OneManchester

Students shared special moments after last night's event, the 132nd annual commencement in MHS history.

Student speakers included Valedictorian Grace Golas, Salutatorian Aine Corbett-Cousins and class co-presidents Frederick Applewhite and Shemiah Swan. Then it was time for that special walk ...

Parag Joshi, shown above with MHS Principal Dr. A. Amaka Fennimore, was named district Teacher of the Year on Monday. You can read more about him on the district Facebook or Instagram pages. Teachers recognized at Monday's event were (from left) Ryan Courey of Bennet, Brianne Bourbeau of Waddell, Parag Joshi of MHS, JT Lauer of MRA, Megan Lane of Keeney, Greg Carabillo of Highland Park, Rammonia Bravo of Bowers, Alberto Soto of Flight, Jessika Charvis of Buckley and Kali Sims of Verplanck.

• The last day of class is next Thursday, June 18 (with an emergency early-release schedule for students that day).
• Graduation for Manchester Regional Academy is on Tuesday, June 16 and for Adult Education on Thursday, June 18.
• The next regular BoE meeting is Monday, June 22 at Lincoln Center and is scheduled to include a Spring Data Update and also adoption of a new school budget.
• Like MHS, Illing Middle School has lots of top-notch student journalists; check out the latest IMS News.

Kindergarten registration continues, and parents/guardians of children whose fifth birthday falls on or before Sept. 1 may register by visiting the registration page on the MPS website. If you have any questions please contact the Welcome Center at 860-645-6041 or email mfrison@mpspride.org.

The Family Resource Center honored fourth grade leaders from the six elementary schools last Thursday with a party at Bennet Academy, where the current fifth graders leaders welcomed future fifth graders to the school.

Summer can be a challenging time for children and families to access behavioral and mental health services -- as families often rely on connections with school staff -- but the CONNECTing School to Care IV Students initiative has developed this resource to help (and click here for a Spanish version)

TO HELP US IMPROVE each of our school communities, the district is conducting a series of school climate surveys. Responses are anonymous and they are used by our School Climate Teams to identify improvement goals for next school year.

• Parents and guardians: Please complete one unique survey response for each school building where you have a child or children enrolled. (If you have more than one child enrolled at the same school, please complete a single survey for that school.) Here's the link.
• Also: We also have a survey for students in grades 4-12 that is taken in school -- but under the law, parents may request that their student not take part. Parent/guardians, if you do not want your child to take the survey please email your child’s principal directly or district communication director Jim Farrell at jfarrell@mpspride.org.

The Verplanck Elementary School community gathered last Thursday for an emotional ceremony that included the dedication off a bench in memory of Maicah Duffas, who died last summer after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Maicah was just nine years old and had completed the third grade. That’s his mother, Michaelia Flemmings, in the photo at right.

Community members gathered in Center Memorial Park last Thursday for the dedication of a statue of esteemed author Emily Cheney Neville -- the third and final installment of the Manchester Sculpture Project (the others were Joe McCluskey and Elisabeth Bennet). Among the speakers was Nadia Sims, Manchester poet laureate. For more information click here.

"Pride in Manchester" events continue and upcoming highlights include this Saturday's Families in Motion 250 Walkathon (9-11 a.m.) at Center Springs Park and Sunday's Art in the Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Center Memorial Park.

• For more information check out the ‘Celebrate Manchester’ flier by clicking here.

Moderator Shauna Brown will joined by Nadia Sims, Rhonda Philbert, Nephertiti Amen and Eddie Polk for a Juneteenth round-table discussion at the Eastside Neighborhood Resource Center on Thursday, June 18 from 6-8 p.m.

The Roots and Culture Lab is sponsoring a Manchester Block Party at the Eastside Plaza on Saturday, June 27 from 3-9 p.m. For information click here.

Also:

• Summer camps run from June 29 through August 7 and you'll find more info here.

• The 2026 Manchester Now Summer publication is now live. Check out the Department of Leisure, Family & Recreation's slate of upcoming programs, special events, services, and much more! Follow their Facebook or Instagram pages for more.

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Samiya Eady won both the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash at the State Open track meet, and Harper Shirley (right) won the 3200-meter and finished second in the 1600.

As a team, the Red Hawks girls finished third (out of 18 teams) behind just Bloomfield and Naugatuck.

To see the complete results click here.

Jayden Strickland, a member of the MHS Class of 2027 who in March lost his courageous battle with cancer, was a member of the Red Hawk soccer team, and a game between students and alumni will be played on Friday, June 19 at 6 p.m. with proceeds benefiting the family. Click for more.

• Parks US Taekwondo has a special summer trial offer and also a summer camp starting June 19. Click for the flier.
• PAL 3-on-3 Friday night basketball for players 5-18 will be starting up on June 19 at Charter Oak Park. Click for registration information and details.
• Registration is open for Manchester Knights programs -- basketball, cheer, football and now flag football for girls. Contact number: 860.4232.0803 or visit manchesterknightsCT on fb.
• Manchester Soccer Club is holding tryouts at Veterans Memorial Field on Hillstown Road over the next two weeks. Click here for more info and here for the MSC website.
• COERVER SOCCER will run two summer sessions at East Catholic in July. Click here for more info.
  

Dairy Queen beat Highland Park Market 5-3 last Friday to win the town LL tournament.

These photos are from the district K-12 Art Show at MHS on Monday night. Next week, we'll be sharing a special edition of OneManchester that has more photos from this event and a look back at the visual arts highlights from the entire academic year.

• NOTE: OneManchester is compiled by the school district's communications office but is dependent on contributions from people and institutions throughout the town and school district. So if you have something that you think people would want to know about, please let us know. Photos, fliers, links, tips, whatever -- please share with Paul Ofria at pofria@mpspride.org.