Employee Update

Mark your calendar for Friday, August 23 from 2-5:00 for EASTCONN Staff Appreciation Day! The event will be held at our Conference Center in Hampton and will feature outdoor games, bingo, giveaways and a raffle, health screenings, a prize wheel, refreshments and so much more. Watch your email for more details, but for now, plan to spend the afternoon in Hampton with your EASTCONN friends.

EASTCONN's Annual Board Meeting took place on May 23 in Hampton. Gary Petersen served as emcee for the evening, while State Senator Mae Flexer was our keynote speaker. Honorees included retirees Carol Klemyk, Diane Dugas and Brooklyn Superintendent Patricia Buell. Service Recognition Awards were presented to Tiana Mancuso (ACT), and accepted for Tammy Shippee (NRP), Frank Grabowski (Transportation), and Brandy Montigny (Adult Education Programs). ACT's student choir performed, and QMC students shared poetry and insight into their academic experiences. Four CABE Design Awards were presented to EASTCONN's Marketing and Communications team. The Mobile Manufacturing Lab was open for tours by Education Specialist Tomas Hallengren.

On May 22, the Killingly High School auditorium was buzzing with families, student artists and music for the Head Start Annual Student Art Show. The event is the result of months of planning and hard work led by Head Start Manager Emily Hayden and her planning team. From paintings, tie-dye t-shirts, collages and sculpture to interactive displays, pool noodle art, collage and stickers, all of our students, siblings and parents joined the fun!

• Quinebaug Middle College community brings eclipse to life for visually impaired student (Villager Newspapers)
• Visually Impaired CT high school student experiences solar eclipse through sound, thanks to classmate (CT Insider)
• EASTCONN News page - scroll down for these stories:
• Empowering Communities Through Education: EASTCONN's Interdistrict Cooperative Grants Program (Connections, Chronicle)
• Harmony in Diversity Student Art Show Debuts (Chronicle)
• ACT Students, alumni come together for DanceFest '24 (Chronicle)
• Opinion: For youth, CT's 'Quiet Corner' is becoming the 'Forgotten Corner' (CT Mirror)
• Quinebaug Middle College gives high school students a head start on college: what they offer (Norwich Bulletin)

Remember your school's end-of-year field day? It was as fun as ever at the Quinebaug Middle School (QMC) Field Day on June 7. Activities included sack races, an obstacle course, volleyball, chalk painting, musical chairs, water balloons, parachute games, a tug-of-war, photo booth and lots more. Principal Ted Kelleher was honorary Grillmaster, serving up burgers and dogs for students and staff. The day ended with yearbook distribution and plenty of time for signing them.

"The Addams Family" - a musical story of love, secrets and embracing your (and your family's) identity told with the classic characters of Charles Addams - was performed by students from EASTCONN's Arts at the Capitol Theater (ACT) students in mid-May. The production featured students from different pathways and grades working together both on stage and behind the scenes. It was quite the creepy and kooky (and wonderful) performance!

Harmony in Diversity: Student Art Gala took place in Hampton on May 1-2, featuring paintings, collages, ceramics, sculptures, costumes and more created by students from EASTCONN's special education programs. Participants were treated to music and refreshments. Items donated by our generous sponsors helped to raise money for the purchase of a kiln for students.

NOW HIRING at EASTCONN Clinical, Developmental and Therapeutic Programs:



• Autism ABA Instructors
• Instructional Assistants
• More!

EASTCONN is committed to ensuring accessibility of its communications for staff with disabilities. If you are having difficulty reading this communication, please contact Dona Prindle at dprindle@eastconn.org for assistance.