Nester 

named

teacher of

year

WOODSTOCK — The Woodstock Academy named Physical Education teacher,  Emily Nester, as the Teacher of the Year for the 2015 – 2016 school year.

Nester’s 14-year career at The Academy began in 2001 as a long term substitute in the Physical Education (P.E.) department. Following an incredibly successful spring semester, she was hired full-time in the fall of 2001. She has since expanded her class load to include Health and Family Foods at The Academy.

“One of the most important things I want my students to take away from my classes is valuable life skills as well as an overall improvement in their lifestyle, increased self-esteem, and better interpersonal skills,” Nester said. “In any of my classes, P.E., Health, or Family Foods, I hope my students are having a positive experience, whether its performing various exercises or enhancing their culinary talents. If they enjoy learning and mastering these skills now, then hopefully they will continue to use them throughout their lives.”

During her tenure, Nester has served as a coach for several sports, started the Climbing Club, an extracurricular activity for students interested in rock and wall climbing, and currently sits on the School Health Advisory Council. She also assists with The Academy’s Unified P.E. class; most recently hosting an in-school field trip with Killingly High School’s Unified P.E. class where students enjoyed a day of indoor climbing and team building activities.

“Emily was chosen as our Teacher of the Year because of her great empathy for people as well as her incredible dedication to her students and The Academy community,” Associate Headmaster Holly Singleton said. “She’s truly made a tremendous difference in the lives of our students.”

Nester also focuses on taking her students outside of the classroom to learn new hobbies that promote a healthier lifestyle. Each year she takes her students surfing at Narragansett Town Beach, rock climbing at Ross’ Cliffs, cross country skiing around Woodstock, Paddleboarding down the Narrow River, and much more.

“Emily knows that teaching and learning happen beyond the four walls of a classroom, which makes her students extremely interested in her classes,” Headmaster Chris Sandford said. “She inspires and motivates her students to be healthy and is always challenging them to do something they might not have the opportunity or confidence to do on their own. We are incredibly lucky to have her as part of our faculty and we are very proud to have her representing The Academy.”

 

 

Autumn Solitude

An old well in East Woodstock stands against the autumn leaves. More photos on page 6. Linda Lemmon photo.

 

 

Football Wrap-up

Killingly 

continues its 

march 

to CIAC 

Playoffs

By Ron P. Coderre

In a week that saw all but two area teams go down to defeat, the Killingly Redmen continued their pursuit of one of the top spots in the CIAC Class M playoff picture.  The Redmen had to employ a tough defensive posture in gaining a hard fought win over the Fitch Falcons.  The win stretched the teams winning streak to seven games.

The Quinebaug Valley Pride picked up its second win in the last two weeks assuring them of a .500 season minimally.  The Pride, which is suffering from injuries to key players, has one game remaining before its Thanksgiving morning encounter with Killingly.

Plainfield, attempting to rebound from its forfeit loss two weeks ago, lost for the third straight week, while Woodstock Academy, which has been outmanned all season lost to a good Waterford team.  Hyde-Woodstock, which is also in a late season swoon, was shutout on its home turf. 

Killingly Declaws Falcons

Killingly High School, riding a seven-game win streak, passed a rugged road test when it beat the Fitch Falcons in Groton 15-6.  The victory raised Killingly’s record to 7-1 and proved they are a CIAC postseason worthy team.

Despite the fact that Killingly’s top running back Austin Caffrey was held to 51 yards by a stiff Fitch defense coach Chad Neal’s team went to other weapons in figuring out a way to win.  Leading 2-0 at intermission, thanks to an errant Fitch snap that went through the end zone, Killingly turned to quarterback Kyle Derosier in the second half.  Derosier responded with a touchdown pass and a running touchdown.

Following a Fitch score to open the second half that put Killingly down 6-2, Derosier, who was 4-7 for 72 yards went to work in the air.  He connected with Jake Gauthier on a 28-yard pass-run play to put Killingly on top for good 8-6.

Killingly iced the contest in the final quarter when Derosier ran over from 6 yards out.  A Luke Desaulnier point-after kick closed out the scoring.

Killingly received a strong ground game from Caffrey’s running mate Spencer Lockwood, who recorded 155 yards on 26 carries.

The red hot Killingly team goes for victory number eight on Friday, when they entertain the Montville Indians in a 6:30 p.m. contest under the arcs.

Pride Notches CSC Victory

Quinebaug Valley Pride running back Jeremee “Buddha” Perez, despite being hampered slightly by a bruised hip, proved his mettle as he led his team to a well deserved 28-20 victory over visiting Vinal Tech/East Hampton/ Goodwin Tech.

The hard-charging Perez, who had 212 yards on 25 carries, set the tone for the evening when he recorded two first period touchdowns.  He scored on runs of 22 and 63 yards.  Before the first quarter buzzer had sounded the Pride was up 20-6 thanks also to a Sebastian Ruiz 65-yard touchdown run.

Ruiz (11-170) combined with Perez and Kyle Loomis (8-72) for a total of 454 yards on the ground for coach Joe Asermelly’s Pride eleven.  

Quarterback Chuckin’ Charlie Innes, who played despite a serious knee injury, scored the final Pride touchdown when he hobbled over on a three-yard run.  The victory advances the Pride to 5-3 on the season and 4-3 in the Constitution State Conference.  On Saturday the team travels to Platt Tech for a 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon CSC contest.

Plainfield Falls to the Stonington Bears

Plainfield fell to its third consecutive loss when it was dropped on the road 21-15 by Stonington.  The Panthers Tyler Ballard gave his mates hope when he opened the scoring on a 2-yard burst to give Plainfield a short lived 6-0 advantage.

Stonington responded by scoring 21 unanswered points to take a 21-7 advantage, one they never relinquished.  Ballard scored again from 2 yards out to close out the scoring but it wasn’t enough as the Panthers fall to 3-5 on the season and 1-4 in the Eastern Connecticut Conference Small Division.

Plainfield faces another rugged opponent on Friday, when it travels to the 7-1 Ledyard Colonels for a 6:30 p.m. game under the Friday Night lights.

Woodstock Falls at Home

It was another week where the Woodstock Academy Centaurs knew they had a rugged opponent on its schedule.  Despite putting up a valiant effort the Centaurs of coach Clay Killingsworth fell 45-14 to the Waterford Lancers.

The loss drops Woodstock to 1-7 on the season.  Things don’t get easier next week as the Acads travel to Groton for a Friday evening 6:30 p.m. encounter with the Fitch Falcons.

Wolfpack’s Woes Continue

Hyde School-Woodstock fell to 2-4 on the season when it was shutout by visiting Proctor Academy 21-0.  Proctor scored in every period in handing coach Sean Saucier’s courageous Wolfpack its fourth straight loss.  After winning its first two games of the season Hyde has been unable to come up with a winning formula as it prepares for its final game of the season on Saturday against its sister school, Hyde-Bath, Maine.  The contest is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start in Woodstock.

 

..

 

 

 

Wins award

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Lyndsey N. St. Jean of Pascoag, was recently named a recipient of the Royal Skookum Award, an honor presented by Western New England University’s Alumni Association. The Skookum is awarded to students who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence in all their endeavors: academics, co-curricular activities, sports, and community service. “Skookum” is the Native American Chinook Indian word meaning “excellence.” St. Jean was one of 15 outstanding students to receive an award at the ceremony.

Majoring in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management with a minor in Mathematical Science, Lyndsey is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Tau Beta Pi, and Mortar Board. Lindsey also holds membership in the Society of Women Engineers, The American Society of Engineering Management, and the Institute of Industrial Engineers. After graduation, Lyndsey hopes to work as a process or project engineer in New England, earn a PhD, and one day return to academia to inspire young women engineers.