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Luck of the draw Friday, April 26, 2013
Parents vie for one of 40 all-day K spots in lottery By ERICA SCHMITT STAFF WRITER
ROCKY HILL — Reminiscent of the moments following any lottery, there were outbursts of both disappointment and happiness at Griswold Middle School Monday evening. Fewer than 30 parents gathered in the school’s cafeteria to find out if their 4- or 5-year-olds Volume 53, No. 17
50 Cents
were lucky enough to win a spot in next fall’s all-day kindergarten program. Although Rocky Hill schools have always offered half-day kindergarten, an all-day pilot will begin in September at West Hill and Stevens Schools. Only 40 of the 160 incoming students will benefit from the full-day option, with one class in each of the two elementary schools. “The goal is to move forward with full-day kindergarten district-wide, but space is an issue,” explained Superintendent Dr. Mark Zito. The $30,000 cost budgeted includes new school supplies as well as the hiring of one part-time See PARENTS, Page 4
Erica Schmitt | Staff
At left, a new display case of Connecticut minerals and rocks in the newly renovated Discovery Room at Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill. Top right, the Discovery Room’s new dinosaur timeline, indicating which dinosaurs lived within each era. Bottom right, Bethlehem residents Lara Norris and Deirdre Shea look at a map showing where within Connecticut to find garnet, the state mineral.
Dinosaur State Park visitors enjoy renovated Discovery Room
By ERICA SCHMITT STAFF WRITER
How can a dinosaur be renovated, you ask? Rocky Hill’s Dinosaur State Park just re-opened after some extensive renovations of its Discovery Room, where there’s more than just dinosaur remnants, but a whole slew of sparkly
finds, many millions of years old. Museum staff is proud to show off the new room, which was closed for six weeks at the end of the winter during the $150,000 project. “This room really wasn’t functioning the way if needed to,” Park Manager Meg Enkler explained. “Now people really seem to be
enjoying it,” she added. Although the exhibit center was renovated in the mid-’90s, the Discovery Room was never touched. Older park visitors might remember having to search through a closed cabinet to check out the center’s rock and mineral specimens and fossils. Now See VISITORS, Page 2
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