In the News

ACES, Hamden Students Honored at Luncheon

April 4th, 2014

Brian Moynihan, of East Haven, and Stamford resident Derrick Cooper were chosen from among about 90 students. ACES Executive Director, Dr. Craig Edmonson, says the small community helps these young men, and their classmates, to excel. “They have an opportunity to be in a different setting, with supports that allow them to complete their academic careers.”

Some of the students have educational challenges, and arrive at ACES after they “make some decisions that disenfranchise them from their school setting.” At ACES, Dr. Edmonson says, “they develop strong relationships; they have class sizes that are typically ten or less, and so they have a lot of individual support.”

Honoree Brian Moynihan is a fifth-year senior who is earning college credit from Gateway Community College. He’s interning as a teaching assistant, for students with communication disorders, and is planning a career in Human Services.

Derrick Cooper is a High Honors student with almost perfect attendance in two years. He plans to study HVAC-R (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration) at Lincoln Tech.

ACES Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School has a more traditional K-through-8 curriculum, but offers a longer school day and school year. Dr. Edmonson says that “allows us to do a little bit more with some of the arts… and we also introduce foreign languages earlier than the typical elementary school.”

Both Wintergreen eighth-graders who received SCASA awards were noted for their musical ability, as well as academics and athletics.

Madison Mickey of New Haven is a champion gymnast and French horn player who hopes to become a heart surgeon. Hamden resident Andrew Foster plays trombone in the school band and is also a talented basketball player and artist. His drawing of the WIMS wolf mascot won a school-wide contest.

Hamden High School honored seniors Kolby Matusovich and Zachary Duhaime. Both volunteer for CERT, the Community Emergency Response Team.

Zachary is a member of the Jazz Band, PTSA, and House Leadership Council. His main interest is meteorology, which he will study this fall at Western Connecticut State University.

In nominating Kolby, Interim Superintendent Chris Melillo noted the honor student’s love of dance and commitment to helping others. She   plans to study biology and has been accepted at colleges, including Quinnipiac, UConn, UMass, Penn State, and the University of Rhode Island.

Eighth-graders Emily Parra and Tyler Wallhofer were the SCASA award recipients from Hamden Middle School. Both were honored for their excellence in academics, on the soccer field, and in volunteer work.

Hamden elementary school honorees were Spencer Curello of Bear Path School and Tom Kashuba from Church Street School. Both take part in advanced classes, leadership activities, and volunteer as altar servers.

Two students, Hannah Raye Johnson of Milford and Julia Maturo of Seymour, were awarded $500 scholarships from SCASA. One is in memory of Dr. Alida Begina, who was Hamden’s superintendent from 1995 until her death in 2007. The other honors former East Haven Superintendent Martin DeFelice, who died in 2006.

“Alumni” of the Hamden school administration were also involved in the luncheon. Organizers included one-time Hamden Assistant Superintendent Dr. Portia Bonner, who now runs the East Haven public schools. Another former Hamden assistant, Hamlet Hernandez, is now Superintendent of Schools in Branford.

Click the following link to access The Hamden Journal.

The Hamden Journal