I am pleased to have an opportunity to give kudos to some of the many students, staff members, and parents who are constantly serving Stafford High School in wonderful ways.

APRIL KUDOS GO TO:

SCHOOL-WIDE STUDENT RECOGNITIONS:

■ SHS Rotary Student Leader of the Month Award for the month of February has gone to Matthew Morrison. Cara Zajaczkowski is the recipient for the month of March.

■ 21 Scholar Athletes were given awards during the Athletic Awards on March 18^th. These students have achieved an 88 or better grade point average while participating in Interscholastic Athletics. Congratulations to: Audrey Benoit, Julie Dillon, Sarah Donor,

Deena Benoit, Alexandra Byrne, Michael Cormier, Demerise Johnston, Michelle Possardt, Monica Ricci, Emma Broadhurst, Brittany Brocuglio, Bryan Constantino, Alex Germond, Lindsay Jacobsen, Julia Luksha, Theodore Rummel, Matthew Szymanski, Gregory Burns, Adrian Duval, John Miller, Megan Owen.

■CONGRATULATIONS TO: Adrian Duval, Emily Maynard, Kaitlyn O’Konis, Sarah Herring, Julie Dillon, Crystal Parmenter, Elizabeth Lukas, Jennifer Artruc, Ruth Fontanella, Nicole Mitchell, Rebecca Okraska, Kathleen Bonneville, Michelle O’Konis, Cara Zajaczkowski, Cassandra Weed, Angelica Ingrassia, Ryan Morgan, Shannon Morin, Katherine Bradway, Katelyn Hatch, Ashley Lambert, Timothy Dillon, John Devitt, Ethan Fortuna, David Heavener, Danish Rehman, Matthew Morrison, Aaron Johnston, Christopher Mitta, Michael Hadzopulos, John Locke. These students were all nominated by one of their teachers as a “Point of Pride Student” and were treated to breakfast in honor of this nomination.

■ The National Honor Society hosted a very successful Blood Drive on March 26^th in the gymnasium. Thank you to all students, faculty, staff and members of the community who donated and made this a success.

■ Mr. Shea and his Environmental Science classes for placing recycling bins around Stafford High School in their effort to help everyone gain awareness of conserving resources and the environment.

Drama Department:

■ The upcoming spring musical Peter Pan is scheduled for May 1, 2, 3. The Drama Club has 45 students participating in this play. The show starts each evening at 7:00 PM.

■The Drama Boosters will be holding a tag sale in the cafeteria on Saturday, April 5^th .

Athletic Department:

■Congratulations to the Boys’ Basketball Team for making the state tournament and hosting the game.

■The Athletic Boosters held their annual dinner dance on March 15^th. This annual event is always enjoyed by the parents of our athletes.

■Hayden Palozej reached and surpassed a 1,000 point scoring mark (only the third to accomplish this as a junior at SHS!) and for the second straight year was voted as an all state basketball player.

■NCCC all conference athletes for track: Nate Rossi, Scott Bradrick, Derek Rummel, Nicole Folino, Brian Paakkonen, Tom Sledzik, Jonathan Martinsen

Music Department

■The SHS Band performed for the first time at the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in New Haven on March 9^th. It was a very chilly day, but our students still marched a fine tune.

■The Madrigals performed at the sunrise service at Staffordville Lake on Easter Sunday.

■Congratulations to Katie Bradway who made All State Band and will be in Hartford on 4/3, 4/4, & 4/5 representing SHS.

■The Music Boosters hosted there second annual Antique Appraisal Day in the school cafeteria on March 8^th. The day was a success!

We are looking forward to:

■The Alumni Concert organized by Jill Gregori consisting of 45 adult alumni that will be performing at SHS on Sunday, May 18, in the auditorium.

■The arrival of the NEAS&C visiting team on May 4, 2008.

■The Scottish Highland Festival on May 16th.

A Special Thank you to:

■Angelo Decarli for all the graphics he has been doing for us for the NEAS&C visitation.

■Linda DeSantis & Gary Shearer as well as the rest of the steering committee.

■Kathy Bachiochi for arranging 50 students and parents to see Spamalot in New York City on March 30^th.

■Jen Cleaver & Shirley Allard for working together for the 4^th time completing our CAPT requirements and attaining 100% participation.

■The Initiative Club for bringing the Looking in Theater to SHS to perform some skits relating to conflict resolution and effective communication on Friday, March 28^th.

■Mr. Tierney for organizing the upcoming activity period scheduled in April.

■Our custodial staff for keeping our newly renovated school sparkling.

■Dave Panella, a friend of PIE, who delivers the ice cream and hot fudge to us so we may honor our students that are on the Honor Roll.

■Mr. Shearer who brought his Modern Europe class to UCONN on March 28^th to see a presentation by the UCONN history department about the middle ages.

■Madame Bileca who will be traveling to Quebec on April 24, 25 and 26 with 30 students to learn about the culture.

■Amanda Chianelli for her Bull Dog art!