Plainville Community School District

Kelly Hickey and Mikayla Wells
Submitted: April 20th, 2023

Kelly Hickey and Mikayla Wells have truly been outstanding Unified Sports coaches for Plainville Community Schools. They have taken our program to the next level, and way beyond! With their commitment to the development of their student athletes and partner athletes, the Unified program has gone from a one season, one sport team to a now 3 season, 6 sport operation with an incredible amount of excitement and support from the whole community. I could not be more proud of our Unified athletes, partners, staff helpers and coaches, and it all starts with the fantastic coaches who lead this enthusiastic and dedicated group. We are incredibly grateful to Ms. Wells and Mrs. Hickey for their time and dedication to the development and excellence of the Plainville Unified Team!

Nominated by: Steve LePage

Isabella Donahue and Therian May
Submitted: April 20th, 2023

Isabella Donahue and Therian May have done an absolutely incredible job as co-cheer coaches at Plainville High School. Through dedication and many hours of practice and hard work, they have developed their talented group of cheerleaders into an elite squad who became overall CCC, State and New England Regional Co-Ed Champions! Their dedication to Plainville Schools started when they were both students in Plainville, and we are very grateful that they chose to return home as educators and coaches. These individuals exemplify the core traits of the Portrait of the Graduate and we commend them on a job very well done. The future remains bright for the PHS Cheer Team!

Nominated by: Steve LePage

Stefany Barbagallo
Submitted: March 13th, 2023

Stefany Barbagallo, a PCS alumni and current PHS School Counselor, exemplifies all the tenets of the Portrait of the Graduate that we strive to instill in our students. This year has been an exciting and challenging year for the PHS School Counseling Department. Two of our counselors welcomed their first child and were out on maternity leave at the same time, and our two dedicated office professionals, who had served PHS students through for many years, retired this year. As second year School Counselor at Plainville High School, not only has Stefany served our school community with excellence since she joined the counseling team, but when the PHS School Counseling Department could not secure a substitute counselor for one of the long term maternity leaves, Stefany offered to do wherever it took to ensure that ALL students and families continued to receive the same services that they received under a fully staffed department. Expecting nothing in return, Stefany put in long hours at work and performed work from home in order to maximize her time during the day to meet with students, which is especially important during the course add/drop period. In addition to volunteering to serve additional students and take on additional tasks, Stefany has contributed to the School Counseling Department by helping to train our new office professionals and support/train a temporary substitute counselor. Despite the challenges that the PHS School Counseling Department has experienced this year, Stefany has maintained a positive attitude and helped create a welcoming environment for both staff and students. Her smile and positive energy is addictive. You will never catch Stefany complaining even on the craziest day! She is patient, kind, resilient and flexible- always putting the needs of our students and department first- keeping staff morale up in times of trial. Not only has she supported our department with the increased workload, Stefany has been incredibly valuable to the success of the new initiatives that our department has undertaken this year, such as the FAFSA Challenge. Stefany helped write the state grant that provided our school with the monetary incentives necessary to help encourage students and families to complete the FAFSA. Her innovative ideas contributed to the department’s success in hosting our first ever FAFSA and Food night where financial aid representatives from Wesleyan, UConn, and Tunxis provided individual assistance to many PHS families with the completion of the FAFSA form. In addition, Stefany continues to excel as the advisor to the PHS Student Council. Her students love her positive energy and innovation. Under her leadership, the Student Council has hosted many events that have brought the entire Plainville Community together. Because of the aforementioned reasons and more, I am honored to nominate Stefany Barbagallo for the PCS All Stars award. Her efforts have, and continue to, make our PCS community a better place to learn! As a PCS graduate, Stefany Barbagallo is a testament of the impact that we have as a learning community on our student’s growth as Collaborative, Communicative, Innovative, Mindful and Resilient adults!

Nominated by: Oneda Lamont

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Submitted: March 13th, 2023

Stefany has only been in the district a short time, but has already made the Phs counseling department better. As her "office neighbor" I am continually impressed with how she will not rest until she finds the best solution for students and families, always. Her dedication to student development is so commendable and I love how she continues to challenge her students to be/do their best. On top of it all, she is humble, positive and open-minded...ALWAYS looking for ways to improve and do the best. She is definitely an "all-star"!

Nominated by: Kacey Stewart & Oneda Lamont

Matthew Guarino
Submitted: January 13th, 2023

Matt Guarino has been a Plainville Community Schools employee for over three decades and served in several positions including teacher at Wheeler School, principal of MSP and now tutor back at Wheeler, post retirement, working as a full-time instructional tutor. Mr. Guarino is also a talented artist and when the opportunity came to put his art talents to use at Wheeler, he did so in fine fashion. Mr. Guarino spent an estimated 100 or more hours of his time converting the base of an iconic large oak tree that needed to be removed for safety reasons into a sculpture. The Wheeler wolf sculpture stands 8 feet tall and came out incredibly well! It is a magnificent gift that will remain firmly rooted at Wheeler for many years to come. In addition, he turned a 2 foot section of the tree into a small seat for children. We are grateful to Mr. Guarino for his dedication and donation of talent and time to this incredible project.

Nominated by: Steven LePage

Ashley Carl
Submitted: January 13th, 2023

Ashley Carl is our Director of Food Services for Plainville Community Schools and has done an exemplary job in her position. She goes above and beyond to meet the needs of students and to be a collaborative team player with her staff and the entire district staff. She has taken the very unfortunate and potentially detrimental challenges of the pandemic and shifted operations and service to increase the number of meals being enjoyed by students significantly despite the challenges. As a result, she was able to shift what looked to be a significant budgetary shortfall into a surplus. Funding received from governmental subsidies through the food services program will support the district’s ability to continue the free meals program for all students wanting one through the end of this school year. Subsidized meals for all students ended in December, but due to the realized savings through Mrs. Carl‘s exemplary practices and creative ideas have resulted in this opportunity. In addition, she has been a tremendous asset to a number of other events, including supporting the needs of a recent veteran breakfast hosted at the VFW by our local Rotary Club, Scoops For Troops and school personnel and students from the Middle School. She also shared her craft and career with a number of students at the high school’s recent career focused Learning Adventure Day, and her session was a big success. We are very grateful to have Ashley on our Plainville team.

Nominated by: Steven LePage

Sharyn Lavore
Submitted: January 13th, 2023

Sharyn Lavore has been a long time member and Assistant Director of our Food Services Program. Sharon always goes above and beyond to support the needs of the district, and works hard as a team player with Director Carl to go above and beyond in meeting students’ nutritional needs. She is also active in supporting a number of special district events and catering needs and finds a way to meet all needs with care and excellence. She is a dedicated partner in the leadership of our food services programs. We are grateful to Mrs. Lavore for all she does.

Nominated by: Steven LePage

David Levenduski
Submitted: January 13th, 2023

Assistant Superintendent Dave Levenduski was hired into his role, 3 1/2 years ago, and since that time, he has performed this important and complex role with tremendous dedication, diligence, attention to detail and excellence. He is a true partner in district leadership, and assumes a number of committee and program leadership roles. There is never enough time in the day to get everything done that we hope to do across the district but Mr. Levenduski goes beyond expectations and ensures that projects and programs are as successful as they can be. He is a team builder, who utilizes the capacity of those around him to improve district programs and services. When we were looking for an individual to fill this role, we knew we needed someone who was dedicated, and a hard worker who would be committed to our district efforts for continuous improvement. We also determined that it would be good to gain outside of district perspective and experience. Mr. Levenduski has brought both to this position and we look forward to many great things he will be a part of helping to lead during his time in Plainville. We thank Mr. Levenduski for his dedication and commitment to Plainville.

Nominated by: Steven LePage

Isabella Taylor
Submitted: November 14th, 2022

An outstanding and highly regarded student who has demonstrated dedication and commitment to the PHS Fieldwork Experience Program representing herself and Plainville High School with professionalism and excellence. It is not only through natural talent, but dedication, diligence, and self-discipline that you have achieved the PCS All-Star student award.

Nominated by: Steven LePage

Deb Pikiell, Sue Bradley & Lynn Davis
Submitted: November 14th, 2022

Thank you for your outstanding commitment to the development and expansion of the Plainville High School Fieldwork Experience Prgoram (FWE). Your dedication to Plainville's students and to the PCS team is truly appreciated and commendable.

Nominated by: Steven LePage

Tamia Chapman
Submitted: October 11th, 2022

Tamia Chapman is a sophomore and has been a class officer since ninth grade. She was among one of the first to apply and won elections by a landslide. She is a dedicated varsity basketball player. She is extremely athletically talented and plays basketball in the off season as well. Her contributions to her class and community have been exemplary. She has volunteered her time at North Stars Summer Basketball Camp in addition to Plainville High School events and activities. She challenges herself in school with rigorous courses and does well, remaining in the top 15% of her class. She has a bright, positive demeanor and an infectious smile. She is reliable, intelligent, has great time management skills and is an all-around All Star! Additionally, Tamia is being recognized for her active involvement and voice in our district Strategic Planning process; it has been terrific to have her participation and voice represented. She is a dedicated and driven student who is planning to become a pediatrician.

Nominated by: Steven LePage

Ken Fusco and John Girard
Submitted: September 12th, 2022

I would like to recognize two PHS Science teachers, Mr. Ken Fusco, Science Department Instructional Leader, and Mr. John Girard. This teaching duo has worked side by side for many years, and although I know that Mr. Fusco’s first science love is the study of all things that live under and around the water, and Mr. Girard has a passion for anatomy and human biology, they both teach and inspire students in a number of ways, both in the classroom and outside the school walls. Mr. Fusco teaches biology and marine biology. Mr. Girard teaches ECE Biology, Anatomy and Physiology and Pathology, and Forensics. Through their position as teachers, they and other science teachers have inspired countless students to pursue college programs with a science focus. Mr. Girard also leads the Science National Honor Society, which recognizes students who work hard and succeed at a high level in the sciences, while also meeting the other requirements of that national organization. The focus of their nomination as PCS All Stars is because of their recent efforts with surrounding colleges and recent graduates to build a vision for advancing the Science Department and to create bridges and pathways for better understanding of the skills our students need to succeed at the college level. Their work also builds bridges of opportunity to help expand college credit programs and pathways. In alignment with the district’s focus on College and Career Pathways, Mr. Fusco and Mr. Girard took the initiative to reach out to Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) and Tunxis Community College to obtain information about how our students have performed in science courses over the past few years and what skills our students need to be successful in those classes. Mr. Girard also took the time to speak with recent nursing school graduate, Sydney McGough, to reflect on her preparation for a career in nursing and to discuss possible coursework for high school students that would help them to better prepare for a medical career and more specifically, a career in nursing. In their work with CCSU and Tunxis, Ken and Dave are exploring possible pathways that can be developed for science majors and/or careers. Based on some of their research and college instructor interviews, they put together a presentation which was shared with district administrators and instructional leaders. Their presentation outlined the specific strengths and areas of needs for Plainville High School graduates enrolled at Tunxis, as well as actual performance data. The PHS Science Department members reviewed the performance data and are using that information to amend and revise their curriculum, expected learning outcomes, and instructional practices. This type of work shows the passion these two educators have for ensuring our students have relevant coursework to allow them to choose a science pathway of interest and have the preparation necessary to be successful. Mr. Fusco and Mr. Girard have also researched the courses the University of Connecticut has to offer in the field of Allied Health Sciences, with the possibility of offering UConn coursework in this field as well. We look forward to the dual enrollment offerings and science pathway opportunities this work will lead to, and also as a model for other departments to follow to increase our educational opportunities here in Plainville.

Nominated by: Steven LePage

Jaylen Thigpen
Submitted: September 12th, 2022

I would like to recognize PHS Senior Jaylen Thigpen as our first Allstar. Jaylen has been a committed member of this community since I have known him. He has shared his talents and skills in the classroom, through his gift with instrumental music that has been developed with lots and lots of practice, and in athletics as well. He is also a young man of positive character who gives back to the community in a number of ways. My favorite way is of course through his gifts on the trumpet. Jaylen plays at the Memorial Day Parade and then plays Taps at the ceremony that follows. He also played with the jazz band early one morning last March when the Secretary of Education decided to spend a morning at Linden Street School to celebrate a year in office. I can say that Jaylen’s solo and the entire band absolutely impressed Secretary Cardona who definitely enjoyed that performance. Jaylen played America the Beautiful at a Veterans Breakfast we hosted with the Rotary Club last June, with little time to learn a new song, but he was terrific. Finally, he played the National Anthem at our recent convocation ceremony on August 29th, in front of all of our district teachers and administrators and members of our staff, and he inspired everyone there who gave a booming round of applause. Jaylen, thank you for sharing your talents, and for your displays of positive character. You have certainly earned the recognition as a PCS All Star!

Nominated by: Steven LePage