SPRING. SPRANG. SPRUNG. Technically (well, grammatically) the latter two words are past tense verb forms but it’s just a fun phrase to say as we welcome and enjoy these mild days. This winter wasn’t much as far as snow but it is good to put it behind us anyway, and great to see our parks are busy again. One reason to stay inside: ‘Footloose’ opens tonight and the MHS spring musical is always entertaining. Scroll down for a cast photo and ticket info. And Ramadan has begun -- and we have information below.

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• The Board of Directors held another budget workshop with the BoE last night. You can watch a replay here.
• There's a public hearing on the town budget set for March 28 in Lincoln Center. The BoD is expected to adopt a final budget on April 11 and for more on the budget development process and timelines click here.

• The next BoE meeting is scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m. in Lincoln Center and the agenda will include a technology update.

ALSO:

The district has scheduled a teacher recruiting event for May 4 at MHS and we have more information here.

Top: Miss Sonokawa and her first graders discuss a book they read during equity time; bottom left, a student strikes a pose during the school's red carpet event and the Martin PTA's first-ever 'Book Swap' has been a big hit this week.

Manchester High School's Pulse program successfully competed at the Student Television Network (STN) Convention in Long Beach, California this past week. MHS was the sole New England recipient of a Broadcast Excellence award, and MHS students won an Honorable Mention in the High School News Story contest and took 3rd place in Personal VLOG contest. Students also had the opportunity to meet up with online pen pals from Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School in Lilhe, Hawaii, and took a studio tour at Warner Brothers in Burbank, California.

Watch The Pulse on location in Long Beach over the weekend.

Illing Middle School’s music department traveled to UConn yesterday, playing for and learning from professors Cara Bernard, Jamie Spillane, Janet Kim, John Mastrioanni, and graduate assistant and doctoral candidate Meredith Neumann. They also had the unique opportunity to learn from -- and help teach -- UConn students who are studying to be music teachers. In addition to masterclasses and clinics, students got a little taste of college life -- and the UConn dairy bar. Also: the E.O. Smith high school Drumline took a quick break from rehearsal to share their music with the Illing students as they waited for their buses. Here's the clip.

A crescent moon sighting signaled the start of the holy month of Ramadan sending many of the world’s approximately 1.9 billion Muslims into a monthlong fast from sunrise to sunset. Read more here.

ALSO

• Let Boy Scout Troop 27 egg your house -- it's not what you think...Click the link for details.
  

• The Youth Services Bureau has a bunch of programs for kids of all ages. Click here to find out what, where and when.

DOWN THE ROAD

• Community Education and Awareness Forum: Fighting Homelessness Together at Manchester High on March 30.

• ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ opens at Cheney Hall on March 31 and runs on the weekends through April 16.

• Wickham Park’s 2023 season opens on April 1. Click here to see the full schedule.

• Celebrate Autism Awareness Month on April 3 by wearing bright, rainbow colors and donating to Autism Families CONNECTicut.

• Save the Date: April 29 for Rebuilding Together in Manchester.

Further Down the Road:

• The Manchester Land and Conservation Trust’s annual giant tag sale will take place May 19 -27 at the barn on 330 Bush Hill Rd.

• Manchester Running Company’s ‘Spring Street Mile’ will be back on May 20. Click here to register.

• The Lutz has a seven-week summer camp program starting on July 3 that will take campers on a journey through time. Click here for registration information.

• The Silk City Fest returns to Purnell Place on Aug. 26.
  

End of an era: The sun is setting on a Manchester landmark as the Gerich's Garage building on the corner of Adams St. and Tolland Tpke. is being prepared for demolition.

Manchester Historical Society: The Genealogy Group is back and will meet on April 12; artist are wanted to help commemorate Mancjhester’s 200th anniversary; read about a pizza oven fire from a 1958 Manchester Herald; check out a very crisp John Knoll photo with an award-winning Manchester home the background and lots more.

Manchester Matters: The Town of Manchester has several job openings; budget workshop and public hearing schedule; curbside yard waste collection has resumed and will be picked on normal refuse/recycling collection day; Lions Club bowling fundraiser; Manchester Art Association opening on Friday; Parent Cafe and more. Click here for a free subscription.

The MACC Minute: Meet Bee and John - two of MACC's amazing volunteers; Homelessness education and awareness forum on March 30; check out ‘Undies Sundays’ and learn how you can be part of MACC’s volunteer team.

ALSO:

• Get the FACTS: The Change Collaborative of Manchester shares monthly updates on substance use prevention efforts happening in the community and our schools – including events, youth peer-to-peer supports, and resources for families. Click here to get updates.
  
  
• The Manchester Brotherhood in Action (BIA) is fundraising to help two local families with medical bills for children who have serious health issues. Click here to learn more.

The boys and girls track & field teams warm up under the sun on Memorial Field Tuesday. The weather has been ideal for the first week of practices for spring teams.

Owen Austin has the role of Ren McCormack, a teenage boy who moves to a small town that has banned dancing. It's Manchester High's production of Footloose, which debuts tonight on the Bailey Auditorium stage with shows on Friday and Saturday night, too. Tickets are $12 and available at the door. Showtime is 7 p.m. each night.

• 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, anything, 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.