By Grace Shay and Mike Schneider

A popular course offering at Westport’s Staples High School has been cut from the 2009-10 curriculum because of budgetary reasons, a school official announced today.

James D’Amico, Social Studies Department chair, said the elimination of the English 2/U.S. History Honors Collaborative, an interdisciplinary sophomore English and United States history course, was due to what he called a “tough budget season.”

D’Amico said he made the decision with Principal John Dodig and Assistant Principal James Farnen after much discussion. The Board of Finance cut $1.4 million from the Board of Education’s proposed 2009-10 budget on March 18. (See WestportNow March 18, 2009)

“I’m very disappointed that it had to be cut,” said D’Amico of the course affectionately known as “Collab” by students and teachers. The class is currently co-taught by social studies teacher Cathy Schager and English teacher Michael Fulton.

Westport’s Staples High School Class of 1984 will hold its 25th reunion July 17-19.

Weekend events include Friday evening cocktails and gathering at a place to be decided, a Saturday afternoon tour of the new Staples building, and Saturday evening dinner and cocktails at Quattro Pazzi at the Oak Hills Country Club.

On Sunday, there will be a BYO brunch at Compo Beach.

Contact Allison for ticket information and questions at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or visit a reunion Web site at http://www.funkyside.com/staples.

Westport’s Greens Farms Academy held a World Religions Symposium today that included a panel discussion, performances and workshops.  Pictured (l-r) are: Sister Haifa, a Muslim artist; Dr. Joan Kelly, theologian; Dr. Stephen Healey, world religions director, University of Bridgeport; Mr. Singh, a sikh; Ven. Dhammadipa, abbot of the Buddhist monastery in Carmel, N.Y.; Mr. Schindler, studying to be a rabbi; and Rabbi Rachel Gurevitz, Congregation B’nai Israel, Bridgeport.  Students from kindergarten through 12th grade took part in the day-long symposium. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

By Larry Untermeyer

Four graduates of Westport’s Staples High School took part today in a Senior Center presentation highlighting career achievements of Staples grads.
Talking about life after Staples were (l-r) John Lamb, Scott Williams, Andrew Davis, and Malcolm Watson. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Larry Untermeyer for WestportNow.com

The presentation was sponsored by the Friends of the Westport Center for Senior Activities as part of an effort to remind seniors of the importance of maintaining the excellence of Westport’s schools.

Malcolm Watson, a 2001 Staples graduate, went on to graduate from Ithaca College College and then from Columbia University with an MA in social organizational psychology.

He told the audience his passion for running is directly attributable to Staples Coach Laddie Lawrence. Watson has completed both the New York and the Boston marathons.

By Dave Matlow

David Levinson: facing 21st century educational dilemma. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Westporter David Levinson knows first hand what happens when schools don’t adequately prepare their students for college.

As president of Norwalk Community College, the “under-prepared student” is a problem he faces every day, he told the Westport Rotary Club today.

“At NCC, 70 percent of those admitted need to take at least one sub-college-level course to prepare them for college level studies,” Levinson said. 

This burdens the taxpayer twice, he explained. The first time is when a resident pays local taxes for high school education.