Superintendent: 3 New COVID-19 Cases in 2 Schools
Superintendent Thomas ScariceDear Westport Families and Staff,
We had 3 newly reported cases of Covid-19 associated with our schools from yesterday and today. The positive cases came from:
Bedford Middle School - 1
Kings Highway Elementary School - 2
It is important to note that the district once again provided optional surveillance testing yesterday for all elementary and middle school students under the age of 12. We had 424 students participate in this round, with the exception of participants from Saugatuck Elementary School who will have that option again on Thursday. Only one positive case came from this round which is reflected in the numbers reported at Kings Highway Elementary School.
Please remember that families are asked to report positive Covid-19 cases of students using our reporting voicemail or email. Please follow this link for more information on reporting.
Additionally, we want to remind families that students with pending Covid-19 tests should not return to school until receiving negative results. This approach is critical in helping us minimize the potential for transmission in our schools.
Respectfully,
Thomas Scarice
Superintendent of Schools
Westport Book Shop Welcomes Artist Susan Fehlinger as October Exhibitor
The Westport Book Shop is pleased to welcome artist Susan Fehlinger as its guest art exhibitor for the month of October, at the Book Shop’s Drew Friedman Art Place. Susan is an oil painter; her exhibit includes 12 coastal paintings that evoke a sense of place.
Susan Fehlinger’s paintings depict familiar, yet abstracted scenes. Her painting style emphasizes her interest in texture, color and light; and she applies her paint thickly with a palette knife to highlight structure, form and shadow. Her compositions play with scale, placement, and negative/positive spaces, creating visual interest and an individual style.
Susan is a member of the Silvermine Arts Center, The Artists Collective of Westport, and the Ridgefield Guild of Artists, and is an exhibiting member of the Rowayton Art Center where she also teaches painting with the palette knife. Since moving to Connecticut in 2014, she has had a solo show at The Westport Library, The Greene Art Gallery in Guilford, and The Kershner Gallery in Fairfield, and she has exhibited her work at Beechwood Arts, Silvermine and the Westport Art Center.
Westport Book Shop, a nonprofit used book store, is downtown Westport’s only source for used and antiquarian books, vintage vinyl records, and other media. It is located at 23 Jesup Road, right across Jesup Green from the Westport Library. The art exhibit is open to the public during the Book Shop’s business hours: Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays from Noon to 5 p.m. (closed Mondays). Susan Fehlinger’s work will be on exhibit through October 31, 2021.
The Book Shop’s “Drew Friedman Art Place” is an area of the store dedicated to exhibiting the work of community artists year-round, on a rotating basis. Miggs Burroughs, a Trustee of the Drew Friedman Community Arts Center, and a founding member of The Artists Collective of Westport, is curating these exhibits, which change monthly.
Earthplace Fall Fest Brings Excitement to the Forest
Sunday’s Fall Festival at Earthplace brought fun and wonder to the Woodside Lane forest with hayrides, animal encounters, and an apple slingshot (photos below). The Festival took a hiatus during the pandemic, but returned in full force this year with volunteers and members of the Earthplace team helping facilitate the annual fundraising tradition. All funding goes towards supporting the non-profit mission of the local nature center and preschool, helping to fill in a donation void left by the lockdown-era world. Chatty, one of Earthplace’s resident Bald Eagles kept an eagle-eye on festival visitors
Dog Festival Returns to Winslow this Sunday
Photos Of Previous Westport Dog Festivals by J.C. Martin
The Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce is pleased announce that the 5th Annual Westport Dog Festival will be held on Winslow Park on Sunday October 10th from 10am to 4pm. The festival is once again being produced in association with TAILS the local charitable organization that promotes spay/neutering animals.
“We’re finally back after multiple cancellations due to the pandemic,” said Matthew Mandell, Executive Director of the WWCC. “This year it will be great, people really want to get out for a family day of fun. It’s a three ring circus of activities that will celebrate everything dog, so bring yours.“
The event will take advantage of the large field on Winslow Park, often called the dog park, with multiple informative and exciting demonstrations, goofy competitions, Police K9 presentation, kids activities, vendors, food trucks and more.
Demonstrations sponsored by Interstate Lumber will include guide dogs, training exhibitions and a meet and greet with Piglet the blind and deaf chihuahua. The police K9 presentations are sponsored by Garavel Autogroup. Competitions sponsored by Earth Animal will offer prizes for; best tail wager, best dressed, best kisser, best trick, best lap dog over 50 lbs and dog that most looks like its owner. Judging will be done by many of the Town’s elected officials. And of course there will be adoptables and information about all our outstanding non-profits, sponsored by Spot on Veterinary.
The presenter and lead sponsor of the event is Choice Pet. “We are thrilled to again be the main sponsor of the Westport Dog Festival,” said William Dellipoali, Director of Merchandising and Purchasing. “the moment we opened our Westport location in 2012, it was apparent that this is a community of kindred spirits who truly value the special relationship to their animal companions. The array of activities is absolutely outstanding, and we know that this will be an unforgettable family event for dog lovers, furry and otherwise.”
Surrounding the main activities will be over 50 pet related vendors, picture taking, caricatures, kids tattoos and lots of give-a-ways as well as an assortment of food trucks. Sponsor WEBE 108 will be broadcasting live from the event and will be offering tickets and prizes on air the week prior to the event.
Parking is available at the Westport Country Playhouse, and at other lots graciously offered by neighboring businesses. Look these designated lots along the post road.
The Festival entrance fee is $10 per person and $25 for a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children). Proceeds will benefit non profit organizations. So far over $22,000 has been donated by the Chamber to deserving groups from the prior festivals.
Dog owners can register for the competitions online or at the festival. All information about the festival can be found at www.westportwestonchamber.com/dogs. A rain date is set for Sunday October 17th.