Pat Micinilio is Staples High School’s assistant principal for the Class of 2025.
That’s the senior class Max Harper was part of.
In the aftermath of his tragic death yesterday, in a dirt bike accident, the assistant principal offers these thoughts. He incorporates some insights from Max’s counselor, Mattie Sokoloski.
Max was a beloved student at Staples High School.
I know this is said too often, but Max truly did have a larger-than-life personality.
He had only been at Staples for a little over a year, but he made his presence known from the moment he stepped onto campus.
Max Harper
He had an engaging and warm personality, filled with enthusiasm and happiness. Because of his genuine warmth, he quickly made friends here, and had so many of them.
Students were drawn to him, as evidenced by all of the kids who sat with him at lunch, walked with him in the hallways, or worked out with him in the fitness center after school.
He was such a bright spot in so many people’s day. And he had, perhaps, the best manners of any teenager with whom I have ever worked.
He was a “please” and “thank you” kid. No matter what kind of conversation we had in my office, he ended every one of those conversations with “I appreciate you.”
In fact, those were the last words he said to me.
Max loved to chat it up with many of us about his future plans. He had so many dreams and ambitions.
He often talked of wanting to start up new and unique businesses. From a clothing line to a construction business to working on automobiles, he had his sights high.
With Max’s personality, there was no doubt he would have had an amazing future in whatever avenue he decided to explore.
Max truly discovered his true self here at Staples, and flourished. He helped to make our school a brighter place by his sheer presence.
Staples assistant principal Pat Micinilio (right), speaking about Max Harper at this morning’s Compo Beach memorial. (Photo courtesy of Inklings)
Max was strong-willed and passionate about the people and things that were important to him. His ability to connect with others, no matter who they were, was unmatched.
He never shied away from a conversation or meeting someone new.
Even if you only met Max once, he was a friend for life. He greeted everyone in the hallway, no matter if he knew them or not.
His kind, laid back and fun-spirited nature made his peers gravitate to him. To know Max was to love Max.
His love for life and his big dreams were an inspiration to all. His impact on our school and our community is a true testament to how special a person Max is. He was one of a kind.
The loss we are feeling now is because of how special Max was, and how much he meant to so many at Staples.
Hundreds of Staples High School students gathered this morning at Compo Beach, for an emotional memorial to senior Max Harper.
The 18-year-old was killed yesterday on his dirt bike, in a collision with a truck near his Old Hill Road home.
The event — organized by students, and held an hour before a delayed school opening — included words from Max’s father, several friends of Max’s, and family friends; Ed Wooldridge, Staples’ school resource officer; and Pat Micinilio, assistant principal for the Class of 2025.
Many students brought flowers. Somberly, they placed them in the water, then watched them bob gently in the quiet tide.
Max Halper’s father embraces a memorial attendee. (All photos/Luca Caniato)
An 18-year-old riding a dirt bike was killed this afternoon, in a collision on Old Hill Road.
Maximilien Harper, a Staples High School senior, was riding south on Old Hill Road, just south of Partrick Road, shortly after 3 p.m.
The driver of a loaded dump truck traveling in the other direction tried to avoid the dirt bike, on a sharp corner. The truck veered off the road, hit several trees and rolled on its side.
Max was fatally injured in the collision.
The dump truck driver was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The crash is under investigation by the Westport Police Detective Bureau and Westport Police Accident investigation Team, assisted by Fairfield Police Accident Investigation Team.
Westport Police Chief Foti Koskinas extends the condolences of the department to Max’s family.
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Superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice says:
“I truly don’t know how to start this message. These are among the hardest messages to deliver and process, as both a father and a member of the WPS community. Tonight, as I embrace and say goodnight to my 16-year-old son, my mind will be miles away.
“Max Harper’s loss is heartbreaking for our school and extended community. I know many of you will feel its impact in the days ahead.
“In moments like these, words just fall short. But what we can offer is our unwavering support to those affected by this tragedy, beginning with Max’s family. Please come together during this difficult time. Lean on one another, and extend compassion to those who are grieving.
“In order to ensure that our faculty and staff are fully prepared to appropriately receive our students tomorrow, Staples High School will operate on a 2-hour delay. All other schools will open at their normal times.
“The entire faculty will come together, grieve, and be provided guidance and language on how to support our students when they arrive, when they see them in Connections, and also throughout the day.
“For any students needing support prior to the opening of school, the Staples counseling staff will be available to provide support to individuals and small groups of students.
“Staples principal Stafford Thomas will send a follow up email this evening to the Staples families and staff outlining the plans for the day, beginning with the early morning support, and the measures put in place to support students.
“All athletic games will be canceled Thursday, but teams will be permitted to meet for light practices or team meetings in order to provide students a place to be with one another after school.
“Finally, as you say goodnight to your children and loved ones, remember this moment and how precious our time together truly is.”
With heartfelt sympathy,
Thomas Scarice
Superintendent of Schools
As our town (and the rest of the nation) debates the impact of smartphones on kids, the Westport Public Schools take a lead role.
In partnership with Westport Together, the district is hosting Dr. Delaney Ruston. A Fulbright Scholar, physician and filmmaker, she created the 2016 documentary “Screenagers.“
The event — “Parenting Screenagers: Tips for Success” — is set for Monday, September 23 (7 p.m., Bedford Middle School auditorium). Ruston will share tools that help parents manage screen time issues.
Superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice says, “the community is well aware of my convictions about the negative impact that smartphones and social media have had on our children, from elementary through high school.
“I strongly encourage you to make every effort to attend. I will be there, alongside our families and school community.”
Speaking of food and drink: It’s called a Beer Garden, but Wakeman Town Farm’s Sunday, October 13 event (noon to 4 p.m.) is fun for the whole family.
The day includes live music by Hitch and the Giddy-Up + Rob Morton, lawn games, bubbles, animal encounters, and pumpkin crafts.
Among the lunch options: Pizza by Tony Pizza Napolitano, treats from Food Truck Refinery, and ice cream from Saugatuck Sweets and LANDTECH!
Adults enjoy local beers from Greens Farms Spirits, and spirits by 5th State Distillery.
Tickets are $10 for adults; kids go free. Food, beverage and craft purchases are a la carte. Proceeds benefit Wakeman Town Farm educational programs. Click here to purchase, and for more information.
As everyone some people only astronomers know, this Saturday is International Observe the Moon Night.
The annual worldwide event encourages observation and appreciation of (duh) the Moon.
Thanks to the Westport Astronomical Society, you can do it in their great observatory (182 Bayberry Lane, 8 p.m.).
If skies are clear, they’ll open the dome and use their telescopes to look at features on the waxing gibbous moon.
The WAS says: “The giant satellite has been Earth’s constant companion for an estimated 4.5 billion years, and viewed by every human that’s ever walked the Earth.
“It’s one of the solar system’s most remarkable objects, and quite likely a major reason that life even exists on our planet. The moon is an incredible body that has fascinated and puzzled our ancestors from the very first time we looked up.
“Don’t know your Mare from a Mons? Can’t tell a Sinus from a Vallis? A Crater from an Oceanus? Saturday is the night to find out. We’ll point out the Apollo landing sites as well as craters, the ‘oceans’ of the Moon, and features like the Straight Wall. See you for some lunacy at 8 p.m.”
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Westport chefs are on the menu at Harvesting Hope.
The benefit for Bridgeport Rescue Mission (September 19, 6 p.m., Aitoro Appliances, 401 Westport Avenue, Norwalk) — a night of delicious food tasting and philanthropy.
Among the 8 celebrity chefs cooking for guests: Bill Taibe (owner of Don Memo, The Whelk and Kawa Ni), and Matt Storch of Match Burger Lobster.
Extra course: A special presentation by Michel Nischan. The leader in sustainable food practices and 4-time James Beard Award winner is also a founder of the Westport Farmers Market.
Staples High School Class of 1961 graduate Michael Friedman brought his rock ‘n’ roll photos from 1969 to ’73 — of the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, The Band and so many others — to yesterday’s Westport Rotary Club meeting.
Friedman — a producer and manager in the music business from the ’60s through the ’80s — described the long, strange trip his negatives took, from the heyday of rock to their discovery by his wife in 2017.
They’ve now been published in a book called “Exposed: The Lost Negatives and Untold Stories of Michael Friedman.”
Friedman told the Rotarians about many of the performers he represented, including the Stones, Joplin, Band, Tina Turner, Rita Coolidge and his “hero and inspiration,” Kris Kristofferson.
Michael Friedman, at yesterday’s Westport Rotary Club. (Photo/Dave Matlow)
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Weston resident Hilary Gibson died Saturday, in Weston. She was 66.
After graduating from WC Mepham High School on Long Island in 1975, she earned a BA from Tufts University in 1979, and an MBA from Columbia Business School in 1982.
Hilary worked in financial services as a chief of staff at Marine Midland, Lehman Brothers, CS First Boston and Credit Suisse Private Banking until 1998, when she retired.
She and her husband moved to Atlanta, and focused attention on their son Ted.
Hilary was an avid long distance bike rider, hiker and sailor. She trekked in the Himalayas, sailed in the Caribbean, and skiing in the East and West.
After living in the Netherlands while her husband was with ING, Hilary and the family returned to Westport in 2004. Among other activities, she was head of education at the Westport Historical Society.
Hilary is survived by her husband Weston; son of New York City; cousins RuthAnn Stafford of Boseman, Montana, and Toby Meshberg, of Fairfield, and brother, Zachary Wechsler of Torrance, California.
Funeral services will be held tomorrow (Thursday, September 12, 1 p.m., Temple Shalom, Norwalk. Burial will follow at Willowbrook Cemetery in Westport.
Shiva will be observed at the home of William Gibson in Weston tomorrow after the internment, until 8 p.m. For more information, to join a livestream, or to share a condolence message, click here.
And finally … in honor of both International Observe the Moon Night, and Harvesting Hope (stories above):
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Posted onSeptember 1, 2024|Comments Off on We’re Hiring! Youth Commission Matches Students, Employers
As a new school year begins, people are scrambling to fill jobs.
Parents search for tutors, babysitters and yard work. Stores and restaurants replace employees who returned to college.
Local high school students are ready to fill flexible, part-time jobs.
The Westport Youth Commission can help.
Last year, teen member Jake Shufro led the organization’s collaboration with Quad Jobs. The online platform is free for all Westporters with a high school email address. Filling out a profile helps create viable matches.
Now a Staples High School junior, he is heading the project again.
When an employer posts a job, students who live nearby with an interest in that category are notified.
When a student applies for a job, the employer receives both an email and pop-up message. They communicate with students directly via the app, or through the student’s phone or email.
Over 30 employers hired students last year, for jobs ranging from babysitting to bike shops to lacrosse trainer.
To sign up, students should click here, then follow the instructions.
Household employers pay $10 for a one-time post, $50 a year for unlimited posts. Use the code“Free10” for a free first post, and “gowestport” for 50% off unlimited posts.
Businesses pay $100 a year for unlimited posts. Use the code “westportbiz” for 50% off.
Ten percent of profits are donated to charity.
Employers of all kinds can click here to begin, or click here for more detailed instructions.
Click here for more information, on the town’s Youth Commission page.
(If there’s news about Westport’s young people, you’ll read it on “06880.” Please click here to support our ongoing work. Thank you!)
Comments Off on We’re Hiring! Youth Commission Matches Students, Employers
Rene Greenlee sent along a great photo, from Compo Beach:
But there’s more to the image than serenity.
There’s a poignant back story.
Rene says the photo shows “2 kids who met at Community Nursery School in 2009. They went to Long Lots Elementary, Bedford Middle and Staples High School together.
“They have remained the bestest of friends through all the highs and lows of growing up. Making new friends, being in new friend groups, playing different sports, making different teams in the same sport, girlfriends … they have been there and done that.
“They navigated it all. And here they are at 6:30 a.m., the morning the first friend left for college.”
But less than 2% of venture capital funding goes to female-only founded companies.
Shocked by those statistics, Danya Herman — an aspiring business founder herself — vowed to do something about it.
She created Future Girl Entrepreneurs, a platform for connecting aspiring young creators with experienced female mentors.
Danya Herman
The centerpiece is a contest for females ages 14-20. They submit business ideas. Ten finalists gain access to training focused on accessing capital, including help creating a pitch deck.
Five winners are chosen from that round. They receive mentorship from female VCs and/or entrepreneurs — and earn the chance to pitch to a panel of female VCs via Zoom.
Future Girl Entrepreneurs is an important concept. It’s executed brilliantly.
What’s even more impressive is that Danya Herman is just 16 years old.
Next week, the Westport resident begins her junior year at Greens Farms Academy. She founded the school’s Entrepreneurs Club. As a member of Westport’s Youth Commission, her current project is a student hackathon at GFA on October 5.
But it is through FGE that she is making her mark globally.
At 12, Danya developed a prototype for her own business: an app for teens interested i decorating their rooms.
But she learned how much it would cost to build. So — like any good entrepreneur — she pivoted.
The budding company founder became someone who would teach other potential business owners how to overcome the barriers so many females face.
Her first challenge was finding mentors willing to help. She researched female entrepreneurs, then contacted them via email and LinkedIn. Many were willing to help — and to introduce her to others
Some of the mentors on the Future Girl Entrepreneurs site.
Mentors include Myra Hart, retired Harvard Business School professor and co-founder of Staples, the office supply store; Maura Connor, founder and CEO of Catalytic Solutions, and Maria Gotsch of the Partnership Fund for NYC.
As for Danya’s global impact: That’s not hyperbole.
This summer, she interned with Fen Ventures. The Santiago, Chile-based firm fosters early-stage startups in Latin America.
Danya attended a VC conference in Patagonia.
Actually, she did more than “attend.” She gave a presentation about the US venture capital ecosystem.
In Spanish.
Danya Herman, giving her Patagonia presentation.
It’s daunting enough for a 16-year-old to present to adults. To do so in a second language is even more impressive.
“I’m so interested in this, I didn’t want to shy away,” Danya says.
Spoken like a true entrepreneur.
Of any age. Or gender.
For a story (in Spanish) on Danya’s presentation, click here.
(“06880” often highlights the remarkable achievements of young Westporters. If you enjoy these stories — or any others on your hyper-local blog — please click here to support our work. Thanks!)
Like many Westport kids, Adam Diamond loved summer camp.
His was Echo Lake. His era was the 1980s.
At the Adirondacks camp owned by Morry and Amy Stein, Diamond had fun, made lifelong friends and learned many life lessons.
The Staples High School Class of 1991 soccer player, wrestler and percussionist went on to become an Echo Lake counselor. He stayed an extra week, after the boys and girls went home.
Inspired by Morry, Diamond volunteered for the program, which served 70 youngsters from New York City.
Adam Diamond
“Morry believed that every kid should have a chance at camp, no matter what their economic circumstance,” he says.
Diamond’s Staples classmates had included a few students from Bridgeport.
But that extra week at Echo Lake “punched me in the nose,” he recalls. “I knew something like that had to be part of my life.”
Diamond earned a degree in economics from Harvard University. He worked in strategic planning and theme park development for Disney. He then spent 15 years with Starwood Hotels (and got an MBA from Harvard too).
Eight years ago he and his wife, Dr. Beth Fishbein, moved back to Westport with their 3-year-old twins. He pivoted careers, and bought a Pizza Hut franchise.
Today Diamond owns 200 Pizza Huts, and 15 Taco Bells, throughout the South.
But he has never forgotten Echo Lake, or his experience with its after-camp program.
Morry Stein
In 1994, Morry died in a plane crash. He was on his way home from an American Camping Foundation conference in Indiana.
Morry chaired the organization, which had already raised over $1 million to send children from under-resourced communities to summer camp.
The next year, friends, colleagues and Echo Lake alumni launched Morry’s Camp, in his memory. It fulfills Morry’s dream: giving under-resourced boys and girls a chance for summer camp.
Over nearly 30 years, Morry’s Camp has grown from a rented facility on Long Island, to another rental on the Delaware River. A non-profit group now owns that camp, near Port Jervis, New York.
But that’s only a small part of Project Morry.
Summer camp has grown into a year-round program, focused on academic enrichment and leadership development — and serving each member for a full decade. They come from Bridgeport, Stamford, Port Chester, Elmsford, North Amityville and New York City.
Children begin in 5th grade. They stay with Project Morry through middle school, high school, and their first year of college or work after graduation.
A staff of 20 oversees the 350-plus young people a year. Chief program officer Deb Cederbaum Jones is a Staples graduate.
As middle schoolers, they meet with Project Morry staff members monthly. They work on goal-setting, confidence building, and social and emotional learning.
The staff is in constant contact with parents, teachers and guidance counselors, forming a true support network.
A monthly Project Morry meeting.
In high school there is a concentration on college and career readiness. There is more of a focus on academics — and on building relationships between all participants. They meet once a month at Rye Country Day School.
And of course they’re all together each summer for several weeks, at camp. In addition to the traditional camp activities, an educational component includes economics, geography, math, science, reading, writing, cooking, digital media and music.
Project Morry offers academic and leadership training.
Project Morry continues after high school graduation. For a year, staff members help the young men and women with a bridge to adulthood, including academic, and social and emotional support.
The program works. 95% of participants graduate from high school on time. 85% enroll in college; 77% of them are the first in their families to do so. The other 15% go to vocational school, work or the military.
Success stories abound. Project Morry alums work on Wall Street, and in healthcare. They teach, found companies, lead non-profits, write plays, create art, win Fulbright Scholarships. One is on Senator Chris Murphy’s staff.
Several are Project Morry staffers themselves. Two serve on its board.
Click here to read profiles of some of these remarkable graduates.
Enjoying camp — one more part of Project Morry.
As Project Morry enters its 4th decade, one goal is to add more participants each year.
Another is to offer even more to them: financial aid, mental health services, support beyond the first year after high school.
Project Morry will continue to invest in its camp facility too.
All that takes money. The operating budget is $3 million.
Like any non-profit, Project Morry continually fundraises. One excellent source is other summer camps. Over 40 run swim-a-thons, carnivals and fun runs each summer, as well as year-round giving days, social media appeals and event sponsorships.
Another is an annual gala. This year’s is set for October 29, at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan. Click here for details.
Adam Diamond, at last year’s Project Morry gala.
Area residents contribute to Project Morry. But Diamond hopes they will do more.
25% of the students come from Bridgeport and Stamford. “If we can get Connecticut giving commensurate to New York, we could be at $4 million,” Diamond — now the president of the Project Morry board — says.
“Westport understands that these kids are in our backyard. The more people here learn about this program, the more they’ll support it.” Click on Project Morry.org to help.
Aiding just a few people — 350 a year — “can feel like a pebble in the ocean,” Diamond knows. “But the ripples go on and on.”
Just like the one that started more than 40 years ago, when Adam Diamond first attended Camp Echo Lake. And first met Morry Stein.
To learn more, click here, or email adamhdiamond@gmail.com.
This story ran 2 years ago, as the new school year began. Several readers asked to see it again. It’s just as timely — and timeless — today. Have a great year!
Forget January 1. Pshaw, Rosh Hashanah. Tomorrow — at least for Westport parents and students — is the real start of the new year.
It’s the first day of school.
Whether you’re a kindergartner heading off on your own, a Staples senior already counting the days to graduation, or a mom or dad feeling pride, trepidation and the warp-speed passage of time — or anyone else, who has ever gone to school — this story is for you.
Summer vacation ends with a thud tomorrow. Each year it’s the same: One day a kid’s free as a cat; the next he’s trapped, chained to the rhythm of the school calendar for 10 long months.
Greens Farms Elementary School
Some youngsters love this time of year; they’re eager to greet old friends, and meet new ones. Or they can’t wait for the smell of newly waxed floors, the security of assigned seats, the praise they know will be lavished on them day after day.
Others abhor it. The thought of entering a strange building filled with strange faces, or trying to be part of a group of peers who won’t accept them, or sitting for hours at a time, doing work they can’t stand, is excruciating — even physically sickening.
Around this time each year, I think about the entire school experience. I wonder which kindergartner will hate school for the rest of the year because his teacher makes a face the morning he throws up in front of everyone, and which will love school because an aide congratulates her the afternoon she almost puts on her coat all by herself.
Which 1st grader will invent any excuse not to go to gym because he can’t throw a ball, and which will get through the school day only because he knows gym is coming soon?
Saugatuck Elementary School
Which 4th grader will walk meekly into class each morning with just one ambition — to get through the day without anyone noticing how ugly, or stupid, or poorly dressed she is — and which will look back on 4th grade as a turning point in her life because a guidance counselor took the time to talk to her, to show her how to comb her hair better, to make her feel good about herself?
Which 5th grader will have a teacher who does nothing when she catches him cheating on a test — too much effort to raise such a touchy issue — and which will have a teacher who scares him so much when he’s caught that he vows to never cheat in school again?
Which 6th grader will enter middle school intent on making a name for himself as the best fighter in his class, and which with the aim of never getting a grade lower than an A? Which 6th grader’s ambition will change, and which will remain the same?
Bedford Middle School
Which 9th grader will temper his fledgling interest in current events with the feeling “it’s not cool; no one else in class cares,” and which will visit the New York Times website every day because her class is working on “this really neat project”?
Which 10th grader will hate English because all she does is read stupid books assigned by the stupid teacher from some stupid list, and which will go to Barnes & Noble on his own for the first time because his teacher suggests there are more books by the same author he might enjoy?
Which 12th grader will have the brains to apply to 3 Ivy League schools, but lack the common courtesy to thank a teacher who wrote glowing recommendation to all of them? And which will slip a note in a teacher’s box the morning of graduation that says, “Thanks. I’m really glad I had you this year”?
Staples High School
It’s easy to wrap our school years in nostalgic gauze, or try to stuff the bad memories down our mental garbage disposals.
We also tend not to think in concrete terms about what goes on inside school walls every day. Learning, we assume, happens. Kids read, write, use laptops, draw, eat and see their friends.
We seldom realize how much of an impact this institution we call “school” has on our kids.
The Farmers’ Market is one of Westport’s many jewels.
Every Thursday, it pulses with activities. Shoppers from all over town and beyond stock up on produce, herbs, bread, meat, honey, cheese, pet food and more.
They buy pizza and Mexican food for lunch, Thai takeout for dinner. They listen to musicians, learn about non-profits, meet old friends and make new ones.
The Farmers’ Market is a very cool place.
(Photo/Lisa Lewin)
But it is not especially pretty. It’s in a parking lot. The ground is pavement. You don’t go there for the scenery.
Still, there beauty all around. You just have to look for it.
Most adults are too busy to do that.
Leave it to the young.
For 8 years, the Farmers’ Market has sponsored a photography contest.
“Young Shoots” (get it?!) encourages youth to show off their creative eyes — and win cash prizes (along with an art class and a year’s membership at MoCA CT).
The contest is sponsored by the WFM, the Artists Collective of Westport, and the Drew Friedman Community Arts Center.
On Wednesday, in a low-key, fun ceremony at Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center — another Farmers’ Market partner — winners were announced in 3 categories.
Young Shoots photographers, at Wednesday’s event. (Photo/Lisa Lewin)
“Kids have a unique perspective,” WFM director Lori Cochran says, speaking both in general terms and about the Market specifically.
Because of their size, wonder and openness to new ideas, “they see beauty in unexpected places. They see totally different moods and lights” than adults.
Their framed photos were displayed on tables, for all to see. Every entrant could take home their own.
There were nearly 4 dozen very intriguing photos. And the winners — judged by a panel of local artists — are:
Harry Willis received a special award, for taking all his photos with “an actual camera” (not a smartphone).
The judges — led by Miggs Burroughs and Anne Burmeister — include Ann Greenberg, Julie Dzafic and Samantha Yanks.
(“06880” covers Westport organizations, environmental issues, and youth achievements. We really enjoy when they all intersect, like today. Please click here to support our ongoing work. Thank you!)
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When a student applies for a job, the employer receives both an email and pop-up message. They communicate with students directly via the app, or through the student’s phone or email.
