Talk about a curve ball.
The Northeast District Department of Health had been working on plans to vaccinate schools months ago. Then the governor announced Feb. 22 that teachers and school personnel would be eligible in a week.
But the district was ready.
“This is an exciting time, and we are so pleased to be able to complete our plans to vaccinate our schools,” said NDDH Director of Health Sue Starkey. “We began our vaccination planning months ago. As soon as we learned of the governor’s announcement on Feb. 22, we developed a comprehensive community school plan within the span of one week. Thanks to our planning and vaccination teams, Medical Reserve Corps volunteers, and community partnerships, there is a real chance of completing this important initiative by the third week of March. Vaccine supply is the most critical component of our planning and these lofty goals.”
It’s a Herculean task: In addition to planning for the rest of the region, the district is coordinating COVID-19 vaccinations for all newly eligible pre-K through grade 12 school personnel who work onsite with students, as well as licensed childcare professionals during the month of March. Anyone school related who has contact with students is eligible, i.e. bus drivers. That’s a total of 3,400 eligible individuals from 12 school districts and 41 schools, including EASTCONN.
NDDH will partner with Day Kimball Healthcare (DKH) to vaccinate certain schools and collaborate on larger schools if the need arises.
Vaccinations began March 2 and more schools are planned for March 7 and 14.
NDDH is also working with more than 71 licensed daycare providers to ensure that they have access to vaccine in March. All this happens as a new eligibility phase opened in Connecticut on March 1 to state residents and employees who are 55 and older. Previously eligible phases will also continue to be vaccinated.
Vaccines
The vaccination clinics hinge, of course, on the availability of vaccines.
The new Johnson & Johnson vaccine was approved Feb. 27. This vaccine is a single dose and needs only refrigeration. If vaccine allocation is delivered as planned, NDDH and DKH will be positioned to administer the two-dose Moderna and one-dose J&J vaccine at school clinics.
NDDH will also continue to serve phase eligible individuals at their Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS) clinic, held at the Quinebaug Valley Senior Citizens Center, 69 South Main St. in Brooklyn. To assist in the community effort from yet another angle, Generations Family Health Center will add general appointment slots in their VAMS scheduling platform to allow NDDH and DKH to focus on the school and childcare vaccination campaign. Vaccine supply is also expanding to retail pharmacies such as Walgreens, CVS, and Walmart.
“To best support the planning effort, we encourage all school and childcare personnel to be vaccinated at their scheduled clinic,” said NDDH Education and Communications Coordinator Linda Colangelo. “Educators have been extremely patient, and we understand their desire to be vaccinated as soon as possible. At the same time, we are still trying to vaccinate older adults who are most at risk.”
Colangelo said having educators vaccinated at their school-based clinics, allows other eligible individuals in the community the opportunity to access vaccination at pharmacies, healthcare systems, and VAMS clinic providers.
NDDH and DKH will arrive at school clinics with vaccine doses to match the projected numbers of vaccine recipients provided by school officials. If educators seek out other vaccine options ahead of time and then cancel or do not show at their scheduled clinic, it could leave vaccine providers scrambling to prevent the doses from going to waste.
“If you take a public slot at a VAMS clinic or pharmacy, you are taking a dose away from a person who does not have the same opportunity as you do — a guaranteed appointment at your school clinic,” she said. We have all worked hard to make getting vaccinated as efficient as possible for educators and support staff, so we sincerely hope they will partner with us to achieve the best outcomes for everyone.”
“Monday’s new phase opens to upwards of 600,000 individuals, Starkey added. “The message remains the same. Be patient. Wait your turn, then take your turn…and don’t turn your back on what works…wear your mask, watch your distance, wash your hands, avoid gatherings and stay home when you’re sick.”

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Girls’ Basketball
Centaurs have
a perfect 3-0
week
It may not be a season where winning is everything. But it doesn’t hurt.
The Woodstock Academy girls’ basketball team finished off a perfect week Feb. 26 with a hard-fought, 33-32, win over Tourtellotte.
“Everyone knows that we’re here for something else; for the kids, for them to enjoy this. But, obviously, if you’re going to compete, you want to win. That’s part of competing,” said Woodstock Academy coach Will Fleeton.
The win over the Tigers was the Centaurs third in a row after a season-opening loss to Windham the Saturday before.
But the Tigers made it difficult.
Tourtellotte came in with a 0-2 record but hung in until the final buzzer with the Centaurs.
The Centaurs had built a 27-19 advantage through the first three quarters and raised it to 10 when Alexa Pechie took a pass on a fast break from Reegan Reynolds and hit the layup just 49 seconds into the final quarter.
Unfortunately for the Centaurs, Tourtellotte was not ready to pack it in.
“It was a little close at the end,” Pechie agreed. “I think we tend to rush the ball a little and we need to keep our composure.”
Woodstock Academy missed 12 of its next 13 shots and turned the ball over twice.
The Tigers (0-3) took advantage.
Lindsay Houghton hit a 3-pointer and Hailey Johnson had a pair of baskets to spark an 11-2 Tourtellotte run which culminated with a Saydie Cooper basket that cut the lead to one, 31-30, with 1 minute, 5 seconds left.
Two turnovers later, Pechie got the ball and spotted an opening to go to the basket, she converted a layup for the final two points of her team-leading 12-point effort with 35 seconds to play.
Tourtellotte was able to cut it back to one when Alivia Dalpe hit a pair of free throws with 24 seconds to play but the Tigers never got the chance to try and take the lead as the Centaurs were able to hold on to the ball.
“Being 3-1 is really good. We have two big games next week (against Putnam and Killingly) so, hopefully, we can make it 5-1 but 3-1 to end the week is pretty good,” Pechie said.
Only four players scored for the Centaurs with junior Aurissa Boardman getting eight points, Reynolds finished with seven and senior Peyton Saracina had six.
Just 1:10 into the game with Plainfield earlier in the week at the Alumni Fieldhouse, Pechie buried a 3-pointer to give Woodstock Academy the early lead.
Although Boardman didn’t know it at the time, it was just what she needed.
Pechie’s early success had the Plainfield defense scrambling and gave Boardman the open look she needed to get her confidence flowing.
It resulted in 13 first-quarter points for Boardman which gave the Centaurs a lead they would never relinquish in a 41-26 girls basketball win over the Panthers.
“Pechie hit that 3-pointer and on the next possession, she caught the ball and (the Plainfield defense) all ran at her. We swung it back around and Aurissa was sitting there all by herself,” Fleeton said.
Boardman calmly swished a 3-pointer and would hit two more from beyond the arc before the quarter came to a close.
She also hit a pair of baskets from inside the paint.
“I’m pretty sure that’s the most of I’ve ever scored in a quarter,” Boardman said. “In practice, we’ve been working on our shots and after that first three, I was feeling pretty good. Then, I just started knocking them down and it was the same for the other girls.”
The Boardman onslaught gave the Centaurs a 16-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“When you jump out to a big lead like that, I think it matters,” Fleeton said. “Sometimes, though, it hurts because it’s too early. The kids feel a little too comfortable and get a little out of whack.”
The Centaurs were never threatened, but could never really extend the lead much either until the end of the third quarter when they went on an 8-0 run sparked by another Pechie (10 points) trey.
Plainfield’s Olivia Bessette (7 points) did hit a 3-pointer at the end of the quarter but Woodstock Academy still led, 33-18, going into the fourth.
An 8-2 Plainfield run to start the final quarter did have Fleeton feeling a little concerned.
Fleeton called a couple of time outs to remind his team that it was in the driver’s seat and those were effective as the Centaurs scored the final six points of the game.
A couple of other players also stood out including Reynolds who scored six points and was very effective off the boards.
“I can’t wait to see her when she gets older. She’s been doing such a great job. That girl hustles after every single ball,” Boardman said.
Sophomore Leila MacKinnon earned her own share of kudos.
“MacKinnon is a defensive specialist and brings energy to that end. That’s the difference between her and Reynolds. Reynolds is going to come in and give us something energy-wise, it could be offense, defense or her rebounding. MacKinnon is going to definitely come in and give us solid energy on the defensive end,” Fleeton said.
The Centaurs started the game with the Panthers on an 11-0 run.
They ended a 46-27 win over Lyman earlier in the week with a 23-0 run.
“I hope people think we played some tight defense at the end, because that’s what we did. Our staple really dug in. As the game went on, we played better defensively which helped us getting those points. We had some good offensive possessions, but the most memorable for me was to see the kids grasp the defense and click,” Fleeton said.
Boardman again led the team with 16 points while Saracina added 11.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

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'Snow Island'
The snow gathered in the middle of a small pond off Senexet Road in Woodstock. Linda Lemmon photo.