On June 2, Plainville Community Schools volunteers were honored at the annual volunteer recognition program, held at Plainville High School. The evening’s theme was “volunteers light the way,” featuring keynote speaker Jeff Ansell, President of The Stanley Works. Volunteer of the Year Sue Bradley and Mentor of the Year Mark Bieber were recognized, together with representatives from each school’s parent organization. Bradley is currently president of the Middle School’s PTC. Bieber is a mentor to Middle School of Plainville  eighth grader Zachary Caponigro.

In Photo From left: Middle School of Plainville student mentee Zachary Caponigro, Plainville Community Schools Mentor of the Year Mark Bieber, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Binkowski, Plainville Community Schools Volunteer of the Year Sue Bradley, and Middle School faculty member Sue Butler.

The Louis Toffolon Elementary School Flag Raising Ceremony was held on April 28. The event featured local dignitaries,special guests and representatives from the military who lead the flag raising ceremony.

Students from the Middle School of Plainville recently participated in the state Technology Student Association (TSA) Competition at the Hartford Convention Center and the Girls and Technology Symposium on the campus of St. Joseph College in West Hartford.

The annual Linden Street School Student Art Show was held recently, showcasing the art work of every kindergarten through fifth grade student at Linden.   The Linden Art Show is held each year during the month of March in recognition of Youth Art Month. In addition, parent conferences are held during March allowing students to proudly show off their work on display in the building during conferences.  According to Linden Art teacher Barbara Friedman, seeing the work from all of the grades on display at one time gives the students an idea of what they will be doing in the future, and provides  parents with a  sense of the scope and sequence of the elementary art curriculum,  highlighting students' skill, effort and creativity.

Congressman Chris Murphy recently visited Plainville High School to recognize the district’s efforts in incorporating solar panels on school buildings to reduce electricity costs. District Facilities Director Steve Busel provided an overview of the district solar panel systems followed by a round table discussion led by Murphy and attended by a number of local dignitaries and guests. A news conference followed with the announcement of new energy efficiency grant opportunities for Connecticut towns. Murphy and others in attendance also toured the solar panels in place on the roof of Plainville High School.

For the last four years the HOPE (Helping Our Peers Excel) Program has given the Plainville High School Liaison Committee a forum to mentor, inform, and educate Plainville's fifth grade elementary school students about peer pressure, tolerance, bullying and substance abuse. The Plainville High School Liaison Committee is a group of students who are high achievers and excellent role models for our elementary students. The fifth graders are thrilled to spend the time with their high school mentors and always end up with the "HOPE" that someday they too will be a HOPE Mentor in high school. The HOPE Program is coordinated by Elementary School Psychologist Suzanne Schweitzer and Plainville High School Assistant Principal Jonathan Coe.

The Adult Education Department has received a $375 grant from the Women & Girls’ Fund at the Main Street Community Foundation. The grant will be used to provide funding for a YOGA education workshop for women enrolled in the Credit Diploma Program. The program will be facilitated by a trained professional and will provide a variety of techniques and tools to cope with challenges unique to women juggling school, family and work obligations.
Pictured left to right:
Front Row: Adult High School Credit Diploma Program students
Back Row: Nancy Cooperman, Office Professional, Sheila Jones, English Instructor, Jill Daley, Adult and Continuing Education Coordinator, Kathleen Kiley, Yoga Instructor, Lee Giblin, Volunteer Representative from The Women and Girls' Fund at the Main Street Community Foundation.

January marks the 7th anniversary of National Mentoring Month. In honor of this special occasion, student "mentees" in each school created banners to express their appreciation for these caring adults. Plainville's student mentees also made cards and created poems for their mentors which were presented on January 22 in recognition of national "Thank Your Mentor Day."

Plainville Community Schools currently has more than 40 volunteer mentors who meet once a week with student mentees. A heartfelt "Thank You" to these and all of our wonderful volunteers who share their time, talent, and friendship with our students.

Plainville Community Schools welcomed Mr. Wang Laixu, visiting high school principal from Shandong, China, with a reception held on January 8 at the Middle School of Plainville. Laixu is visiting the United States this month as part of a delegation of educators from China.

Pictured at right: Mr. Laixu Wang poses with Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Binkowski, Board of Education member Barbara Willard, and Board Chair Becky Tyrrell.

Community outreach continues at Toffolon and Linden elementary schools, as kindergartners from Rachel Valentine's classes recently toured Gnazzo's Food Center. During the tour, students enjoyed refreshments and also purchased items to donate to the Plainville Food Pantry.

The second annual Plainville High School Community Service Fair, a project of the PHS Class of '74, was held recently at the high school. The program included assemblies for all high school students featuring remarks from Principal Greg Ziogas, Dr. William Petit and Barbara Avaiz Willard, PHS Class of '74. 2008 student nominees and recipients of the "Be the Change" Community Service Award also spoke about their community service experiences. After the assemblies, students visited the nearly 30 organizations in attendance to learn about service opportunities in the community.

To view more photos of the event, please click here.

The Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) has recently selected the Plainville Board of Education as one of 17 Connecticut school boards to receive the Board of Education Leadership Award this year. This is the third consecutive year that the Plainville Board of Education has won the Leadership Award. Pictured receiving the award are: Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Binkowski, State Of Connecticut Department of Education Commissioner Dr. Mark K. McQuillan, and Plainville Board of Education Chairperson Becky Tyrrell.

Plainville Community Schools has named Louis Toffolon Elementary School teacher Claire Fournier the 2008-2009 Teacher of the Year. Fournier, a 30 year teaching veteran, has served in her current position as a first grade teacher at Toffolon School for 15 years. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from Saint Joseph's College and a master of arts degree from Southern Connecticut State University. In addition, she holds Reading Recovery certification from the University of Connecticut.

Click here to read more about the 2008-2009 teacher of the year.