The Berlin
Cit itiz ize en
Volume 14, Number 9
Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
Thursday, March 4, 2010
‘Music in the schools’ in tune with lifelong learning By Olivia L. Lawrence The Berlin Citizen
March is national Music in the School’s Month and that’s a good reason to celebrate, says the Berlin schools’ music coordinator. But even more importantly, she added, music makes a major impact on students’ lives every day of the year. Susan Kaczynski is the district’s kindergarten through grade 5 vocal specialist and also department coordinator for the music staff district-wide. The approach Berlin music teachers take, to music education, is widereaching. “It’s not just about mu-
sic in the schools — but about the larger global impact of music in the world. People experience music in many ways — and these are not always obvious.” Everything from religious music to singing “Happy Birthday” to the soundtracks of movies reaches into the fabric of our lives, Kaczynski said. “Music helps children think and reflect on their world and experiences.” The special month to focus on music education is an initiative of the National Association for Music Education. The organization
Marlen Paszkowski, Michelle Tsun, Caitlee McNamara and Nick Mazza, on flutes, practice the “Canterbury Overture” by Ann McGinty, during an instrumental music class with Meghan Gerrity at Hubbard Elementary School. Photo by Olivia L. Lawrence
See Music, page 6
Gearing up for competition
Big pipe needs major fix to reduce stormwater levels By Olivia L. Lawrence The Berlin Citizen
The 2010 Berlin FIRST Robotics team, consists of McGee Middle School and Berlin High School students. The team travels to Boston, Mass. and Atlanta, Ga. to compete against teams from around the world. The team must raise funds for all its activities, such as buying materials to build a robot and traveling to compete in threeday competitions. The team has scheduled a pasta dinner for Friday, March 5 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Kensington Volunteer Firehouse, 880 Farmington Ave. to help pay for some of those costs. Team members often put in up to six hours a day, seven days a week, to complete the robot. For the latest round of competition, the robot was readied for shipment on Feb. 23.
The town needs to repair 7,000 feet of sewer pipe and the fix won’t be cheap. However, officials say they’re under pressure by the Mattabassett District to reduce the amount of storm water getting into the sewer system. Ultimately, some of the repair cost will be added to customers’ water and sewer bills as a surcharge. According to Public Works Director Arthur Simonian one estimate calculated the amount of unnecessary stormwater into the Mattabassett District Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, as over 400 million gallons per year — just from Berlin’s three districts.
“It’s costing us over $600 a day,” Simonian said. Simonian asked the council to approve a fee of $249,000, to Cardinal Engineering Associates Inc. of Meriden, to design a sanitary sewer rehabilitation project for the town. The panel unanimously approved the expense. The cost of the project itself is estimated to be about $4.5 million. “Every town has a little bit of (storm water) infiltration,” Simonian said, “Berlin has a little bit more due to the groundwater situation and the age of our pipes.” The pipe in question is a 42-inch diameter, interceptor pipe that begins in the vicinity of Webster Square, runs
See Pipe, page 3