News & Views

Country School Recognizes Service Anniversaries

The following remarks by Head of School Aaron Cooper were delivered the night of the Annual Meeting & Dinner on Oct. 1:

Country School values people – our students and their childhood and our educators and the ways that they inspire our children.  And it values education – learning and growing and enlightenment. I firmly believe that anyone who chooses to work in a school, whether in a classroom with students all day or in an office somewhere, is an educator.  After all, everything our students feel and experience impacts their future.  And to recognize our educators furthers those core principles, so please join me in congratulating those entering their 10th year at Country School:
Jake Alrich, Chair, Performing Arts Department and Music Teacher
Shannon Faella, Grade 1 Teacher
Meegan Horn, Physical Education Teacher and Coach
Charles Khuen, Upper School History and English teacher, Advisor, Coach, and Grade 7 Dean
Sean Robb, Chair,  World Language Department, Lower School Spanish Teacher and Coach
Nika Skvir-Maliakal, Upper School English and History Teacher and Advisor
Cathy Schinella, Assistant to the Director of Enrollment Management
Cindy Thom, Lower School Learning Resources Teacher and Program Coordinator of Grades K-2
Darby Webber, Kindergarten Teacher

Thank you all for a decade of service and leadership. You make a great impact.

And now with a fantastic 20 years of service, I would like to say a few words about Susan Chiavaroli...

Over the last two decades, Susan has taught library to kindergarten, assisted in the Upper and Lower School libraries, worked at Horizons, even driving blue vans to neighborhood pools, and of course has been our school receptionist in the telephone office since 2012. Her son John is also a former NCCS Apprentice, so her roots here grow deep.

As her former telephone office companion, Pat Grace, says “ It was a tremendous relief to have Susan in the Telephone office foxhole.  When heads could be spinning, Susan would calmly, and kindly, attend to any unique situation that might arise. It’s a job where you never know what will pop up on any given day and Susan was always reliably there to help solve any mysteries. Throw in a pandemic and I’m willing to bet that she’s handling that, too, with her quiet grace.” She sure is, Pat. Thank you for 20 years of dedicated and valuable service, Susan.

Also with 20 excellent years of service, I would like to recognize Karen Wappler... 

Karen is our Middle and Upper School Visual Arts Teacher. A ceramicist extraordinaire, an exceptional photographer, and an accomplished painter and printmaker, Karen is a multifaceted artist. Her talents and passions for visual arts have touched the lives of many Country School students over the years through notable artistic experiences such as: the Bread and Puppet Theater to build and parade larger than life puppets and the ancient art of Raku pottery and glazing. 

She teaches students to throw pottery on a wheel (which is not an easy feat!), and she has also lent her artistic prowess to the creation of a variety of drama set designs for many of our productions.

She shares her passion for pottery beyond our students. Every year before Thanksgiving, she offers her time and invites faculty and staff to create platters or bowls to adorn their holiday tables. A kind, compassionate, and empathetic friend, Karen is the person who will show up to help make things happen, to bring a meal to someone in need or to just be there to listen. Karen is also the step-mother of three Country School alums. Congratulations and thank you, Karen.

Also with 20 wonderful years of service, I would like to recognize Josh Ziac...

Josh’s relationship with Country School began literally the day he was born, living on Frogtown Road.  Josh’s parents, Nancy and John, worked here for decades, and Josh graduated from NCCS in 1988.  

After a brief stint working at Pitney Bowes, Josh came home and took a role as Comptroller in the Business Office.  The family tradition continued, as Josh’s two children, Christopher and Catherine, graduated in 2015 and 2017, respectively.  

During the past 20 years at Country School, he also worked in facilities, served as the Database Systems Manager, Coach, and Safety Coordinator.  He is currently our Director of Safety and Security.  Later, I will talk about the importance of a lively and flexible intellect, and Josh obviously embodies just that.  I suppose it is not a surprise that he is an NCS graduate.  Diligent, caring and calm, Josh brings a great sense of humor to his cooperative work with others.

During the past seven months, he has shined.  As an integral part of creating and managing the “Reopening of School” Plan and being our school’s COVID-19 co-coordinator, he has helped to develop and implement many of our COVID protocols.  With this new landscape, Josh has been a leader in guiding the Fairchester organization of peer schools’ safety and security directors.  As a trained Stamford EMT, Josh passionately cares about the wellbeing of others in everything he does.  

Congratulations and thank you for 20 years of tremendous work  - and a lifetime of connection.  

With a phenomenal 30 years of service, I would like to recognize Terrence Burden…

Thirty years ago, we had an opening in our facilities department for an afternoon/early evening employee.  Charlie Bogus, who had started here several years beforehand, approached his childhood friend, Terrance Burden about the position, and the rest is history!   Kind, fun-loving, competitive, and always helpful, Terrence is a welcome sight at the end of school days.  

Terrence cares deeply for people and is heavily involved in his adopted community of Bridgeport, volunteering to help under-served children at Bassick High School and refereeing various youth sporting events.  Terrance even coached his Girls’ Youth Basketball team to three titles!  

Charlie describes his life-long friend as the consummate family man, father to two sons and one daughter, whose easy-going nature and kindness make him a special person. Terrence, we are all so happy Charlie reached out to you all those years ago and that you have found a home here at NCCS.  Thank you and congratulations on 30 years of service and impact.

Also with a phenomenal 30 years of service, I would like to recognize Bart Fredo...

Bart joined Country School in 1990 after 20 years in journalism and three in the Marine Corps.  The first member of his family to graduate high school, Bart finds particular reward in this second career of teaching because he views his experience as tangible proof of the difference that education makes.  For the first seven years of his time here, Bart taught 4th grade before moving to the Upper School to teach humanities, as he currently does in our 8th grade.  

Bart is admired by his colleagues in words they shared for holding his students to high expectations in a culture of care and compassion. He knows his student’s capabilities and creates realistic goals for them. Bart is the consummate teacher.  He is meticulous with details, especially grammar. He is demanding and fair.  

Bart famously asks, "permission to speak freely?" before sharing his insights or asking a question. When permission is granted, everyone knows that Bart will share thoughtful, honest insights that hold everyone accountable, elevate communal standards for performance and behavior, and prioritize the task at hand.

Bart cares deeply about this community, about his students, and about the colleagues with whom he works. Compliments from Bart go straight to the heart, because he is so intentional with his words and willing to share things he believes deeply.  There is no teacher more sought after by alumni who return to campus, eager to show Mr. Fredo how proud they are at who they have become.  Those are wonderful words from those with whom Bart has taught.  

A Chinese proverb hangs on his classroom wall: “Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.”  Well, when the door opened to a new career here at NCCS, Bart certainly entered, and it is NCCS and our students who have benefited. 

Bart, thank you for your service, your passions, and your dedication.  Congratulations on 30 wonderful years here.  

And with an extraordinary 40 years of service. I would like to recognize Tom Giggi...

Tom has been an English and History Teacher in our Upper School since 1981.  During his time here, he has also been the History Department Chair for many years, as well as an advisor, faculty representative to the Board of Trustees, coach of baseball, soccer, football and basketball, member of the faculty chorus and he was even acting Head of the Upper School from 2000-2001. Tom has had a hand in developing every aspect of our notable humanities curriculum in the Upper School, and as a true student of history, Tom also developed the 9th grade Civil Rights trip, providing students with a peak into this important time in our nation’s history. 

Tom was not the only Upper School teacher new to NCCS in the fall of 1981 - there was also a new math teacher named Elaine, to whom Tom is now married.  Tom and Elaine are the proud parents of two NCCS grads, Ryan ’07 and Tyler ’09.  In a circular event that is more common than you may think, Ryan Giggi was an NCCS apprentice and, while here, Ryan met another Apprentice named Jeannette to whom he is now married!

Tom has touched so many lives during these past 40 years in his various roles, not least of whom are his colleagues, and I will share reflections from two of them whose words best encapsulate Tom’s style, impact, and approach. 

In the words of Bart Fredo, Any teacher of distinction embodies special qualities: extensive knowledge, communication skills, a friendly and respectful demeanor, patience, a strong work ethic, thorough preparation, discipline. Whether in the classroom or on the playing field, Tom Giggi is thus defined.

And from fellow English and History teacher Liz Carroll:

“Tom and I have worked together for the last 11 years, since I arrived as a part-time English teacher in 2010. Tom’s sabbatical year came shortly thereafter, and I shared his classes with him, teaching for a half year while he picked up the second half. Before I had my own capacious classroom, I often taught in Tom’s, basking in the orderly and efficient atmosphere he’d created. There is room and space in Tom’s classrooms -- room for students to think, to question, and to voice their thoughts and opinions. In his classes, joy and rigor are not mutually exclusive. I’ve so admired and appreciated Tom’s ability to pose challenging questions and expect thoughtful answers in reply. He elevates the conversation, and students meet him there. I’ve seen kids undergo an almost physical transformation in his class, as a drowsy 15-year old realizes that they’re being called upon to think for themselves, and to voice that thought. They sit up a bit taller, their eyes come into focus, they double-check to be sure they’re not going to be saved by any bell, or any interloper, or worst of all, the teacher -- and then they answer, half-surprised by their own emerging brilliance. Tom nods, -- no lavish praise, no cheery “good job!” He just lets the kid’s idea sink in. Gives them that time. Such a gift.”

Tom, you are a true master teacher and Country School legend.  Thank you for inspiring generations of students - and even now some of their children!  Congratulations on an amazing 40 years of service to the future.  And Go Red Sox.  As you surely said for the first 23 years of your time at NCCS, may next year be better than this one.

Congratulations and thank you to all those honored tonight.
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New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.