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Volume 26, Number 34
Friday, November 20, 2020
These socks soften the way for those on a cancer journey By Nadya Korytnikova Town Times
After spending seven years with Regional School District 13, Dr. Kathryn Serino, pictured, will be stepping down from leading the schools. Photos by Nadya Korytnikova, Town Times
Serino ready to start ‘new chapter’ By Nadya Korytnikova Town Times
After leading Regional School District 13 as superintendent for seven years, Kathryn Serino is leaving her position early next year. “There has never been a day I haven’t thought how grateful I am to be a part of this community,” she said. Serino will step down in January. She will be replaced by Doug Schuch.
A diagnosis of cancer brings profound changes, but even so, small comforts can mean a lot. Even a decent pair of socks can help make life a little better, according to some young people who know this from personal experience. And when those socks are personalized to reflect your personal journey, that’s even better. “When I was first diagnosed, I did not want cancer to affect my life, but it does change you,” said Tolland High School student Danielle Burns. At the age of 17, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.
Serino
having good leadership, that’s what matters to me the most.”
Serino, a Litchfield resident, “I will be available to do began her academic career whatever I can to assure a smooth transition,” said Seri- after graduating from Clark no. “I want this district to be successful, and continue See Serino, A17
Just a few months later, Ellie Brown – another high school student, from West Hartford – was diagnosed with the same illness. Shortly thereafter, 25 miles south of Burns and Brown, 1-year-old Naaman Johnson was diagnosed with a similar type of cancer, high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia. “This illness is terrifying, it’s one of these moments
Jake Teitelbaum, a cancer survivor and the founder of Resilience Gives. Photo courtesy of Resilience Gives
when you can’t believe it’s happening to you,” said Naaman’s mother, Nicole Johnson. “It really changed our perspective on everything. It makes you realize so much more about the hardship that other people go through.” In close proximity, these families had received similar pieces of life-changing news, but it was Jake Teitelbaum, a cancer survivor from Durham, who brought them together. See Socks, A15
Naaman Johnson was diagnosed with leukemia at just 17 months old. Photo courtesy of Nicole Johnson
Citing COVID-19 concerns, CIAC delays winter season By Bryant Carpenter Record-Journal staff
CHESHIRE — The 2020-21 high school winter sports season won’t be starting any time before the middle of January.
The CIAC Board of Control voted Tuesday morning to postpone the winter season until Jan. 19. The decision was driven by rising cases of COVID-19 that have recently prompted some CIAC member
schools to pull back from in-person learning. “The reason behind the CIAC Board’s decision is due to the increasing COVID numbers within the state of Connecticut as well as the
difficult decision that many schools are facing in moving to a full-distance model at this time,” CIAC Executive Director Glenn Lungarini said in a video statement Tuesday. See CIAC, A20