The Berlin
Cit itiz ize en
Volume 16, Number 6
Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
Berlin trip a positive experience for teens from Brazil By Akanksha Singh and Holly Robillard Special to The Citizen
Gabriela and Ana Flavia Costa, two students from Brazil, recently spent some time in Berlin with their aunt Miriam Skwiot and her husband, Paul. On one day during of their visit, Gabriela visited Berlin High School and shadowed an eleventh grade student while Ana visited the Kensington Bird and Animal Hospital. The Costa sisters live in Londrina, Parana (city and state) which is about 300 miles west of San Paulo. When asked how she felt about the school system in See Trip, page 7
Spotlight on the schools This ongoing series highlights the status of and activities of schools throughout town. Through interviews with administrators, the spotlight gives each of the schools a chance to show what’s new, what’s challenging and what’s great about its people, programs and facility. Look for your school in an upcoming spotlight; this week the focus is on:
Hubbard Elementary School “Students remain at the center of everything we do, everything we represent, and every decision we make.”
Photo by Holly Robillard
Sisters Anna, left, and Gabriella Costa of Brazil.
Kilimanjaro conquered by cancer survivor
Donna Boehm, of Berlin, recently hiked 19,340 feet to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to raise money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure Connecticut. “It was probably one of the
Thursday, Februar y 9, 2012
hardest things I’ve done, physically,” she says. “But it was awesome.” She was among a dozen hikers, including her stepdaughter, Kristeena McDonough of Seymour, who
made the trek through Tusker Trail, a company that leads climbs and trips throughout the world. Boehm is a breast cancer survivor. She is the oncology program development manager at the Hospital of Central. Because she works with cancer patients at the hospital, she said she did the climb See Kilimanjaro, page 7
Donna Boehm of Berlin, right, and her stepdaughter, Kristeena McDonough of Seymour, are pictured at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. The women made the climb in January to help raise money in the fight against breast cancer.
Hubbard Elementary School, 139 Grove St., East Berlin, serves students from kindergarten through fifth grade. There are 245 students enrolled. Alfred Souza III is the school’s principal and its newest administrator. He has been principal for five years. What’s new at your facility? While there are currently no major facility updates to report, the school has added a swing set that accommodates eight children. The new playground equipment was acquired through efforts of the PTO. In addition, efforts have been made to infuse technology into classrooms
with the continued installation of interactive white boards (SMARTBoards) and the purchase of document cameras. One of the primary curricular initiatives this year has been the implementation of the Writing Workshop. This is an interdisciplinary approach to writing which can build students’ fluency in this content area. The workshop occurs daily as students choose a writing topic with emphasis on writing for an authentic audience. The lesson opens with a highenergy mini-lesson that either expands the possibilities for writing topics/genSee Hubbard, page 9