Volume 17, Number 9
www.northhavencitizen.com
Friday, March 4, 2022
Masks now optional in schools Citizen report
school community has been masked for almost two years and our This week, for the first time in nearly youngest students have not experitwo years, students and staff memenced school any other way. We recbers across the state walked into ognize that this transition will imschools mask-free. With public pact everyone differently and each health data continuing to show deperson and family has their own beclining COVID-19 cases, on Monday, liefs and individual circumstances. face coverings became optional in NHPS will continue to provide a most Connecticut school districts. safe, inclusive, and welcoming In a letter to the North School Public learning environment for all.” Schools community, Superintendent School leaders across the state welPatrick Stirk wrote: “At North Haven comed the masks-optional policy. Public Schools, masking will be a choice which will be respected by all In a letter to parents, Berlin’s Superintendent of Schools Brian J. Benigwithout question or judgment. It is ni said he understands how divisive important to remember that our
the mask issue has been in the community and throughout the country. “We are happy with this change and hope that it stays this way,” he said. In Meriden, as Daniel Crispino made his rounds to several elementary schools throughout the day Monday, he encountered a sight he hadn’t seen for close to two years — smiling faces, students and teachers alike, in classrooms. “I got to see faces. I got to see more smiles. That part of it was really awesome,” said Crispino, who is the district’s director of school leadership for its elementary schools.
Meanwhile, in Southington, Superintendent Steve Madancy made an observation similar to Crispino’s after visiting DePaolo Middle School. At one point during that visit, Madancy walked by a music class where the majority of students were singing.
“It sounds very different than behind the muffled sounds of masks,” Madancy said, adding there had been an overall sense of excitement in schools — after what he described as “a long two years” that had included remote learning and the mandatory mask wearing. See Masks, A2
Meet N.H.’s poet laureate
IT’S SHOWTIME
By Nicole Zappone The Citizen
The Town of North Haven has named its first poet laureate, Gabriella Brand. “I have always written poetry and believe strongly in the written word,” said Brand, a town resident for more than three decades. Poet laureates have been around since the early 1300s and continue to be very popular, especially in the United States. A poet laureate is appointed by a government or conferring in- Brand stitution, and is expected to compose poems for special events and occasions.
North Haven High School’s production of Mamma Mia! opened Thursday and runs through the weekend. Featuring the music of ABBA, Mamma Mia! tells the hilarious story of a young woman’s search for her birth father. The story-telling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs propels this enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship, creating an unforgettable show. For tickets, visit vancoevents.com. More photos on Page A10. Submitted photo
Brand is a Pushcart Prize nominee and the recipient of several poetry awards. Her fiction work, essays and poetry have appeared in more than 50 literary magazines. See Poet, A2