Category Archives: Staples HS

Mural, Mural On The Wall

Posted on March 27, 2011 | 10 comments

Mural painting has gotten a bad rap at Staples.  In comments on “06880” education-related posts, an art department course by that name became shorthand for frivolousness and wasted resources.

The semester-long course is over, and the results are in.

A professional-looking mural now enlivens the World Language Department wing.  In lively colors and eye-catching vistas, it portrays the various cultures underlying the many languages studied in the high school.

Developing the mural was not easy.  Students researched history and architecture, studied perspective, and delved into the chemistry of paint — all before beginning their 1st sketch.

Along the way they learned many lessons — including, but not limited to, teamwork and art.

One of the major criticisms of the new Staples building is that its long halls and institutional walls resemble (depending on your point of view) an office building, airline terminal, factory, hospital or prison.

The mural class plans to change that.  In semesters to come they hope to transform the music, science, math, English and social studies wings into warm, attractive places worthy of the students and teachers who spend every day there.

They might also spruce up the athletic department’s walls.  If they truly want a challenge, they might even attack the cavernous Staples fieldhouse.

Though da Vinci himself might have fled from that task.

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Posted in Arts, Education, Staples HS

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Staples Students Challenge Obesity

Posted on March 24, 2011 | 40 comments

Which is more incongruous:  58 teenagers volunteering to spend 12 hours working at school (on a Sunday!), or chowing down junk food while trying to solve the problem of obesity?

Both happened earlier this month. The event was Staples’ 2nd annual Spectacular Student Challenge. For $12,5000 in prize money, 12 teams of students sacrificed sleep, engaged their brains, pooled their wits and downed enormous quantities of chips, soda and other obesity-inducing delights.

Early Sunday morning — alertly remembering the start of daylight savings time — 12 teams assembled in separate classrooms.  Each team received this year’s topic:  America’s alarming increase in overweight children and adults has wreaked havoc on health, health costs and the economy.

The “Challenge”:  design a persuasive campaign, a “pitch” and a researched report to convince the Westport community to follow a plan encouraging lifestyle change and healthy living.

The report had to answer questions like:

What factors contribute to a rise in obesity levels in the U.S., as compared to other industrialized countries?

How has obesity impacted society so far?  How will it do so in the future?  How is that effect quantifiable?

What realistic steps can schools, the Westport community, town and state governments, and private groups take to solve the problem?

What obstacles will your plan encounter, and how will you address them?

How will you measure your plans’ effectiveness over time?

Campaigns would be judged on creativity and well-analyzed data.  The information had to be well organized, and bibliographically cited.  Visual and multi-media aids were strongly encouraged.

Taking a rare break from their work (from left): sophomores Marcus Russi, Judy Feng, Robert DeLuca, Martha Whammond and Amanda Wildstein.

Stopping only for food, the students went to work.  They researched numbers, and dug into history.  They analyzed data, synthesized ideas and modeled solutions.  They thought outside the box, tossed aside the boxes that didn’t work, and dove into snack boxes.

They created pitches, argued over the best way to present them, came to consensus, then had to actually design them — in a variety of media.

It was education at its core.  And it spoke directly to Staples’ school goal:  understand a local theme with much larger real-world implications, and work collaboratively using math, science, social studies and English skills to craft a solution.

Senior Cole Manley’s group, for example, came up with a plan that included making bike lanes in Westport more expansive and convenient; eliminating all trans fats in Westport restaurants; making student lunches healthier through more diverse offerings (and more fruits and vegetables), and revising the phys. ed. curriculum to get more students exercising.

This group included (from left) Jeremy Rubel, Michelle Mastriani, Petey Menz, Michael Menz and Cole Manley.

Finally — 12 hours, and many Cheez Doodles and pizzas later — the 12 teams were done.

Cole’s team sent their paper off with 5 minutes to spare.  Interspersed with calculus graphs of obesity percentages were Norman Rockwell drawings of youngsters exercising.

Now, a team of teachers is reviewing all 12 papers.  The top 6 teams will make a presentation to a panel of judges on April 26.

Members of the winning team get $6,000, to be used as scholarship funds for college.  The next 2 teams will share another $6,500.  Prize money was donated by the Gudis Family Foundation, and the Melissa & Doug educational toy company.

Then the winners will go out to celebrate.  With a dinner at Whole Foods.

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Posted in Education, Local business, People, Staples HS, technology, Teenagers

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Searching For Drunk Drivers

Posted on March 20, 2011 | 1 comment

For nearly a decade, Staples’ Teen Awareness Group (TAG) has worked hard and creatively to make friends and classmates aware of the horrors of drunk driving.

TAG works tirelessly to stop drunk driving.

Each May — right before proms and graduation — powerful presentations drive home the message:  PLEASE don’t drink and drive.  Alcohol kills.

Sometimes, speakers tell wrenchingly personal tales.  In 2003, a woman described the death of her only daughter in a drunk-driving accident.

Sometimes, the medium is film.  In 2006 TAG produced a documentary in which Staples students, teachers and Westport community members shared stories of how their lives have been impacted by driving and drinking.

TAG is gearing up for another video.  They’re inviting anyone in town who has been affected by drunk driving — in any way — to join them in their crusade to make a difference.

If you want to share your story, contact TAG’s adult advisors:  Chris Lemone, 203-341-1285, mrcounselorguy@yahoo.com or Elaine Daignault, 203-341-1165, elained@westportgov.org.

TAG:  You’re it.

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Posted in Education, Staples HS, Teenagers

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DJ Sixsmith Hangs With Bob Ley

Posted on March 19, 2011 | 3 comments

“06880” is a big fan of DJ Sixsmith.  The Staples senior is a mega-talented radio and TV sportscaster.  He’s got a good shot at becoming the next Bob Ley.

The real Bob Ley knows it too.  The other day the ESPN star wandered down from Bristol, and over to the Staples Media Lab.  He and DJ chatted about their careers.  (Bob’s is longer — he joined ESPN on its 3rd day of existence in 1979, more than a dozen years before DJ was born.)

They also talked about the March 22 fundraiser Bob is hosting at Fairfield University.

Bob Ley (left) and DJ Sixsmith.

The event — which also includes Bob’s colleagues Josh Elliott, Chris McKendry and Justin Kutcher — offers an outside-the-lines, behind-the-scenes look at ESPN, like how the shows get on the air, and all the fun stuff left in the newsroom that viewers never see.

It’s a benefit for FSW, the 161-year-old Bridgeport-based social services agency (formerly Family Services Woodfield).  Bob is a board member, and DJ helped promote the event (including a silent auction) on the air.

On Tuesday, Bob Ley will tell tales about his work — everything from announcing World Cup soccer and NCAA Final Fours, to covering an earthquake during the 1989 World Series and assessing the impact of the 9/11 terror attack on sports.

DJ Sixsmith does not have that resume — yet.  He’s called some pretty exciting basketball and football games, but the Staples Wreckers are not the Green Bay Packers.

Then again, when Bob Ley was 17, Howard Cosell didn’t wander into his high school station to say hi.

(Tickets for “Outside the Lines & Behind the Scenes at ESPN” are $20 general admission; $50 for a meet-and-greet and auction.  Click here to order, or for more information.)

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Posted in Entertainment, People, Sports, Staples HS, Teenagers

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Most Recent Photo Of Lynsey Addario And Tyler Hicks

Posted on March 17, 2011 | Comments Off on Most Recent Photo Of Lynsey Addario And Tyler Hicks

New York Magazine posted this photo of missing New York Times photographers Lynsey Addario and Tyler Hicks — both Staples graduates — today:

(Photo: Paul Conroy/Reuters)

Chris Rovzar wrote:

You very rarely see what cameramen, be they video or still, look like in the field.  I often wonder what is going on behind the scenes when I look at scary, intensely vivid wartime photographs.

Do the photographers stick out?  Are people paying attention to them?  How close are they to the action?  Is it terrifying?

This photo, by Reuters photographer Paul Conroy, gives you a pretty good idea.  It shows New York Times photographers Tyler Hicks (on the right, in the glasses) and Lynsey Addario (almost off-camera, on left) among other journalists in Ras Lanuf, Libya, as they run for cover last Friday from bombs dropped by government planes.

Hicks and Addario are two of the four Times journalists that have been missing since Tuesday.  The photo answers some of my questions:  Yes, they are incredibly close to the action.  Yes, they stick out.  And yes, it looks scary as hell.

Lynsey and Tyler’s many fans throughout the world — especially those here in their hometown — pray for their safe return.

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Posted in People, Staples HS

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Take A Chance On A Better Chance

Posted on March 17, 2011 | 2 comments

US Open tickets.  A penthouse at Steamboat.  A chauffeured limo ride to, and backstage tour of, Z-100’s “Morning Show.”

Admit it.  You’ve always wanted at least one of those things.

No?  How about 4 house seats to Blue Man Group — anywhere in the US.  A sunset cocktail cruise on a 50-foot boat on Long Island Sound.  A 3-course meal, cooked personally at your house by chef Pascal Fuchs.

Come on.  You know you want it.

Now you can get it (or them) — perhaps without leaving home.

They’re just some of the dozens of items offered at the ABC House online auction.  It’s a major fundraiser for A Better Chance — one of Westport’s major organizations — and it’s a major way to do good while having a good time.

A party with a live band, plus hors d’oeuvres for 50.  Publishing professionals to read your work and offer editorial comments (no more than 500 pages).  VIP tickets to live TV shows like “Regis and Kelly” and “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.”

Online bidding is now underway; it ends at 11:59 p.m. on March 25.  The next night, all high bids become the starting bid at ABC’s “Dream Event” annual gala.  To bid, click here.

Shadow chef Matt Storch for a day in his Match restaurant kitchen.  Be coached by jazz/gospel singer Chris Coogan — and record a demo in his studio.  Artwork.  Three 1-hour sessions with college consultant Amy Schafrann.

And the big one:  Hire the Staples boys soccer team for a birthday party, group or individual lessons, or anything else you want.



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Posted in Local business, Organizations, Staples HS

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Baking For Japan — En Espanol

Posted on March 16, 2011 | 5 comments

If you needed a reminder of how interconnected the world has become, try this:

When 3 Staples freshmen planned a bake sale to aid Japan — 1 of the girls is half-Japanese, and lived there for years — CNN decided it was an excellent story.

The international news network sent a camera crew to Westport, filmed a story on the importance of teenagers taking relief efforts into their own hands — and conducted the interview in Spanish.  It ran Tuesday on CNN Español. The girls sounded great.

[cnnvideo url=’http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/spanish/2011/03/15/hauser.us.cookies.4japan.cnn’ inline=’true’]

Alice McDonald is the 9th grader whose family recently moved here from her mother’s native Japan.  Alice left behind many friends and relatives.

Shortly after the massive earthquake and tsunami hit, she and  classmates Rachel Paul and Jennifer Mastrianni knew they had to do something.

They designed a series of bake sales — and more.  They named their project AidJapan 2011.  They created a website and Facebook page, and asked friends and family members to bake.  Many have already volunteered.

The first bake sale is this Saturday (March 19) in front of People’s United Bank (1790 Post Road East) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The girls will deliver the money directly to the Japanese Consulate in New York, for immediate distribution to the Japanese Red Cross.

Congratulations, girls.  Felicidades, las niñas.

Or, as they say in Japan:  おめでとう、女の子

(The trio is also accepting checks, written to the Japan Society of Fairfield County and marked “Earthquake Relief.” Checks can be mailed to the Japan Society of Fairfield County, c/o 140 Field Point Road #8, Greenwich, CT 06830. All gifts are tax-deductible.)

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Posted in People, Staples HS, technology, Teenagers

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Breaking News — Tyler Hicks And Lynsey Addario Missing In Libya

Posted on March 16, 2011 | 4 comments

Westport natives Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario are  missing in Libya.

The 2 photographers were in a group of 4 New York Times journalists whose last contact with editors was yesterday.  Executive editor Bill Keller said that Libyan authorities are trying to locate the group.

“We are grateful to the Libyan government for their assurance that if our journalists were captured they would be released promptly and unharmed,” Keller said.

Also missing  are Pulitzer-Prize-winning reporter Anthony Shadid — the newspaper’s Beirut bureau chief — and Stephen Farrell, a reporter and videographer.

Both Tyler (Staples Class of ’88) and Lynsey (Staples  ’91) won Pulitzer Prizes for their Times work.  Lynsey also received a MacArthur “genius” award.

“Their families and their colleagues at The Times are anxiously seeking information about their situation, and praying that they are safe,” Keller said.

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Posted in People, Staples HS

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Senior Moments

Posted on March 16, 2011 | 3 comments

Daylight Savings means several things:  Time to turn the clocks ahead.

Time to change smoke detector batteries.

In Westport, time for Staples seniors to change those batteries for senior citizens, as a public service.

And — at least as importantly — time to make human connections between high school seniors and demographic seniors.

This year’s event — part of Staples’ Senior Cares community service project — was a huge success.  To see how seriously the high schoolers took it, understand that more than 2 dozen of them got up — on a Sunday — at the ungodly-for-teenagers hour of 9 a.m.  (Really, it was 8 a.m. — Daylight Savings started that day.  Duh.)

Adam Yormark helped organized Staples Cares...

They met at Staples, got their assignments (plus t-shirts and breakfast — thanks, PTA!), and moved into action.

The action included changing clocks as well as smoke detectors, and attending to other small  tasks.  But this was one time when actions did not speak louder than words.  The students spent quality time at each house — while working, and afterward — talking, listening and connecting.

Junior Bieling was one of the hosts.  Over the course of nearly an hour he talked about his own time at Staples, many years ago.  He spoke with pride of not having missed a high school football or basketball game since 1947 or so — until this year, when illness kept him away.

At another stop an artist talked about her career.  When it was time to leave she gave Adam Yormark — the Senior Cares founder — a copy of one of her watercolors.

Adam created the project last spring.  Spurred by principal John Dodig’s request that juniorsreach out to the community, he recalled a recent visit to his grandmother in Florida.

Adam had done the usual things — moving furniture, pulling weeds — but had an “aha!” moment when he reset and hung a clock high up on a wall.  It was easy for him — but something his grandmother could not even attempt.

Adam got names of senior citizens through Town Hall.  He gathered friends, made a trial run, then got rolling for real.  The reaction of a woman with Parkinson’s — who was overcoming her illness with tenacity and grace — convinced him he was on to something important.

...and Freja Andrews, Gwen Moyer and Jenna Chusid all joined in.

Staples English teacher Dan Geraghty got involved when Dodig described his goal for the Class of 2011:  to develop a “legacy project” that would begin a new tradition for all senior classes.

“Through public service, students truly apply all of the core lessons they’ve learned about being a member of a community,” Geraghty says.

“Staples students care about the world beyond the walls of the school.  I am amazed by the students here — they are kind, confident, and ready to have a positive impact on their world.”

Sunday was a great display of the willingness with which Staples students give back to their community.

But, Geraghty says, “I think the senior citizens gave the volunteers so much more.”

(Staples participants included Freja Andrews, Andreas Bub, Jay  Cawley, Jenna Chusid, Francisco Delgado, Ben Freeman, Sabrina Friend, Madeline Gelfand, Ross Gordon, Augustine Gradoux-Matt, Emily Harris, Kelly Harris, Madison Kashetta, Ksenia Krichevsky, Farrel Levenson, Mario Lisanti, Eryn Lorberbaum, Perry Lorberbaum, Britt Mooney, Gwen Moyer, Andrew Myers, Caroline Nantz, Molly Rudinger, Jack Smith, Alex Soderstrom, Briyana Theodore and Adam Yormark.)

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Posted in People, Staples HS, Teenagers

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Once On This Island

Posted on March 14, 2011 | Comments Off on Once On This Island

Leave it to Staples Players to produce “Romeo and Juliet” — with a Caribbean twist.

“Once on This Island”takes over Toquet Hall this Friday (8 p.m.) and Saturday (5 and 8 p.m.).

It’s an intriguing show — there’s catchy music, great dancing, dynamic characters, amazing costumes, and of course the age-old question:  love or death?

Senior directors Kathryn Durkin and Greg Langstine had to work within the tight confines of Toquet Hall.  It wasn’t easy squeezing a cast of 23 (and an 8-person pit orchestra) on a small stage, then making music and magic happen.

But they did it.  Players always does it.  Check out the sneak peek below:

(Tickets will be sold at Toquet Hall 30 minutes before each show.)

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