OneManchester
Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024
THREE KINGS DAY. Also known as Epiphany, this holiday for Catholics and particularly Hispanics marks the arrival in Bethlehem of the Three Wise Men bearing gifts -- and for the first time in years there will be a town-wide celebration. It’s Saturday and we have information about it below. (There's also no school tomorrow in recognition of the holiday.) Plus, if you’ve driven by MHS lately you’ve seen some new signage that helps answer a question that has been asked by so many visitors over the years: Which is the entrance? We have the scoop on that today, too.
In The Spotlight
Next Year's School Budget On Monday's BoE Agenda
The next BoE meeting is scheduled for Monday at Lincoln Center with the superintendent's recommended 2024-25 budget on the agenda. The last meeting (held Dec. 11) included the fall data report. For a replay of that meeting click here.
OF NOTE:
The district's recent PJ Day raised $6,988 (in cash, checks, and online donations) for the Connecticut Children's Medical Center. That brings the total over nine years to more than $40,000 raised in addition to the thousands of cards that have been made for children being treated for cancer and other illnesses.
Also:
Fundraiser: MHS Broadcast Journalism students are hosting a Bingo fundraiser at the Elks Club on Jan. 12 to help support their trip to the National Convention In California. No tickets will be sold at the door. Click here for more info.
Multilingual families: The LAS Links is a yearly assessment that measures a child’s English language proficiency level and schools will begin testing on Monday (Jan. 8). Please click here for more information.
TLC Foundation Seeking Donations: The TLC Foundation Inc. mission is to provide a safe, nurturing home environment to adolescents who cannot stay at home due to family disruption, parent-child conflict or the lack of a suitable home environment. Please consider making a donation through the TLC Foundation website or by contributing much-needed supplies from the Amazon wish list. The house also desperately needs a washing machine.
January Concerts at Bailey:
Tuesday, Jan. 9 -- MHS Modern Band Concert
Wednesday, Jan. 17 -- MHS Mid-Winter Concert
Monday, Jan. 22 -- MHS presents the United States Coast Guard Band
All performances start at 7 p.m.
A Tradition Returns
After an eight-year absence the town is again holding a Three Kings Day celebration. It's Saturday night at Concordia Lutheran Church and is all 'sold out' (the deadline to rsvp was Dec. 30) but the event organizer, Dr. Maria Cruz (above), is already looking forward to a bigger event that can accommodate more people next year. "It’s gratifying to see so much interest,” said Cruz, who is Town Clerk and the founder of the Manchester Latino Affairs Council, which is sponsoring Saturday's event.
For more about the event, please click here.
More Of The Week Ahead
Friday, Jan. 5
8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. -- Red Cross blood drive at Manchester Memorial Hospital, 71 Haynes St.
Noon - 2 p.m. -- ‘Solutions Not Resolutions’ led by Stacy Zackin, PhD at WORK_SPACE, 903 Main St.
6 p.m. -- Free movie night at Nathan Hale Recreation Center, 160 Spruce St.
Saturday, Jan. 6
10 a.m. - 2 p.m. -- Second Saturday open house at WORK_SPACE, 903 Main St.
10 a.m. -- Access Health CT Open Enrollment at Whiton Library.
5 - 9 p.m. -- Three Kings Day celebration at Concordia Lutheran Church, 40 Pitkin St.
Monday, Jan. 8
7 p.m. -- BOE meeting at Lincoln Center.
Tuesday, Jan. 9
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. -- Teen Crafternoon at Mary Cheney Library.
Wednesday, Jan. 10
10 a.m. - noon -- Genealogy group rountable at 175 Pine St.
6 - 7:30 p.m. -- Anime / Magna Club at Mary Cheney Library.
Also:
Little Theatre of Manchester announced its 2024 Jukebox Music Series that starts with 'The Ultimate Cher Experience' on Feb. 24. Click here for the full schedule.
Free Movie Nights at Nathan Hale Recreation Center will happen on the first Friday of the month through April starting with ‘Inside Out’ tomorrow. Click here for show schedule and dates.
The overnight parking ban between 2 - 6 a.m. will be in effect until April 1.
The ‘Perspectives of Time’ art exhibit at WORK_SPACE runs through Jan. 26
Down the Road
The 39th Annual Dr. MLK Jr. Celebration will be hosted on Jan. 16 at the Manchester High School Bailey Auditorium. Click here for more information.
Second Congregational Church is sponsoring a Roast Pork Dinner on Jan. 20. Click for info.
YSB will host ‘Sibshops’ for siblings of brothers and sisters with disabilities once a month starting Jan. 26. Click here for details.
‘Little Theatre of Manchester’s 2024 season starts with ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ Feb. 2 - 18 and you can see the full lineup by clicking here.
The Elks Club is bringing ‘The Wall that Heals’ back to Manchester in September. Click here for details.
This and That
Also:
- As part of a branding initiative, the town is seeking community input through a survey you'll find here. (For a flier in Spanish, click here.)
- The town is asking residents to share their ideas about and vision for a new 21st Century public library via a survey you'll find here.
- The Youth Service Bureau is offering mini-grants to local groups and organizations and the info is here.
- Manchester Public Schools is recruiting four parents/guardians to join a Community Research Team for a 10-12-week pilot project focused on getting to know our fastest growing, largest population, our Hispanic/Latinx/Latine population. If you are a parent/guardian of a current MPS student and identify as Hispanic/Latinx/Latine please see this flyer for more details:
On The Run
MHS sophomore Samiya Eady (right) won the 300 meter event at the Hillhouse Holiday Meet on Saturday while junior Gavin Kane placed fifth in the 1000 meter with a personal best time of 2:44.82.
Read more about Samiya in this Dec. 27 CT Insider story:
Manchester track speedster Samiya Eady readies to face her toughest competition yet
And we have more Winter sports pictures on our OneManchester CT sports Facebook page.
For years new visitors to Manchester High have had to guess which entrance to use -- but new signage is making things much more clear.
In addition to what’s recently been installed -- notably signs on Brookfield (top) and Summit streets -- the one on East Middle Turnpike will be replaced to reflect the new theme and there is also a plan to replace the ‘message board’ at the corner of Brookfield and East Middle with an electronic sign that can display announcements.
The company handling the project is Manchester’s own R Design, which is owned by Ron Melnick, a 1998 MHS grad. He said everything should be completed within the next couple of weeks (although the electronic sign, which he’s not handling, still needs final approval from town).
- NOTE: OneManchester is compiled by the school district's communications office but is dependent on contributions from people and institutions throughout the town and school district. So if you have something that you think people would want to know about, please let us know. Photos, fliers, links, tips, whatever -- please share with Paul Ofria at pofria@mpspride.org.
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