Category Archives: Staples HS

Spencer Brockman Races To The Top

Posted on October 12, 2020 | 3 comments

It’s been a tough time for Spencer Brockman.

Last fall his father Michael Brockman — a longtime Westport, road test editor at Motor Trend Magazine, former 24 Hours of Daytona and Le Mans pro racer, film actor, stuntman, and owner of Mazda of Milford — died. He was 74.

Then came COVID. For Spencer — a 2018 Staples High School graduate, and like his dad, a professional driver who could no longer race — that added to his sadness.

Spencer Brockman

But the racing world has gradually opened up. And Spencer has had an exceptional year.

First he was invited to join the Bryan Herta Autsports IMSA team, where he found success.

On Friday — after years of being inches from victory — Spencer and his Formula Atlantic achieved his goal.

He took 1st place at the 57th SCCA National Championships in Wisconsin — an exceptionally difficult race. Last year, he placed 3rd.

He dedicated the win to his father. Click here for a full report. (Hat tip: Ian Warburg)

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Staples Players Plan 3 Special Shows. Global Audience Invited!

Posted on October 12, 2020 | 4 comments

In the 1930s, American families gathered around the radio. They listened to live dramas, musicals and comedies, complete with sound effects.

This fall — decades later — families can gather together to enjoy 3 Sunday plays, courtesy of Staples Players.

They’ll be broadcast — free! — on WWPT-FM.

It’s a novel, creative way for the high school drama troupe to put on a show in the midst of a pandemic.

And — because this is 2020 — the professional-quality entertainment can be enjoyed by Players’ relatives, alumni and many fans all around the globe. You can listen on any internet-connected device, via the school radio station’s livestream.

The shows span genres: a musical (“The Wizard of Oz”), a beloved novel (“Pride and Prejudice”) and a classic (“It’s a Wonderful Life”). The dates are October 25, November 8 and November 22, respectively. Airtime is 6 p.m.

Though Players were initially disappointed not to mount their traditional fall mainstage musical, they’ve embraced the radio shows eagerly. Over 50 students are in at least one show. Many are in 2; a few are in all 3.

The live action will be broadcast from the Black Box theater, with actors separated by Plexiglas booths. Sound effects — like the tornado in “Oz,” doors opening and feet creaking — are courtesy of the tech crew, seated next door in Staples’ TV and radio studio.

There’s live music too: Don Rickenback’s piano.

No radio show is complete without ads, of course. With no auditorium audience, Players lost an important fundraising opportunity. But local businesses — including major sponsors Gault, Melissa & Doug, Mitchells and Steve Madden Shoes — will air old-time radio ads.

(There’s still time to buy ads. Players will custom-write a jingle — and sing it. Email playersadsales2020@gmail.com.)

Most rehearsals have been by Zoom, though some have been in person (socially distanced, of course). Good weather has allowed plenty of room outdoors.

Staples Players director David Roth (right) leads an outdoor rehearsal for the upcoming radio plays. (Photo/Kerry Long)

Players directors David Roth and Kerry Long have made this special project a community event. Each Sunday show will have a food tie-in.

The “Wizard of Oz” menu is curated by Little Barn. Menu choices includes Wicked Witch Wings, Tin Man Tacos, Munchkin Burger (for kids) and emerald City Cocktails.

For “Pride and Prejudice,” Gruel Brittania offers Pemerley’s Prime Rib dinner complete with Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and sticky toffee pudding, while “It’s a Wonderful Life”‘s classic meal comes from Dunville’s: George’s Yankee Pot Roast, Zuzu’s Scallops and Mary Hatch’s Stuffed Sole. Ordering details will be available soon.

Meanwhile, Cold Fusion — the locally owned gelato and sorbet company — is celebrating the 3 shows with limited edition special flavors.

“Somewhere Over the Rain-dough” is available for order (before Thursday, October 15!) to enjoy with “The Wizard of Oz.” “Bennet Bananas” is the perfect pairing for “Pride and Prejudice,” while “George Bailey’s Irish Cream” is on tap for “It’s A Wonderful Life.” Click here to order.

The directors are as excited about the radio plays as the actors and tech crew. “Rehearsals have been a lot of fun,” Roth says. “Each show has a different style. There’s a lot of creative energy.

“Of course they’d love to be onstage. But they love this opportunity. They appreciate all the efforts everyone is making for them. They can’t wait to perform these plays.”

(The 3 radio shows can be heard on WWPT, 90.3 FM. For the livestream, click on www.wwptfm.org.)

ENCORE: Though there’s no dancing on radio, Players are keeping their skills sharp. Choreographer Rachel MacIsaac leads dance classes 4 times a week, on the school tennis courts.

Rachel MacIsaac leads an outdoor dance class.

There are no costumes on radio either. But Players’ costume crew is doing designs for every play, just as if they were onstage.

Players runs tech workshops 2 to 3 times a week too. Students get special instruction in skills and tools.

Some of the Foley equipment used for sound effects. (Photo/Brandon Malin)

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Posted in Arts, Entertainment, Media, Staples HS, Teenagers

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Remembering Matt Leonard

Posted on October 11, 2020 | 5 comments

Matt Leonard — a longtime Westporter, and noted surveyor with his family firm — died last month, after a battle with cancer. He was 69.

The son of Leo and Margery Leonard, Matt grew up with 5 siblings on Bermuda Road. His father developed Saugtauck Shores.

Matt — a 1970 Staples High School graduate — honed his adventurous spirit by boating, swimming, fishing, sailing and waterskiing in nearby Leonard’s Lagoon.

Matt Leonard

He got his first boat at age 8, and spent many years rowing on the Saugatuck River. He loved exploring Cockenoe and the Norwalk Islands.  The water was his life.

He also enjoyed music, books, trees, wildlife and birds. He was an avid photographer.

After Quinnipiac College, Matt worked with his father at Leonard Surveyors.

Matt was predeceased by his brother Charles and sister Marcia Stewart. He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Kim Englander Leonard (Staples ’69), daughter Hayley, son James; his sisters Anna McLaughlin, Lucy Leonard and Sally Harwell; his uncle and aunt, Stew and Marianne Leonard, and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews and great-nieces and nephews.

A service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you plant a tree in Matt’s honor.

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Posted in Local business, People, Staples HS

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Friday Flashback #213

Posted on October 9, 2020 | 9 comments

It’s been almost 51 years to the day. But no one who was there has forgotten the energy and power of that afternoon.

October 15, 1969 was a national event: a “Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam,” Demonstrations occurred all over the country.

The cover of Staples’ 1970 yearbook included photos from that fall’s Moratorium march, in the form of a peace sign.

Sparked by young people, Westport protested too.

Staples students streamed out of school. Led by Westport police, and joined by teachers and junior high students, more than 1,200 marched down North Avenue, turned right on Long Lots, then onto the Post Road all the way to the YMCA.

Massing in front of the old Bedford building — the only part of the Y at that time — a crowd that swelled to 2,000 heard speakers, including Iowa Senator Harold Hughes and Temple Israel’s Rabbi Byron T. Rubenstein, denounce the war and demand peace.

They wore black armbands and sported doves of peace. They carried American flags, and chanted “Hell no, we won’t go!” Counter-protesters drove alongside, cursing them. A few threw eggs.

(Photo/Patricia McMahon)

A remarkable video of that Westport moratorium captures the day.

Staples senior Guy Northrop shot 17 minutes of the march, with a Bauer Super 8 camera. Eleven minutes survive, and have been posted on YouTube.

The video shows with remarkable freshness the power of that protest. It also serves as a unique time capsule. Much of Westport has changed since then. But much has not.

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Posted in Friday Flashback, History, Politics, religion, Staples HS

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Roundup: Politics, Religion, Entertainment, More

Posted on October 5, 2020 | 4 comments

The title is intriguing: “Living Progressive Values in a Polarized Election Season.”

So is the sponsor: The Unitarian Church in Westport.

The liberal faith tradition opens its Zoom room on 4 Tuesdays in October (6 to 7 p.m.). Everyone — of all political persuasions — is welcome.

Senior minister Rev. Dr. John Morehouse will begin each hour with observations about Unitarian-Universalism. Then the “floor” is open for discussion, debate and conversation.

Topics include:

  • October 6: Civility, Tolerance and Grace
  • October 13: The Blurring of Church and State
  • October 20: Public Convictions and Private Behaviors
  • October 27: Our Children: Our Pupils and Our Teachers.

Email events@uuwestport.org for Zoom information.

Another Westport congregation had a big day yesterday.

Christ & Holy Trinity Episcopal Church officially inducted Father John Betit as rector. The ceremony — which was also livestreamed — marked the first Sunday morning gathering since COVID-19 struck in March.

But that was not all. CHT also welcomed new confirmands — and celebrated a baptism.

The busy — and welcome — morning at the handsome downtown church was followed by a courtyard liturgy, and blessing of the animals.

Rev. John Betit’s official induction.

The Westport Woman’s Club Yankee Doodle Fair takes months of planning. It raises important funds, which go toward much-needed community grants and scholarships.

COVID put the kibosh on last June’s century-old tradition. Now — in a matter of days — the WWC has organized a new, socially distanced, outdoor fundraiser.

A jazz concert with the great Chris Coogan Trio is set for this Friday (October 9, 5 to 7 p.m.). The clubhouse upper parking lot — where the Yankee Doodle kiddie rides and carousel usually are — is the site.

A limited number of tickets are on sale ($40 for 1 adult, $65 for 2; children are free); click here. Venezuelan food is available from El Chamo. Bring your own chairs and blankets.

An added attraction: Concert-goers can buy a ticket for the Remarkable Theater‘s special “Greatest Showman” feature that night, at 7:30. It’s a fundraiser for Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities — so you can support 2 local profits that day.

Old Hill residents don’t know who stole the Biden/Harris signs from their lawns.

But there was a witness to a similar act Thursday afternoon, on Compo Road South across from Longshore.

A man with gray hair — perhaps in his 60s — in a gray Volkswagen sedan was spotted stealing a Biden/Harris sign from private property. A police report was filed.

The signs were quickly replaced. Here they are, yesterday afternoon:

When she was singing and acting at Staples High School, everyone predicted that Cara McNiff would be a star.

The 2014 graduate has just released a new single. “See the World”is an ethereal, uplifting pop song evoking wanderlust and dreams of escape in a time of restriction and risks. She and 2 other artists recorded it remotely, while scattered across the country by the coronavirus.

Cara — who now calls herself Caraa — pushes the boundaries of pop and R&B.

Click here to stream “See the World” on major music platforms.

Cara McNiff

And finally … today — October 5 — is the most common birthday in the United States.

On a normal day, 750,000 Americans celebrate a birthday. Today, more than 960,000 will.

Why is today unlike any other day?

One theory is that the average length of a pregnancy is 274 days. Counting backward, the date of conception for babies born today is December 31 — New Year’s Eve.

i guess not everyone spends the night watching the ball drop.

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Posted in Arts, Entertainment, Politics, religion, Staples HS

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Roundup: Alysin Camerota, Artists Collective, Subtle Racism, More

Posted on October 3, 2020 | 1 comment

Former CNN anchor Dave Briggs interviews his former colleague — current anchor of CNN’s “New Day” — Alisyn Camerota on Instagram Live today (Saturday, October 3) at 5 p.m. The pair of Westporters will talk about their town, and the world. Just search on Instagram for @WestportMagazine.

The “Playhouse at the Drive-In” event just got more remarkable.

As noted yesterday, the Westport Country Playhouse celebrates its 90th season on Saturday, October 17 (5 p.m.) with a a benefit event and screening at the Remarkable Theater drive-in (the Imperial Avenue parking lot).

Yesterday, The Artists Collective of Westport got approval from the Playhouse to hold their Affordable Art Trunk Show that afternoon, at 3.

Over 25 artists will be masked, in (socially distanced) cars — and as much “affordable art” as they can display on easels and tables.

The volume and flow of pedestrian traffic looking at the art will be carefully monitored by Collective volunteers.

The Playhouse and Artists Collective enjoy a great partnership, including meeting and exhibition at the WCP’s Sheffer Barn.

This Monday (October 5, 8:30 a.m.), the Coalition for Westport sponsors a Zoom talk on “subtle racism in Westport.” TEAM Westport chair Harold Bailey is the guest.

To register, email kbernhar@optonline.net.

 

Lindsey Baldwin is a Staples High School senior. She’s an EMT. And she just received kudos from State Senator Will Haskell, for another type of community service.

Last year Lindsey set up donation bins at various pharmacies and dental practices. She collected 2,000 toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and floss cartridges. She also created a fundraiser on Facebook, and collected $1,430.

In February, Lindsey traveled to Honduras with CapeCARES. The on-profit sends volunteers to remote areas. They provide free medical and dental care.

She brought those 2,000 dental products with her. Many villagers had never had access to toothbrushes. It was an important moment for them — and for Lindsey, who returned to Westport grateful for all she has, and the opportunity to serve.

Lindsey Baldwin, in Honduras.

And finally … of course:

 

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Posted in Arts, Media, Organizations, Politics, Staples HS, Westport Country Playhouse

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An Air Hug For Dad, And A Final Farewell? The Sequel.

Posted on September 29, 2020 | 12 comments

On March 16 — just 4 days after COVID closed Westport schools, as the reality of the pandemic swept across America — I posted an astonishing story.

Tampa Bay Times reporter Leonora LaPeter Anton had written a heart-wrenching story about the coronavirus’ effect on her life. She had just moved her 93-year-old father into a memory care unit. He was also in the late stages of Parkinson’s. Now she could not even visit him.

Her father was Bob Bohen. He raised her as a single parent in Westport, in the late 1970s and ’80s. He worked 2 jobs, but was always there when she got home after school. She graduated from Staples High in 1982.

“He let me have huge sleepovers and was beloved among my friends,” Leonora wrote. “He took me out to eat. Every night.”

Click here to read her moving account of what she feared might be the last time she ever saw him.

Leonora LaPeter Anton and her dad, Bob Bohen.

More than half a year has passed. Once again Leonora — who shared a Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, as part of a Tampa Bay Times/Sarasota Herald-Tribune team exploring violence and neglect in Florida mental hospitals — has written about her dad.

Father and daughter were separated for months. In July, he got COVID. His battle with the disease forms the basis of her most recent story.

I won’t tell you what happened. You need to read it yourself; just click here.

It’s an astonishing story, told beautifully and with love by a talented Staples High School grad.

It’s also just one of millions such tales, in our America today.

(Hat tip: Suzanne Braley)

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Posted in Environment, Media, People, Staples HS

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Unsung Hero #159

Posted on September 23, 2020 | 4 comments

Back-to-school 2020 was nothing like years past.

This COVID-filled fall there was a lot less focus on new clothes, backpacks and binders. Parents and kids paid much more attention to masks, hand sanitizers and the amount of space between desks.

It’s a new world. And students, teachers and administrators are smack in the middle of it.

Back to School Night is virtual. Staples Players does choreography outside, on the tennis courts. There is no lunch in the elementary schools.

Behind those changes are human beings. Getting to where we are today was a gargantuan task. It’s not perfect — as superintendent of schools Tom Scarice notes often, it’s a fluid work in progress — but it is a tribute to the Westport Public Schools staff that our public schools are open, with adaptations made for both in-person and distance learning.

Think about it. Teachers have to learn new technology, balance the demands of students sitting a few (at least 6!) feet from them with those a few miles away, create new lessons, take on new tasks — all while figuring out (and worrying about) their own kids in their own schools, not to mention worrying about being back in an environment with many other people, after 6 months away.

Administrators spent the entire summer devising new schedules, monitoring class sizes, measuring classrooms and hallways, creating protocols for lunchrooms and playgrounds and gyms, answering a squintillion questions (many of which had no answer), all while assuaging the fears of some staff, parents and children who did not want to return to school, and others who did not want to stay home.

Then they did it all over again — and again and again — because, like clockwork, the rules and regulations changed.

This is not Westport. But it could be.

Think too about all the school personnel we seldom think about (but always should): Custodians. Cafeteria workers. Secretaries. Nurses. Bus drivers. Substitute teachers. Crossing guards. Security guards.

All are crucial to the functioning of a school. All are doing things differently this year too. All have their own personal concerns, but all care deeply for the buildings they serve, and (more importantly) the boys and girls in them.

No education decision pleases everyone. And every decision about COVID-19 is more controversial than even start times and budgets.

There have been glitches. There will be more. The internet will go down. The number of positive cases will go up. The future is uncertain. But everyone connected with the Westport Public Schools has planned — as best as possible — for today, tomorrow, next week, next month and next year.

That’s why all of them are this week’s Unsung Heroes.

If you see anyone involved with any of our schools, thank them for all they do.

From a safe, masked distance, of course.

A message of support, from a grateful Westporter.

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Posted in Children, Education, Staples HS, Unsung Heroes

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Roundup: Old Dominion, The Sun And The Moon, More

Posted on September 17, 2020 | 6 comments

COVID kept the live audience away from last night’s 55th annual Academy of Country Music Awards at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

But a nationwide television audience watched Old Dominion walk off with 2 huge awards: Best Group and Best Song (“One Man Band”).

Country music may not be huge in Westport. But we’re hugely proud of Old Dominion. Lead guitarist Brad Tursi is a 1997 graduate of Staples High School, where he was known not as a musician, but as a soccer star. He’s in the far right in the clip below, wearing a flannel shirt.  (Hat tip: Claudia Bradley)

He’s the first musician shown, in the official “One Man Band” video too:

Staples High School sophomore Phoebe Miller took this picture yesterday evening. She says that smoke from the wildfires out west has drifted far east. It blocks the sun’s rays, making it appear much larger and more orange than usual.

(Photo/Phoebe Miller)

This news will brighten your day:

International Observe the Moon Night will be celebrated in Westport (and everywhere) on Saturday, September 26. The Westport Astronomical Society says the annual worldwide public event “encourages observation and appreciation of the moon.

“All are invited to observe the moon, learn about NASA planetary science and exploration, and celebrate cultural and personal connections to our nearest neighbor. All you need to do is look up!

This year the moon will be just past 1st quarter – a great phase for evening observation.

If the skies are clear, the WAS will open the dome to its observatory on Bayberry Lane. Telescopes will be available.

The WAS adds: “The giant satellite has been our constant companion for 4.5 billion years, and viewed by every human who ever walked the Earth. It’s one of the solar systems’ most remarkable objects, and is quite likely a major reason that life even exists on our planet.”

Amazing full moon at Compo Beach (Photo/Michael Tomashefsky)

Seen at Compo Beach. Beware!

(Photo/Les Dinkin)

Crank up The Machine!

The final Supper & Soul drive-in concert of 2020 features The Machine — a longtime internationally touring Pink Floyd-style band. The event — co-sponsored by the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce and Westport Library — is set for Saturday, October 3 (7 p.m., Imperial Avenue parking lot.

Tickets for the always-popular event are $150 per car (5-person maximum. They go on sale tomorrow (Friday, September 18) at 10 a.m. Click here to purchase.

And finally … in honor of International Observe the Moon Night (see above):

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Posted in Entertainment, Library, Organizations, Staples HS, Weather

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Roundup: Woodstock, Teachers, Movies, Music, More

Posted on September 15, 2020 | 4 comments

Last week, Peter Gambaccini saw that TCM was running the director’s cut of “Woodstock.”

Peter was there in the Catskills hills, 51 years ago this month. Now in his early 70s, he was not ready to sit through all those hours of music and more (particularly not Ten Years After).

But he tried to time it so that he’d tune in to see some of the Westporters he knew were there (though he never saw them “live”).

In a segment showing people sliding through the mud after a torrential rain, he suddenly spotted Bill Davidson. He was a Staples High School hockey star, and drummer with local bands.

In the movie, Bill had a line about what a “mess” the hillside was. Peter had not seen him in the movie before, so he guesses that was part of the expanded version.

Then — after a brief bit of other business — Pete Krieg and Peter Cannon came into view. Cannon flashed the peace sign at the camera.

They were so close in the footage to Davidson, Gambaccini assumed they’d all gone to Woodstock together.

Nope.

In a Facebook discussion about another musical topic on Facebook, Gambaccini asked Krieg about the weekend. He said:

“I’ve gotten close to Bill in the past 10 years, since he’s the head bartender at Aspetuck Club. It was just last year (50 years later) that we realized we were 20 yards/60 seconds apart on that road, at that moment, at Woodstock.”

Far out!

Phaedra Taft — science coach at Greens Farms and Long Lots Elementary Schools — has received the Connecticut Science Teachers Association award for “Excellence in Elementary Science Teaching 2020.” 

During her 12 years in the Westport schools, Taft has been a leader in the development and implementation of the elementary school science curriculum. She has also played an instrumental role in leading the District’s adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards. 

In other education news, 2 Westport teachers — Staples High School’s Suzanne Kammerman and Courtney Ruggiero of Bedford Middle School — were featured on a Channel 8 story about teaching 9/11 to today’s students. Click here to see.

Phaedra Taft

The Artists Collective of Westport is helping another arts group: the Remarkable Theater.

They’re collaborating on Thursday’s drive-in movie. “Best in Show” — a biting satire about dog shows — will be shown September 17 at 8 p.m. at the Imperial Avenue parking lot. The gate opens at 7.

Tickets are $50 per car. Click here to reserve.

Westport’s Suzuki Music School is beefing up its presence. New Visiting Artist courses have been added, with Grammy Award-winning instructors like percussionist Joe McCarthy, and subjects including the history of jazz, movie soundtrack composition amd contemporary fiddling.

Suzuki is also streaming more free public events, with jazz pianist Sumi Tonooka and cellist Matt Haimovitz and more. The popular children’s Pillow Concert series continues online, and the Connecticut Guitar Festival returns for a 4th year (virtually this time).

Suzuki’s season kicks off this Sunday (September 20) with a master class by Grammy-winning violinist Augustin Hadelich. Click here for tickets to that class; click here for an overview of events.

And finally … since we’re honoring Woodstock (above), here’s a “trip” down memory lane. In deference to Peter Gambaccini, it’s not Ten Years After. It’s Bert Sommer. He was accompanied at Woodstock by local resident Ira Stone. If you’ve never heard of them — or at least didn’t know they were at Woodstock — well, they never made it off the film’s cutting room floor. NOTE: The Woodstock recording is poor. I’ve also included a studio version (I’m not sure if it includes Ira).

 

 

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Posted in Arts, Education, Entertainment, History, Organizations, People, Staples HS

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