessa Grethel, Owen Holth, Josephine Kiem, Olivia Lovendale, John Morosky, Emelia Munster, Autumn Newbury, Grace Osborne, Ainsley Rinoski, Cameron Russell, Allegra Schaedler, Owen Shapiro, Nicholas Sokolowski, Madeline Stiles, Magdalena Tooker, Ethan Trepanier, Kaylyn Vernon, Caterina Wilson

HONORS

Grade 12:
Peighton Andrews, Beatrice Barnett, Elliot Bjornberg, Henry Boller, Bianca Carrion, Nicholas Cheesman, Macklin Cushman, Lucas DaSilva, Ryder Goss, Mohamad Hamou, Jordan Hanes, Parker Holland, Grady Lacourciere, Audrey LeCour, Mila Lopes, Anna McAdams, Lucas McMillan, Kayla O’Leary, Ava Roth, Cailin Ruhling, Haley Shaw, Gabriel Tooker, Kalea VanPelt, Icey Yan

Grade 11:
Micah Bass, Gavin Biega, Justin Bonatti, Zoe Eastman-Grossel, Samantha Fiske, Hoshena Gemme, Janna Graves, Abigail Greene, Abigail Griffith, Nicolas Hatch, Rowan Hovey, Kyle Ingersoll-Bonsack, Hannah Johnston, Skylar Kobelia, Ada LaConti, Straub Lahot, Elizabeth Lopez, Colette Marchant, Drea Simler, Andrew Sprankle, Ava Wood-Muller, Gabriella Ziegler

Grade 10:
Alec Butzer, Makayla Calderon, Annabelle Coppola, James Dahlke, Braden Dawson, Alexa Donovan, Jonathan Farrell, Benjamin Goulding, Elizaveta Gregoire, Teagan Iglesias, Daniela Marin Yanza, Nayeli Marin Yanza, Bridget McAdams, Samuel McKenzie, Ryan Miller, Finch Nichols, Ryan Ortoleva, Louis Patana, Quenten Patz, Isabella Presti, Lance Sanford, Sophia Shaposhnikova, Tanner Snurkowski, Lucian Tracano, John Turick, Connor Vautrain, Elisabeth Viera, Stella Young, Carl Zapatka, Katherine Zhang

Grade 9:
Phineas Barrett, Zachary Belval, Mia Bonatti, William Burgess, Aidan Carpentino, Evan Coffee, Edward Fiske, Antonio Gencarella, Harrison Goulis, Skylar Graybill, Charles Halsey, Marley Iaia, Maddux Murphy, Sean Olsen, Mia Palmer, Bowen Turick, Charles Zelek

LYME-OLD LYME MIDDLE SCHOOL HONOR ROLL
Quarter 3    2023-24

HIGH HONORS

Grade 8:
Kaitlyn Ackerman, Lillian Acosta, Lauren Belval, Scarlett Blatter, Vivian Boller, Lana Brunza, Gabrielle Clark, Nathaniel Condon, Albert Enman, Katharine Ferman, Jonah Filardi, Avery Goiangos, Frederick Goss, Gavin Gray, Sawyer Graybill, Maia Guisti, Alistair Hampton-Dowson, Colleen Harrington, Reese Holland, Henrik Hummervoll, Mason Jones, Fiona Judge, Jillian Kleefeld, Kaedyn Koproski, Holden Leonardo, Graham Macadam, Benjamin Mattox, Rowan McCormick, Charles McEwen, William McKeever, Addyson Morosky, Marielle Munster, Remi Patz, Nicholas Porto, Jonah Scheckwitz, Audrey Sheehan, Avery Spooner, Charlotte Thuma, Jonathan Toriello, Renee Viera, Ashlynn Ward, Avery Wesch

Grade 7:
Josie Arndt, Angelina Bari, Anna Block, Emily Bonatti, Cassidy Buckley, Ewan Cabell, Trent Cameron, Emily Campbell, Reagan Christopher, Emerson Coker, Miles Coppola, Nadia Daily, Maya Desai, Samuel Dunn-Sims, Colin Farrell, Parker Fedorich, Jackson Fiske, Parker Forbes, Samantha Fulara, Ava Fuller, Olivia Gerardo, Victoria Glaras, Kylie Grethel, Toby Griffis, Olivia Griffith, Cole Haslam, Charles Holth, Quinn Hoss, Griffin Karpinski, Collin Langley, Zoey Langley, Jacob Levin, Ellison Lodge, Isabel Martel, Jackson Matthews, Harland McKenna, Sofia Noti, Thomas O’Connor, Kanato Oharu, Michael O’Leary, Giovanni Orlando, John Osborne, Jack Ouellette, Benson Reis, Tristan Reyes, Lillian Reynolds, Beatrix Rubino, Addison Sapia, Juliette Small, Adrianna Squarciafico, Mia Stokes, Natalie Suisman, Cooper Thomas, Olive Vautrain, Teya Vernon, Benson Wang, Reagan Weinstein, Samuel Zelek, Lily Zerkowski

Grade 6:
Ellie Ackerman, Annalisa Archbald, Sawyer Barreto, Cole Barris, Jackson Basham, Zakary Benedetto, Conor Buckeridge, Thomas Calabrese, Rowan Cantner, Mason Catalano, Jackson Chapps, Ainsley Conroy, Oliver Constantine, Brennon Coyle, Daniel Crisp, Ella Davis, Daphne Eisensmith, Kate Ewers, Camryn Fedorich, Estelle Filardi, Beckett Goss, Delana Green-Oldfield, Julia Haslam, Sean Hunter, August Jungkeit, Devon Kiem, Rowan Kilfoil, Mary McAdams, Ariana McEwen, Riley McHugh, Finn McLaughlin, Henry Miller, Broderick Morris, Isla Morrissette, Maya Munster, Maura Murphy, Avery Olson, Juul Parrott, Quin Parrott, Charlotte Reynolds, Olivia Rozanski-Rose, Linden Sarnoski, Ari Shegirian, Molly Supersano, Weston Taylor, Brandon Wang, Liam Ward

HONORS

Grade 8:
John Comstock, Colin Discordia, Cortland Forbes, Treyton LaConti, Alice Li, Sadie Lukasiewski, David McAdams, Caitlyn McHugh, Grace Morrissette, Grayson Standish

Grade 7:
Owen Anderson, Cayden Graybill, Mary Kane, Grant Maxwell, Maxwell Mooney, Jack Parker, Adrian Raby, Nikolas Reid

Grade 6:
Riley Anderson, Charlotte Anton, Miella Bard, Braydon Boisseau, Liam Carpentino, Hunter Emma, Jaxson Glantz, Aibhlinn Hall, Alina Kosecki, Eva Levonick, Gunnar Palmer, Emily Randak, Roman Schlachter, Maya Smith, Reed Snurkowski, Kingsley Zheng

Letter to the Editor: Clarification of Some May 7 Lymes’ Senior Center Referendum Issues for Old Lyme Voters

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To the Editor:

Christina and I attended the April 30 town meeting at which the Resolution “authorizing the issuance of bonds and notes to finance an existing appropriation* for the planning, design, and construction of an expanded joint Old Lyme/Lyme Senior Center was discussed by First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker and the Board of Finance (BOF) Chair, Bennett J. Bernblum.

I am writing to clarify a few points of confusion that were raised that night; which could be useful for those “non-attendees” as you prepare to vote on Tuesday, May 7.

The May 7 referendum in Old Lyme is not for resident approval of funding for the renovation and expansion of the Lymes’ Senior Center. Old Lyme’s portion of those required funds was approved on June 20, 2023 and April 15, 2024. (i.e., the “existing appropriation*” in the above.) 

Rather, the First Selectwoman and the Old Lyme Board of Finance (BOF) seek resident approval and authorization to formally explore and potentially commit to bonding for all or part of its Senior Center funding obligation. Note that “exploring.” the issuance of bonds does not obligate the Town—it just provides some important information that the BOF will use to prudently determine which funding alternative to take. Note that these funds are currently available at favorable rates and Old Lyme enjoys a high rating as a municipality seeking funds. 

Per [BOF Chairman] Mr. Bernblum in his 04/27/2024 LTE [published on LymeLine.com]; “if it is defeated, then Old Lyme will not have the option to issue bonds for all or part of its $4,107,656 obligation. 

Instead, it will have to draw funds from its undesignated surplus, thereby substantially reducing the sums that would be available to mitigate the tax impact from the Region 18 renovations coming down the pike in a year or two. This would be a serious mistake.”  

Note that the current undesignated surplus is estimated at $13 million. At the meeting, Mr. Bernblum also discussed a few fiscal “rules of thumb” regarding the amount that should be maintained in Old Lyme’s “rainy day fund.” 

A referendum on the Region18 Board of Education 2024-25 budget of $36,920,881 that was approved in February will also be held on May 7.

Sincerely, 

Christina J and Thomas D. Gotowka,
Old Lyme.

Fundraising Campaign Started to Support Lyme-Old Lyme HS Mock Trial Team Trip to National Contest

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LYME/OLD LYME — On Wednesday, March 20, the Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) Mock Trial Team competed and won the state championship at the Connecticut State Supreme Court. This is the second year in succession that the LOLHS team has won the state contest.

Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser commented, “This is an amazing accomplishment by these young men and women. They have worked incredibly hard. We are so excited for them.”

Winning the state championship has earned the LOLHS team the honor of representing Connecticut at the National Mock Trial Competition in Wilmington, Del. in early May.

The team’s coach, Laura Nelson, has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to send the team and its coaches to Wilmington to compete.

Nelson states on the GoFundMe page, ” Please consider donating to our trip fund to help them realize their goal and represent Lyme-Old Lyme and the State of Connecticut at the highest level..”

Visit this link for further information and to donate in support of these talented students and their coaches.