Norwalk Public Schools’ Post

Superintendent Dr. Estrella traveled around Norwalk on Monday, welcoming students back at many of our schools for the First Day of School. She’s filled with excitement and optimism for the new year, her fifth as the superintendent of Norwalk Public Schools.

Our teachers from Jefferson Marine Science Elementary School and the Norwalk Early Childhood Center spent the first day back for teachers building connections, collaborating, communicating and critically thinking, which will be a major focus for our scholars this year as the district implements its new Portrait of a Graduate initiative. Teacher teams were given one package of balloons (not inflated), one roll of masking tape, and 20 minutes to build the tallest tower they could. Team members had to strategize a plan, communicate effectively and work together to win. Congratulations to the Yellow Team who built the tallest, free-standing structure that stayed up!

Our teachers absolutely rocked their school spirit at Convocation 2024 on Wednesday! Mother Nature treated us to a gorgeous morning to celebrate the start of the new year with teachers from all 22 schools and programs, principals, district leaders, state and local dignitaries, community partners and our stellar cast of school mascots. We were thrilled to announce and recognize our outstanding Teacher of the Year – West Rocks Middle School’s band director Nicole Jean. With a stirring introduction from her principal Dr. Adam Reynolds, Jean paid tribute to the educators who inspired her growing up and led her to pursue a career in music education. Jean is in contention for the Connecticut Teacher of the Year and we wish her the best of luck! Students played a big role in hyping up their teachers including the Brien McMahon High School drumline, color guard and cheerleaders as well as Senior Class President Rodelin Constant. Superintendent Dr. Estrella also invited three students -- BMHS senior Cameron Rice, Nathan Hale Middle School eighth grader Sophia Pogany, and Silvermine Dual Language School third grader Grace Alejos -- to join her on stage and share what they most appreciate about their teachers. Thank you to our state and local leaders who joined us and offered motivating messages to our teachers. We appreciate your support! Thank you as well to our wonderful keynote speaker Thomas Murray, who shared a message of authenticity with our teachers and encouraged them to create personal connections with their students.

Roton Middle School celebrated its distribution of new Chromebooks to students on Tuesday with a Rams Family Day. After collecting their new devices, students and their families enjoyed a beautiful day outside, testing their strength, speed and agility on obstacle courses from The Grit Ninja then eating pizza, popcorn and cotton candy. Roton is one of five schools in the district to become a Verizon Innovative Learning Schools this school year alongside Brien McMahon High School, the Center for Global Studies, Norwalk High School and P-TECH Norwalk. Thank you to Mayor Harry Rilling, Sen. Bob Duff, CT Senate Majority Leader, State Rep. Lucy Dathan, Norwalk Common Council Member Greg Burnett, and Norwalk Board of Education Mary Ellen Flaherty-Ludwig for taking part in the celebration. We also want to thank the representatives from Verizon and Digital Promise who joined the fun. We appreciate your partnership! In partnership with Digital Promise, the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program works side-by-side with schools and districts to get internet-connected devices into the hands of students and to enhance how teachers use technology in the classroom. Click here to learn more: https://bit.ly/3IKt76b

We were so excited to welcome our new teachers to Norwalk Public Schools this week! They first met at Jefferson Marine Science Elementary School on Monday, getting to know one another, working with the NPS Curriculum team, and learning about the amazing impact that they can make in Norwalk. On Tuesday, they headed to their schools to prepare for the first day. We wish them all a great first year!

Less than two weeks before we start the new school year, and our staff around the district is hard at work, preparing to welcome back students. See more of our amazing NPS staff getting ready!

We appreciate the hard work and dedication of Senator Duff and the CT State Delegation for helping to secure significant funds that help to improve our schools and create better learning environments for our scholars and our educators. It’s also great to see our partners receiving funding that will benefit our scholars and their families and provide even more learning opportunities outside of the classroom.

Norwalk Public Schools is hard at work this summer, preparing for the 2024-25 school year. See more of our amazing staff from around the district getting ready for our triumphant return on Monday, Aug. 26.

Thank you to Xerox for their generous donation of 500 backpacks stuffed with school supplies! These backpacks will make it easier for many of our students to return to school confident that they have the tools to be successful in the classroom. We appreciate CEO Steve Bandrowczak and President and COO John Bruno supporting our schools and the Xerox employees who volunteered to stuff the backpacks at their headquarters right here in Norwalk! Assistant Superintendent of School Rob Pennington (center), Margaret Costa, Executive Director of the Norwalk Education Foundation (left), and Carol Wiltshire-Toth, Education Administer for School Counseling & Workforce Development (right), accepted the backpacks for Norwalk Public Schools from Bandrowczak (second from left) and Yvonne Hickey, GM, Public Sector Center of Excellence at Xerox (second from right) on Aug. 7.

Norwalk Public Schools is hard at work this summer, preparing for the 2024-25 school year. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back on the first day of school – Monday, Aug. 26. We look forward to seeing you all soon!