POMFRET — Rectory School announced that Donna Grant is now a full-time school counselor. Though she began with Rectory in January on a part-time basis, Grant will switch to full time in September, allowing her more hours not only to focus on students’ immediate needs, but also to increase student access to support.
Joining Rectory midyear, Grant quickly became acclimated to the community, and it wasn’t long before students started showing up at her office. “On a typical day, I get here at 7:30 a.m., and students are already waiting at the door,” she said. “They make their way in to say ‘good morning’ to the dogs as I unpack and get ready for the day. And then they head off to morning assembly.”
Grant tries to maintain an open-door policy. They also come to meet one of the standard poodle therapy dogs or bunnies that are always at her side. A lifelong lover of animals, Grant discovered their therapeutic benefits while working on her adolescent trauma certification.
Born and raised in Pomfret, where she raised her family, Grant has always lived within 3 miles of Rectory. She currently breeds and shows standard poodles, often selling puppies to families with a need for an emotional support dog. As a licensed clinical social worker, she also maintains a private therapy practice in Danielson. Before coming to Rectory, she served as the director of the Career Center at the Killingly High School, a role that involved a great deal of community outreach, as did her previous position as executive director of the Thompson Ecumenical Empowerment Group, a social services agency for the towns of Thompson, Pomfret, and Woodstock. Early in her career, Grant also worked at Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam in the emergency room and on labor and delivery but left to pursue social work after becoming disillusioned by the healthcare industry.
It was the chance to help people improve their lives that drew Grant to social work. “It really is about a hand up and not a handout.”
Reflecting upon her experience at the school thus far, Grant said it is the chance it has given her to work with students from such a broad range of backgrounds that excites her the most. “It’s the opportunity to delve into diversity, to talk about the tough stuff and have courageous conversations with kids and with adults. I’ve never really had an opportunity to work with such a diverse group of people because living in northeastern Connecticut, it’s just not here. I love the diversity. I find myself challenged in some of the conversations that I’m having with the kids. As much as I think I get it and as much as I have been an advocate for issues around diversity, equity and social justice, working here with these kids continues to challenge those ideals for me. It’s rewarding and it’s thought-provoking.”
And has she been able to connect with the students at Rectory in her short time as school counselor? “Yes, absolutely,” Grant said. “I love these kids.”
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The following charges were listed in the Putnam Police Department logs. The people charged are innocent until proven guilty in court. The Town Crier will publish dispositions of cases at the request of the accused. The dispositions must be accompanied by the proper documentation. The Putnam Police Department confidential Tip Line is 860-963-0000.
Aug. 23
John G. Perry, 42, Union Road, Eastford; second-degree failure to appear.
Mark Heath, 33, School Street, Putnam; second-degree failure to appear.
Aug. 25
Thomas Blake, 55, John Han Drive, Coventry; operating a motor vehicle under suspension, traveling unreasonably fast.
Aug. 26
Rebecca Kamuda, 43, homeless; third-degree assault, disorderly conduct.
Aug. 28
Michelle C. Krajewski, 32, Thayer Street, Putnam; operating under the influence.
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Traveling Game
Woodstock Academy head coach Sean Saucier and his Centaurs football team will play Killingly on Thanksgiving Day at Vendetti Field at Nichols College. Photos by Marc Allard.
The Thanksgiving Day football game between Woodstock Academy and Killingly will be played at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 24 at Vendetti Field at Nichols College in Dudley.
“Honestly, that hadn’t even crossed my mind,” Woodstock Academy football coach and athletic director Sean Saucier said when asked if it will feel odd for the annual Thanksgiving Day game between two rival Connecticut high schools to be played in Massachusetts. “It’s local. Nice short drive for both schools with a good facility, a nice turf field, and it’s a local college. It will be neat.”
The game was originally scheduled to be played at the Bentley Athletic Complex at Woodstock Academy but, with a large turnout expected, that could be problematic.
“As our football program has grown and improved, we’ve seen a much larger interest. If you look at the last time we played Killingly, we had no parking left. It was almost to the point where it was a safety issue. When you look at last year when we played at Killingly, there was a lot of fans there,” said Woodstock Academy head of school Chris Sandford. “For us to maintain the relationship with Killingly, which we all want to do, we needed to find a better location that can host it.”
The Bentley Complex has only two dirt parking lots that quickly filled in 2019, forcing fans of the game to find parking in other locations.
Nichols College was an obvious alternate choice as it is just under 9 miles and 20 minutes away from the Bentley Athletic Complex.
“It will also be exciting for a high school athlete to play in a college environment. The locker rooms are different than either school currently has. There is VIP space for us to possibly do an event at and for us, collectively, I think it’s a good partnership to have,” Sandford said.
After talking over the parking situation, Saucier began to look for alternate sites and Nichols looked attractive.
“It was driven by the need for space especially if we draw the crowd that we did last year (at Killingly) and Bentley doesn’t have the space for that,” Saucier said. “We thought about other locations and Nichols popped up and the college was gracious enough to allow us to come. It will be awesome.”
It could also be beneficial to Nichols, according to Saucier, as it will expose a host of local football players and potential college students to the school’s campus and facilities. There is also the likelihood that the Nichols coaching staff won’t have to go far to do a little scouting of its own for potential future recruits.
It may also be a little less stressful on Saucier who would be in charge of not only the game on the field on Thanksgiving Day, but also the facility if the game were to be played at Bentley.
“I think a lot of the responsibilities are still there and we will have plenty of help but the stress of where will everyone park and controlling that is alleviated. It takes away some of the logistical stress so it seems like it will be easier, even without knowing all of the details of what it will entail at Nichols. The fact that I know that we won’t have the obstacles that we have at Bentley is refreshing,” Saucier said.
Saucier added Killingly was happy with the arrangement.
“They said it sounded good and to do whatever was best for the kids and the community. To allow the community to come and make it as easy as possible on everyone. For example, we don’t have a ton of handicap parking and you could be in for a long walk at Bentley,” Saucier said.
Saucier also pointed out that Bentley also has stands on only one side of the field and being able to separate the two school’s fans may also be better for the atmosphere of the game.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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WOODSTOCK — Caroline Kenney, 28, died Aug. 18, 2022, at Baystate Memorial Hospital in Springfield, Mass., pain free after battling with Cystic Fibrosis.
Caroline was born in 1994 in Willimantic, the daughter of Jerry and Lisa (Hall) Kenney, and sister to Kaitlyn Kenney and Jason Kenney.
Caroline attended St. Mary School in Putnam, Class of 2008, The Woodstock Academy, Class of 2012, and received Highest Honors when graduating with her bachelor’s degree from Assumption College, Class of 2016.
Caroline worked as an editor for AARL. Although she worked as a full-time editor, her dream was to become a published author.
While attending St. Mary School, she was active in the community. She was the youngest female altar server at the time, was an active participant in and president of Interact, and enjoyed Photo Club.
Caroline also enjoyed playing softball on the St. Mary team and Little League team with her sister.
At Woodstock Academy, Caroline was in the top 5 in her class. She participated in climbing club, peer tutoring, National Honor Society, was co-captain of the Interact Relay For Life team, and found a love of pottery.
She thrived at Assumption College where she wrote for the Catholic Digest and was sponsored by role models she met at St. Mary School. Caroline also wrote for the college newspaper and became an English tutor. Assumption allowed her to visit one of her favorite locations in the world, London. There she felt in her element and loved to explore.
Those who worked with Caroline spoke highly of her dedication to her role and talent as an editor. When she was working in the office, she would leave people small messages and origami, letting them know that she had stopped by. Her career also allowed her to travel and attend conferences across the country.
Caroline was smart, spunky, mischievous, and kind. She loved giving gifts; she was thoughtful and knew exactly what to do to make you smile. Little did she know that she was the real gift to her family and friends. Caroline loved thunderstorms in the summer, going high speed on jet skis, anything London related, and having tea or coffee while catching up with friends or family.
She leaves her parents, Jerry and Lisa Kenney of Woodstock; her sister Kaitlyn Kenney of Wellesley Hills Mass.; her loving partner Anthony Devlin of Chicopee, Mass.; her brother Jason Kenney (Christine) of Fenton Mich.
The Mass of Christian Burial was Aug. 27 in St Mary Church of the Visitation, Putnam. Donations: Boomer Esiason Foundation at esiason.org/donate. Caroline was gifted a college scholarship through this foundation when she was attending Assumption College. Gilman Funeral Home, 104 Church St, Putnam.
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