POMFRET — Rectory School Headmaster Fred Williams recently announced that Rectory School reached the goal of raising $2.5 million by 186 donors toward The Tang Challenge for Excellence in Teaching. The School will now receive the $2.5 million match by the Tang Family, and in total have raised more than $7.5 million in the Tang Family Endowment for Excellence in Teaching. These funds have an immediate and sustained impact on faculty benefits and salaries as they will be used to attract and retain the best educators and provide salaries that reward Rectory’s faculty for their dedication and excellence.
Freddy Nagle, Rectory School’s director of Development, said, “We want to first thank Oscar and Kevin Tang for their continued support and leadership at Rectory, and for offering a challenge that allowed our entire School community to help reward the best possible performance in Rectory’s classrooms. We also want to thank everyone who helped us reach this milestone through their generous support. Because of this support, we were able to achieve this amazing milestone, and now Rectory School will be able to attract and retain the best faculty our industry has to offer.”
The Tang Challenge
In 2015, in recognition of the most important aspect of Rectory—the people—Oscar Tang ‘53 and his son, Kevin ‘82 committed $5 million to establish the Tang Family Endowment for Excellence in Teaching. The Tangs gave $2.5 million outright and, in an effort to inspire an even more impactful fund-raising effort, the Tangs offered a 1:1 match of all gifts made by other donors until June of 2018 up to an additional $2.5 million. The successful completion of this challenge, six months ahead of schedule, gave Rectory a total infusion of $7.5 million.
Each year, Rectory will be able to draw a percentage from the Tang Family Endowment that will help supply the School with the necessary funds to support our teachers with increased benefits and salaries.
The immediate impact on our faculty, said Williams: $50,000 was used to increase teachers’ salaries in 2016; $100,000 in additional funds were used to increase teachers’ salaries in 2017; $325,000+ in additional funds will be generated annually to increase teachers’ salaries.
TLGV
ranger
becomes
NASA
ambassador
Geoff McLean, a long-time volunteer Ranger for The Last Green Valley, Inc., was recently accepted into NASA’s prestigious Solar System Ambassador Program. McLean, who has run astronomy programs for TLGV for many years, will now have access to cutting edge NASA research and programs and be able to share that information with everyone who attends his programs.
“I have learned so much in just the last few months,” McLean said. “I have had direct access to the NASA scientists doing the research. It’s pretty incredible.”
Solar System Ambassadors undergo a rigorous application and testing program. Once accepted they become volunteer ambassadors for NASA’s programming.
McLean, a Norwich resident, is a retired engineer and former naval officer. He worked for Electric Boat and other local contractors before opening his own firm, McLean Research Associates. Geoff met his wife, Kim, while both worked at EB. They have a daughter, Libby.
It was while assisting with Libby’s Girl Scout Troop that McLean’s passion for astronomy was rekindled. Libby was one of two Girl Scouts in the state invited to participate in a trip to NASA’s Goddard Space Center in Washington D.C. Part of the program was to return home and start an astronomy club. While Libby is now an adult, Geoff and Kim still work with Girl Scouts and the astronomy club.
“I was always interested in space,” Geoff said. “As a kid I wanted to be an astronaut but I don’t have perfect eye sight, so it wasn’t possible.”
Bill Reid, TLGV’s Chief Ranger, said McLean as been a tremendous asset since he first began volunteering for TLGV.
“He brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to every program,” Reid said. “It’s exciting that he now has an opportunity to expand that knowledge and expertise even further.”
McLean has several programs already scheduled for 2018 and most of his programs are suitable for anyone age 6 and up. Here’s a sampling of upcoming programs with McLean:
Dark Sky in The Last Green Valley – Light Pollution 101: 1 - 3 pm, Mar. 31, The Last Green Valley Office, 203B Main St. (2nd Floor), Danielson, CT. Light pollution is the unwanted intrusion of light into our night sky, landscapes, and homes. Light Pollution 101 reveals how light pollution affects human beings, kills tens of thousands of animals annually, and actually makes us less secure in our neighborhoods. The Last Green Valley is blessed with minimal light pollution as seen from outer space but light pollution is expanding up the I-395 corridor. This program focuses on how to improve light fixtures and reduce lighting costs while at the same time providing a more secure and eco-friendly environment for animals, plants, and humans. This program is appropriate for all ages 6+. This program is offered by TLGV Ranger Geoff McLean. Please RSVP to Chief Ranger Bill Reid at
The Last Green Valley’s Acorn Adventure, Sun Spots and More!: April 15, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., West Thompson Dam. Spend some time with Geoff McLean, a volunteer TLGV Ranger and NASA Solar System Ambassador, examining our closest star. We will view the Sun in normal light looking for currently elusive sun spots and also in the Hydrogen Alpha spectrum where you can see flares, prominences, Ellerman bombs, and other phenomena. Geoff will speak on safety concerning solar viewing, the life of our star, what it does, how it compares to other stars, and how it will end. What is Earth’s future going to be like? If there are sunspots (and the sun is currently at its sunspot minimum) make a drawing of it and learn about Greenwich Mean Time and Universal Time as well as latitude and longitude — i.e. where you are on the Earth. We’ll also talk about NASA’s solar projects and space telescopes. Email
Explore the Dark Side: May 5, 8 -11 p.m. Holton Rd., Franklin, CT. Sprague Land Trust property on Holton Road in Franklin. Directions/Parking: From Baltic take 207 West, right onto Holton Rd. (before the Franklin School), drive almost to end. Parking on left in mowed field/marked areas. Join Rangers Kim and Geoff for a night observing some far distant objects like galaxies, clusters of stars, Red Giants, Nebulae. We might be able to view Jupiter. If you have a telescope, bring it. If you don’t know how to use it come early and we’ll help get you get started. (We’ll be there about 7PM.) Learn how to find the North Star. This is a family friendly event. Please - no lanterns and flashlights should be only be red lights. No white lights. Questions? 860-774-3300.
Mars Party: July 30, 8 p.m., Ayer Farm, 44 Ayer Road, Franklin. Rain date July 31. Come join TLGV Ranger and NASA Solar System Ambassador Geoff McLean and Rangers Kim McLean and Steve Ayers on the Ayer’s farm for a twice in 60,000 year event when Mars will be almost at it’s closest and thus the largest viewable in telescopes. Also starring these evenings will be Jupiter and Saturn both riding higher in the sky - A perfect trifecta for planetary observers. Ranger Kim will point out various constellations and Geoff will fill the voids with numerous fun facts. Bring a blanket or lawn chairs to sit upon in the Ayer’s hay field. The Moon will rise about 9:30 and we can examine craters along the terminus where they look 3-D in telescopes. Bring binoculars if you have them - or even a telescope. The field has a great Northeast to Northwest view. This is a family friendly event. No pets, please as the astronomical equipment is delicate. Service animals are permitted. Please arrive by 8PM. If arriving later please turn off headlights. Please, no one arrive after 8:30 as the car lights will cause night blindness in everyone else.
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WORCESTER — K.J. Rawson, who grew up in Putnam, has been promoted to associate professor with tenure by the College of the Holy Cross.
Rawson, of the English department, earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Cornell University, a master’s in English literature from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Ph.D. in composition and cultural rhetoric from Syracuse University.
His research interests include composition, rhetoric, digital media, feminist and queer theory, and LGBT studies. In 2016, he founded and created the award-winning Digital Transgender Archive, a publicly available database for transgender history.
External funding for his research has come from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
His recent work has appeared in journals including Rhetoric Society Quarterly, Transgender Studies Quarterly, Radical History Review, and QED: A Journal of Queer Worldmaking.
He is a member of Outfront: A GLBT Alliance of Faculty and Staff, the Academic Governance Council, and several other committees.
He has been a member of the Holy Cross faculty since 2012.
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 963-0000.
March 8
Jesus Caez III, 30, Smith Street, Putnam; two counts of violation of protective order, interfering with an officer, breach of peace, disorderly conduct, threatening, assault on a police officer.