Learn about the impact made by Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University

 



Ireland - Helen Bennett

HAMDEN – The impact made by Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University in its first five years will be the topic at a discussion by the museum’s founding curator, Niamh O’Sullivan, at 6 p.m. Sept. 27, at the museum, 3011 Whitney Ave., according to a release.

 

The lecture is free and open to the public, but registration is required, the release said. Go to ighm.org to register. O’Sullivan also will talk about the museum's plan for future exhibitions when she kicks off the museum’s celebration of its fifth anniversary, the release said. 

 



The Hunger Museum - Helen Bennett

A reception will follow the lecture at 6:45 p.m. Guests to this lecture are asked to bring canned foods to be donated to the Connecticut Food Bank. 

 

O’Sullivan, who earned a doctorate at the University College Dublin, and a master’s degree from the University College London, also is professor emeritus of Visual Culture at the National College of Art and Design in Ireland, the release said.

 

The Hunger Museum - Helen Bennett

"Formerly head of education at the National Gallery of Ireland, she curated “The Eyes of a Child” (National Gallery of Ireland, 1979) and the first retrospective exhibitions of Aloysius O’Kelly (Hugh Lane, 2000), and Daniel Macdonald (IGHM, 2016). Among her various accomplishments, O’Sullivan is also an award-winning scholar. Her publications include “Aloysius O’Kelly: Art, Nation, Empire” (2010), “The Tombs of a Departed Race: Illustrations of Ireland’s Great Hunger” (2014) and “In the Lion’s Den: Daniel Macdonald, Ireland and Empire” (2016). "

 

Also in the release: "Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University is home to the world's largest collection of visual art, artifacts and printed materials relating to the Irish Famine. The museum preserves, builds and presents its art collection to stimulate reflection, inspire imagination and advance awareness of Ireland's Great Hunger and its long aftermath on both sides of the Atlantic."

 

 



Ireland - Helen Bennett

The museum is open Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sundays, 1-5 p.m. Museum admission is free.

 

For more about Quinnipiac University,  visit QU.edu. Connect with Quinnipiac on Facebook at Facebook.com/quinnipiacunews and follow Quinnipiac on Twitter @QuinnipiacU.

Editor's note: All information in this post was contributed. Click one of the buttons below to share it.

Learn how you can help a dedicated NY Jazz ensemble

Contributed

A new crowdfunding campaign has just been launched to raise money for Binghamton University’s Harpur Jazz Ensemble, according to a release.

 

"More than just a musical education, Binghamton University has been providing students with community, friendships, and connections that last a lifetime," the release said. "The Harpur Jazz Ensemble is a group of talented and passionate students who study and perform big-band repertoire for the community and student body."

 

However, despite "an enormous impact on the local community the group has seen an alarming drop in budget over the past year," the release said.  Therefore, "the launch of their crowdfunding campaign is to raise funds for new instruments, upgraded technology, and better rooms and furniture so they can continue to spark the love for music and its many intellectual benefits in others." 

"Our ensemble doesn't just give these kids an education in music theory, technique, and history. It's an education in community," alumni and crowdfunding organizer Ben Wood said, also in the release. “The friendships and connections we create are for life.” 

"The intent of the campaign is to raise funds for new instruments, upgraded technology, and better rooms and furniture so they can continue to spark the love for music and its many intellectual benefits in others."

"It [music] influences our emotions, makes us think in different ways, and teaches us how to work together,” Wood also said. “I would hate to see something so all-encompassing and vital be unavailable to all the students who share this passion for music."

Donations can be made through the Binghamton crowdfunding page: http://www.binghamton.edu/promo/crowd-funding/harpur-jazz-ensemble.html.

Editor's note: All information and the photo in this post were contributed. Click one of the buttons below to share it.

Marc Lamont Hill, host of BET News, to lecture at Quinnipiac University

 

 Marc Lamont Hil

HAMDEN - Marc Lamont Hill, host of BET News and a political contributor for CNN, will present the lecture, “Promoting Diversity in Education,” at 7 p.m. March 21 a Quinnipiac University, according to a release.

 

The lecture will be held at Burt Kahn Court in the Athletic and Recreation Center  275 Mount Carmel Ave., and is free and open to the public, the release said.

 

"Hill, a distinguished professor of African-American studies at Morehouse College, has been a social justice activist and organizer since his days growing up in Philadelphia," the release said. "He is a founding board member of My5th, a non-profit organization devoted to educating youth about their legal rights and responsibilities. He also is a board member and organizer of the Philadelphia Student Union. Hill also works closely with the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project, focusing on drug informant policy. Over the past few years, he has actively worked on campaigns to end the death penalty and to release numerous political prisoners.

 

"An award winning journalist, Hill is the former host of the nationally syndicated television show, 'Our World with Black Enterprise,' and the inaugural host of “Huff Post Live,” as well as a former political contributor to Fox News Channel. Hill has received numerous prestigious awards from the National Association of Black Journalists, GLAAD and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. In 2011, Ebony Magazine named him one of America’s 100 most influential black leaders," the release said.

 

For more information, call 203-582-8652.

 

For more information on Quinnipiac, visit www.quinnipiac.edu. Connect with Quinnipiac on Facebook at www.facebook.com/quinnipiacuniversity and follow Quinnipiac on Twitter @QuinnipiacU.

 

Editor's note: All information and the photo in this post were contributed. Click one of the buttons below to share it.

Orange Historical Society let folks hold events in historic house

ORANGE – Did you know that the historic Bryan-Andrew House is available for use for special events?

The house can accommodate about 18 people seated at tables in the various rooms of the home, the parlor, the hall and the keeping room, all with working fireplaces, Orange Historical Society officials said. 

For the events, docents dressed in period costumes give tours of the home.  All food and beverages must be brought by the family or group using the house as no kitchen is currently available.

For information, including about rates, call 203 795-3106 and leave a message.  All calls will be returned.

Further, those interested in history and helping to keep the society going can visit The Academy Museum Antique and Gift Shop at 605 Orange Center Road,

 

The shop is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., on Saturdays.

 

 

An example of the items displayed in the museum is a hand-painted postcard from the 1940s, society President Ginny Reinhard said. The Dutch postcard has a message on the back that says "our camp has fifty barracks like this there are two hundred men in one barrack.  The Germans invaded the Netherlands in May of 1940 despite their declaration of neutrality.”

The postcard (shown at right) is in the society’s collection, “which is highly prized to WWII collectors and postcard collectors as well.”

“We have an extensive collection of hand painted cards and cards from the 1900s,” she said. “The card was sent to the US Patent Office in Washington but no stamp or
postmark....a research into the post cards that look this date it 1940.”

 

Look who's teaching now

NEW HAVEN — Celebrities, politicians and business leaders, including Mayor John DeStefano Jr. and talk show host Maury Povich will teach public school classes during Teach For America Week, from April 5-16.
Teacher For America Week has taken place annually since 1997 and will take place in 30 regions across the country this year. The event draws community leaders into classrooms taught by Teach For America corps members to give lessons based on their life experiences in business, politics and elsewhere.
Povich will visit Barnum School in Bridgeport at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday. DeStefano will visit Truman School in New Haven at 11 a.m. April 13. Lincoln Financial Group Vice President Laura Dambier will visit Moylan School in Hartford at 9 a.m. April 15.
Teach For America’s network includes 7,300 corps members teaching in 35 regions and a national force of 17,000 alumni at the forefront of efforts to end educational inequity.
This year in Connecticut, nearly 160 Teach For America corps members are reaching approximately 9,000 students in underserved schools.

These kids make history easy

Student history buffs heading to the national contest for scholarships, cash awards are, at right, L-R: seated front Olga Ortiz and Mathew Buono, seated middle Javaughn Harris and Joseph Vaez, standing Jacquelynn West, Nyghel Byrd, Horeb Rodriguez, Donovan Wiggins and Dominique Jefferson. Team member Alejandro Esquivel is not shown.


By Alexandra Sanders
Special to the Register
Ten students from Metropolitan Business Academy of New Haven are headed to the National History Day Competition that will be held at the University of Maryland June 15-19.
For some, participation in National History Day might be just another school project, but for students at Metropolitan Business Academy, it’s also a way to make new friends. Many schools have sports programs in which students can socialize and meet new people, but the Metropolitan Business Academy does not. They build a sense of community through academic clubs and contests.
“They kind of grow together,” said Ann Brillante, lead social studies teacher and the students’ adviser.
The students chose to do either a paper, project, exhibit, documentary or performance, working in groups or individually. The 20 students who enter the district competition are narrowed down to 15 in the state competition. Finally, a lucky group of 10 students are chosen to attend the National History Day competition.
The advisers of the group are trying to raise $6,000 to cover room and board, food and travel for the trip. The students held a benefit dinner and project showcase on May 19, and they hope to raise more through candy bar sales and other events. Brillante said they are still trying to come up with ideas to make money in a hurry.
If they raise enough money to cover the total cost, all of the students who participated will be able to attend the conference, rather than just winners.
Brillante said the history program at Metropolitan Business Academy began small, but is growing fast. They added a new elective course called Research Methods and Historical Analysis as well as an after-school program where students can socialize while learning.
“Kids really showed enthusiasm in the club. They signed up with friends. It gave them a good home base for meeting with each other,” Brillante said.
Junior Jacquelynn West, 17, said she plans to become a neurosurgeon, but loves to study history, especially the 17th and 18th centuries, and believes the disciplines are complementary as they involve “digging and research.”
As for the upcoming competition, it will be “pretty exciting to be around people who have passion for history like I do,” she said.
Sophomore Nyghel Byrd, 16, who got involved in the competition because of his passion for graphic arts, said he caught the history bug.
“We didn’t think we could do it, but we made it,” he said, of heading to the national event.
At the competition, projects will be judged on quality and clarity of the presentation and adherence to the theme. This year’s theme is Conflict and Compromise in History.
Students who apply have the chance to receive full and partial scholarships, as well as specialized awards for the topic. The gold, silver and bronze medalists will receive $1,000, $500, and $250, respectively, with the exception of the gold medal senior division winner, who will receive the History Channel award of $5,000.
Competition winners are: West (2nd place, historical paper), Olga Ortiz (2nd place, performance), Byrd, Donovan Wiggins, Horeb Rodriguez and Alejandro Esquivel (2nd place, group Web site). Javaughn Harris (3rd place, documentary), Mathew Buono, Dominique Jefferson and Joseph Baez (3rd place, group documentary) will attend the competition as alternWhile participating in the competition, students will get a chance to explore Washington and visit attractions such as the Holocaust Museum and the National Museum of African American Culture. This will be some of the students’ first time at the Capitol.ates.

Superintendent is Super Teacher

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Reginald Mayo, shown above and at right in a classroom, was a guest teacher at Katherine Brennan School this week as part of Teach for America Week. Mayo, who has been schools superintendent since 1992 began in the district in 1967 as a science teacher at Troup Middle School; he was later chairman of the mathematics and science department at Troup and then became assistant principal of Troup, then was principal of Jackie Robinson Middle School. After completing a post-doctorate fellowship at Yale University, he then held several administrative positions before becoming superintendent.

When Irish eyes are smiling

Not everyone is Irish, but boy does everyone seem to love the wearin' o' the green on St. Patrick's Day - even if it is on their hair. This hair raising event took place at John C. Daniels School, where Principal Gina Wells allowed three students to spray their hair in green for "the awesome job students did" raising money for the American Heart Association in honor of a student who passed away last year. Photo by Mara Lavitt

UNH cuts the ribbon on its new recreation center

By Eliza Hallabeck
Special to the Register
WEST HAVEN — The ribbon was cut Monday on the new University of New Haven recreation center that students have been using since December in large numbers.
The indoor basketball court swarmed with students, faculty, alumni and friends of UNH just after 10 a.m. for the ceremonial ribbon cutting at the $15.5 million David A. Beckerman Recreation Center.
“This has provided the outlet that hasn’t yet been available for students,” said Mike Schneider, director of campus recreation.
The floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the center are visible from the Boston Post Road.
“I would say the fitness centers have really been the most popular (part of the center),” Schneider said, “but it’s really been a mix of things.”
Oren Corridon, a sophomore on campus from Long Island, N.Y., said he uses the facility three to four times a week.
“I like it a lot,” Corridon said, “because it’s better than going to the gym. Everything is right here.”
State Rep. Louis Esposito, D-West Haven, said he was impressed by the architecture of the center.
“Now that I’m here, it’s a beautiful building,” said Esposito. “It will serve the university for years to come.”
The center features state-of-the-art exercise equipment, a gymnasium with courts for sports including rollerblading, roller hockey, volleyball, basketball and indoor soccer. The fitness centers include rooms for Pilates and yoga, racquetball courts, lounges, locker rooms and a juice bar that will open April 4, according to UNH.
The center is the beginning piece of a $90 million plan to upgrade the campus through new buildings, a new dormitory and upgraded classrooms. The next part of the campus to see construction will be a 120,000-square-foot, 400-bed student housing complex in May of this year.
UNH President Steven H. Kaplan said the center owes thanks to many people, most importantly the man it was named for, David A Beckerman, a former member of the university’s Board of Directors, who provided $4 million toward construction. Beckerman flew in from Florida with his wife to be in New Haven for the event.
“I’d really like to say that this really was a pleasure,” said Beckerman. “Too often, people think they can’t help.”
Beckerman said every step of the process of creating the center had the university’s students in mind.
Kaplan said the first day the center opened, more than 900 students used it, and that made him excited for the future prospects of the facility.
According to Kaplan, the glass structure of the building was not in the original plans, but was decided on after considering many other options. He added that he is particularly proud of the “classy” design of the lockers in the locker rooms.
“It really is a billboard for this university to the outside world,” and Kaplan, “and it’s working.”
Eliza Hallabeck is a New Haven Register intern. Photos by Eliza Hallabeck

North Haven students collected books for foster kids

By Amanda Howe
Special to the RegisterBags of books crammed a U-Haul van from floor to ceiling outside the Department of Children and Families Greater New Haven headquarters, all because a small group of area teens decided to help local foster kids.
The seven North Haven Middle School students, some shown at right, spearheaded an effort to collect more than 2,600 donated books going to children served by DCF.
Heading the project was Joe Christofano, an eighth-grade student at North Haven Middle School. He went to the Community Problem Solvers program in his school and came up with the idea to “do something with books” to help foster kids.
“We had a bunch of fundraisers. We stood outside of Stop & Shop and took cash donations but we also accepted donated books,” Joe said.
The students contacted Lisa Flower, programs director for the Office of Public Relations at DCF, in July.2007
“When we were contacted back in July, we thought it was a great idea,” Flower said. “We got data about how many kids in foster care were in this office.”
Flower said that in Greater New Haven on average, about 260 children a month move through foster care. In Connecticut, the average is 4,000 children a month.
Students Marissa Volpe, Derrick Russo, Kenny Broccoli, and Joe Burr traveled to the DCF office to unload the van. Students Caleb Chapman and Drew Proto could not make it.
Roseann Christofano, Joe’s mother, helped the kids raise money and let them use her basement to house the books.
“My basement looked like a Barnes and Noble,” Roseann Christofano said. “But they packed them all up in one day.”
The seven middle schoolers collected more than books. Younger children will receive coloring books and crayons while older children will get books, notebooks, and pens. Each bag is geared toward the child’s age and gender.
Roseann Christofano said that children ages 10 and up will find brochures about drug awareness in the bags. She said fund raising in North Haven was helped by many private businesses donating money or gift cards.
The students held a raffle at school and gave away a Zune mp3 player. Tickets were three for $1 or 50 cents each. North Haven businesses including Tommy K’s Video, The Only Game In Town, Hobby Town U.S.A., McDonalds, and Showcase Cinema donated gift cards to the raffle, while the North Haven Funeral Home and Prudential Real Estate donated money.
Last year, Roseann Christofano said, the group of students from the middle school took part in a snack food drive for the Boys and Girls Village. This was also through Community Problem Solvers and students took first place in a Connecticut competition for their effort.
TChristofano said the projects are judged on an interview they all go to, the project itself, how fund raising was done and how or if the project continues to give back to the community.he students also went on to win fourth in the international competition held in Fort Collins, Colo.
Flower praised the students for taking on the challenge and bringing the project to completion.
“When kids enter DCF, they usually only have a few things. Now they’ll have their very own bag and the reading will help keep their mind off of things,” Flower said. “Now each time a social worker goes out into the field, and they know they are going to see a 3-year-old boy for example, they can grab one of those bags.”
Amanda Howe is a New Haven Register intern.

In the pink

At right, First grade teacher's assistant Wanda Vasquez sprays Assistant Principal Tony Napoleone's hair pink on Friday morning at Clinton Avenue School. Napoleone vowed to dye his hair pink if the school's students could raise at least $1000 in change to promote cancer awareness.

Above, Elena Hernandez, Jayle Ward and Ernesto Lopez, back row, center, react enthusiastically to the pink coloring of Napoleone’s hair at Clinton Avenue School.

Photos by Brad Horrigan

Dance with me

Worthington Hooker School 7th graders Noel Lee, Jonet Bolden and Tarpley Hitt watch intently as their classmate Bianca Washington dances with tango dancer Patrick Gray on Wednesday afternoon. The Yale School of Music provided an introduction to Argentinean tango through live music and dance performances.

Photo by Brad Horrigan

Microsociety School already has its elections wrapped up

While the race to the White House continues on a national level, a group of student leaders in at Microsociety School have been sworn in as mayor, deputy mayor and school officers. Superior Court Judge Angela C. Robinson administered the oath of office.

Robert Durant, an eighth grader, was sworn in as mayor; Shane Brown, a sixth grader, as deputy mayor; Ashley Roman, also a sixth grader, as treasurer; and Louis Oliwa, also an eighth grader, as secretary, school officials said in a news release.

Microsociety students ratify their own school constitution, which is written by students and is the document “by which the school is governed (speeding in the hallway, talking back and breaking cafeteria rules are among the violations subject to fines at this Microsociety school, for example), officials said in the release. Class representatives ratified the school constitution.

In addition, Microville’s Safety Patrol Peacekeepers were officially sworn into office by Sgt. Rick Rodriguez and Lt. Joseph Streeto of the New Haven Police Department. Speakers included Robert Kutzik,, regional director of MicroSociety Inc. and Carroll E. Brown, president of the West Haven Black Coalition, Inc.
At Microsociety Magnet, students are also citizens of “Microville,” a community within the school with its own mayor, bank, marketplace, police and judicial system, the release said. Students run for office, vote in elections, make and maintain laws and manage businesses. The model helps students apply classroom learning to real-life situations.
After the swearing in, the school celebrated with a Buffet style dinner and an Inaugural Ball.

Show in photo above, top, l to r, Treasurer Ashley Roman, Mayor Robert Durant, Deputy Mayor Shane Brown, and Secretary Louis Oliwar.


Photo above, bottom: The Microville choir performed at the inaugural.

Schools seeking to hire lobbyist

By Elizabeth Benton
Register Staff
NEW HAVEN — Citing stiff competition for limited state funds, Superintendent of Schools Reginald Mayo has secured Board of Education approval to hire a lobbyist to represent the district.
"The smaller the pot gets, the more important it is to have a lobbyist on hand," said Mayo, shown at right. "We don’t want this board to be left behind," he said, playing on the title of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
The board’s lobbyist would push legislation in Hartford and work with state leaders to increase New Haven’s funding.
The board did not discuss the new position’s salary.
"If we expect to get someone than can jump right in … we may have to pay a pretty decent salary for someone," Mayo said Tuesday. "I’m hoping to find someone that would jump feet first into the legislative session that is about to begin."
Mayo said he’s in Hartford once a week or every other week, but that’s not enough to push legislation.
"Dollars are going to be so tight this particular time," he said.
Robert Rader, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, said his agency advocates for "boards of education as a whole but not for any one in particular."
He did not know how many school boards statewide have sought individual lobbyists, but said "I would assume some of the districts, if it was the right issue, might decide to hire somebody."
Mayo said that, specifically, New Haven needs to push for a change in magnet school funding.
"We have the largest, best magnet school program. To see that go down the drain, we need to try to get that repealed," Mayo saidNew Haven magnets stand to lose millions in state aid as a result of legislation passed last June. Lawmakers voted then to increase state funding to local schools and magnet schools, but also voted to phase in major reductions in Educational Cost Sharing grants for districts sending students to magnet schools. The legislation applies to students attending magnet schools both in and out of the district. The law goes into effect for the 2009-10 school year.
Mayo also noted $2.3 million in lost funding for the district’s literacy mentors.
"We need to lobby legislators to get that decision repealed," he said.
City Hall already has its own lobbying team, former state Rep. Chris DePino of DePino and Associates, and City Hall-based legislative liaison Laoise KinCQg.
Mayo first mentioned his desire to bring a lobbyist on staff earlier this month during a conversation charging the education non-profit Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now with pushing inaccurate data about charter school success.
Citing the strength of lobbying efforts put forth by charter schools, which city educators have charged with pulling funds away from other public schools, Mayo said the district "probably needs to hire a lobbyist."
"My thing is, when the total dollars start to dry up, and other people have the advantage of lobbyists, and you don’t have anyone, the power goes to the squeaky wheel," Mayo said. "We better get smart and do the same thing."
Elizabeth Benton can be reached at 789-5714 or ebenton@nhregister.com.

New Haven among low-performing school districts, report says

By Elizabeth Benton
Register Staff
Reports are expected over the next two weeks from the state Department of Education outlining recommended changes for 12 districts statewide, including New Haven, triggered by sub-par performance on state exams.
Bridgeport, East Hartford, Hartford, Meriden, Middletown, New Britain, New London, Norwalk, Norwich, Waterbury and Windham also were each targeted for state review following failure to meet rising standards set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
While Connecticut districts have a long history of autonomous leadership, last June the state legislature gave $180 million to the state Department of Education with the authorization to intervene in districts and schools chronically failing to meet federal targets.
Cambridge Education, an international school improvement organization, has been hired to assess each of the 12 districts. The reports are due over the next two weeks.
Cambridge is expected to address districts’ positive and negative aspects, and will include interviews with central office, teachers and school staff, school boards, parents, union representatives, students, and community members, according to an Education Department release. District policy and curriculum, food services, transportation, finances, and human resources also were reviewed.
The state is expected to work with each of the 12 districts to improve performance, including considering changing school structure, professional development and communication.
The 12 targeted districts educate over 113,500 students, nearly 20 percent of the state’s total public school enrollment.
The state continues to trail the nation in addressing a wide achievement gap between minority and white students, and also poor and wealthier students.
"It’s important to understand these districts serve children with the greatest needs," said state education commissioner Mark McQuillan in a statement. "Poverty, student mobility, limited English language proficiency, teacher turnover, and lack of resources are significant factors affecting progress, factors which come into play well before students enter kindergarten."
He called for the state and districts to take joint responsibility for "our state’s neediest children."
"This effort represents a strong step forward in addressing Connecticut’s biggest educational challenge: closing the achievement gap," he said.
New Haven Superintendent of Schools Reginald Mayo said he was initially concerned the state wanted to micromanage districts. "I was pleasantly surprised. This process has not been one of micromanaging. …We’ve worked very well together."
Mayo said the district’s plan is a work in progress, but his top priorities have been curriculum development, improving administrative leadership, strengthening reading programs, and social development. "Of course none of it can be done without resources," he said.
Education Department spokesman Tom Murphy said state intervention is "not about gotcha."
"This is designed as a tool to help the district have a snap shop, another set of eyes," said Murphy. "This is really about how the district can effect change, make improvements that will lead to better student improvement. Let’s face it. No one does everything perfectly. These reports will find areas for improvement. ... There may be some things that are uncomfortable, but they’re all in the spirit of taking steps forward. We know that educators in New Haven want that to happen."
Elizabeth Benton can be reached at 789-5714 or at ebenton@nhregister.com.

Schools considering new energy sources

By Elizabeth Benton
Register Staff
NEW HAVEN — With energy bills heading north of $10 million a year, city schools are considering generating electric and thermal energy on-site, a move that has the potential to save $1 million over the next decade.
New Haven’s would be the first school district statewide to experiment with the refrigerator-sized energy plants, although there are nursing homes, apartment buildings and hospitals in Connecticut and the Northeast using the technology.
The Board of Education would contract with Massachusetts-based Aegis Energy Services to install six co-generation plants at Conte/West Hills Magnet School, John S. Martinez School, Hill Regional Career, James Hillhouse and Wilbur Cross high schools and the Sound School.
Aegis would own the generators and sell power back to the schools at a rate 10 percent to 12 percent less than United Illuminating Co.
The natural gas-powered generators produce steam, which the schools would use to heat water, specifically the swimming pools at five of the six schools selected to receive the generators.
The Sound School does not have a pool, but its temperature-controlled tanks are heated year-round.
The district would pay nothing for Aegis to install the generators.
“As energy savings go, this is not that dramatic. This is a unique way to go without making any capital expenditures,” said school energy consultant Edward Melchiori.
The generators are small, producing only 75 kilowatts per hour. Nighttime energy demand at most schools is more than 200 kilowatts per hour.
Melchiori estimated only about 5 percent of a school’s energy needs could be fulfilled by the generators.
But school officials at a meeting of the Board of Education’s Administration and Finance Committee pitched the plan as a “no brainer” for the district.
“They run cleaner, greener, at less cost to the district,” said schools Chief Operation Officer Will Clark.
The state Department of Public Utility Control subsidizes this type of generation and would give the schools about $200,000 for using the technology.
Elizabeth Benton can be reached at ebenton@nhregister.com or 789-5714.

Music school slates open house

NEW HAVEN — The Neighborhood Music School, 100 Audubon St., will hold its first community open house of the year from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday.
The event is designed to give prospective students and others a chance to learn about the school’s arts programs and the nearly 100-year-old organization.
Attendees can take mini-lessons on a variety of musical instruments, sample some of the classes and get information and direction from faculty members about classes for children 6 months to 5 years old to adults.
The nonprofit community arts school has a faculty of 130, which teaches 3,000 children and adults in about 80 towns at sites in New Haven, Guilford and Woodbridge. It’s the 10th-largest school of its kind in the country.
For more information about the open house or programs, call 624-5189 or visit www.nmsmusicschool.org.

1,300 high schoolers to attend Yale ‘U.N.’ seminars

NEW HAVEN — When the 34th Yale Model United Nations conference opens this morning, delegates from New Haven’s four participating schools will not be high school students.
For a weekend, they’ll be members of the United Nations Security Council, World Health Organization, World Bank, or even the international press, representing India, Pakistan, and El Salvador.
About 1,300 high school delegates from around the world spend the weekend in the Elm City each year tackling major international issues, including gender inequality and climate change, but in past years, socioeconomic diversity at the conference itself was limited, according to Yale University senior Sabrina Howell, coordinator for Yale International Relations Association’s Outreach Program.
"There’s not enough international education at public high schools generally, and very little socioeconomic diversity at Model UN conferences," said Howell.
Last year, YIRA began working with New Haven students at Wilbur Cross’s CT Scholars program, holding weekly seminars on international relations, public speaking, research skills, and expository writing, preparing students for attendance at the conference.
This year, the seminars grew to include close to 40 students from four schools, with about 15 expected to attend the conference.
— Elizabeth Benton

Officials seek to track school computers

By Elizabeth Benton
Register Staff
NEW HAVEN — Each year, between 15 to 20 computers are stolen from city schools.
In 2006, the district took an even bigger hit when 40 new laptops at the John C. Daniels School disappeared, just as the school was wrapping up construction.
Yet, school officials estimate about 70 percent of the missing technology is not a result of theft, but of staff moving computers between buildings within the district.
The Board of Education wants to crack down on missing equipment, and is considering purchase of a $68,850 tracking program for high-tech gear at John C. Daniels School and the Gateway Center, both technology headquarters for the public schools.
"We’re trying to proactively use technology to address issues we’re having. Computers seem to have legs around here," said Will Clark, schools’ chief operation officer.
The school board’s Administration and Finance Committee recently approved contracting with Branford-based Advanced Office Systems to purchase radio tracking tags for up to 1,000 computers and other hardware.
The system sends e-mail alerts when tracked items are removed from specified areas.
If the plan receives board approval, the $68,850 system would be installed first at Gateway and Daniels. If it were successful, it could be expanded into other schools for less money, without any of the initial start-up costs.
"This way we know what’s where," Clark said.
The New York Institute of Technology is using the tracking system to monitor student attendance at lectures.
Elizabeth Benton can be reached at 789-5714 or ebenton@nhregister.com.

Fun in the field

The kindergarten (Nitzanim) children of the Jewish Community Center of Greater New Haven, shown at right, recently visited the Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington, Conn.