Milldam's Annual Ducky Race Returns June 2

Water bottles and tickets on sale today at Trails End Cafe.

  The Annual Ducky Race and Fair is returning to Concord at Emerson Playground. The Ducky Race is a seven-year-old tradition to benefit Milldam Nursery School in Concord. Here are some dates to be aware of: May 17 8:30 – 10 a.m.  - Water bottles & ticket sales at Trails End Café: In response to Concord’s recent vote to ban the sale of water bottles Milldam and Trails End Cafe have joined up to supply the Ducky Race & Fair with re-useable and refillable water bottles in lieu of selling pre-packaged water at the event. May 19 Hot Spot Promotion (runs two weeks): Milldam drives traffic to local businesses while promoting the ducky race & fair via a traveling bingo game. Participating sponsors include: Artisan’s Way, Barefoot Books, Concord …

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Concord Carlisle High Ranks 30th in State

US News released the top high schools in America.

  US News released its fourth edition of top high schools in America, ranking Concord Carlisle High School at 603 among nearly 22,000 public schools. The publication lists Concord Carlisle High School as 30th among 351 Massachusetts high schools. According to the report, schools were ranked by how well they prepare students for college success. “US News partnered with the Washington, DC-based American Institutes for Research, which implemented US News's rankings methodology,” read the report. “US News determines the degree to which schools prepare students for college-level work by analyzing student success in Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate programs, both of which include college-level courses.” Statistics listed include…

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Nashoba Brooks School Expansion Project Underway

Nashoba Brooks School is expanding its campus.

  Nashoba Brooks School is currently expanding its Lower School campus through the Expanding Boundaries campaign. Nashoba Brooks School offers a co-ed program for lower and pre-school children and an all-girls middle school. Phase one Expanding Boundaries began in 2009 with the construction of Noble Field, Noble Tennis Courts and Askar Lower School Science Labs, the Brown Family Middle School Labs, reconfigured parking lot and maintenance. Phase two, the expansion of the campus, is underway.  “This project will renovate and double the size of the Lower School classrooms,” Director of Finance Maggie Barbuto said. “It will accommodate 150 students in the preschool through third grade levels.” The addition will add two stories, 5,400 square …

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About Town

Earth Day Celebration, Ice Cream for All, and an Artist in the Making

Musketaquid Earth Day is this weekend; time is running out to load up your Bedford Farms card for a cause.

  One of the things I love about this column is the opportunity to give shout-outs to people doing interesting and/or extraordinary things. Today that person would be my friend Zoe Gregoric. Zoe is a junior at CCHS, and two weeks ago she was featured as the “Art Student of the Week” in the Concord Journal. Her preferred art medium is photography, and she especially loves doing portraits – which, if you are her Facebook friend, you can see, as she loves posting them. I love seeing someone find a creative outlet for their passions, and I’m really proud of Zoe for finding, and following, hers. I can’t wait to see her continue to grow as an artist. Another parade! In case you weren’t paying attention, Earth Day happened last Sunday, …

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School Transportation to Stay In-House for At Least Another Year

An advisory committee will form to look into a longer-term solution.

Concord’s School Committees on Monday voted to keep school transportation services in-house for at least another year and establish an advisory committee to study safe, cost-effective transportation solutions. School committee members said bids to outsource transportation services -- from First Student, Dee Bus and Durham School Services -- fell short of compelling them to make a long-term decision to outsource, and decided to go ahead with a short-term solution of leasing a maintenance facility to house the district's fleet of school buses. The transportation situation cropped up last fall, when district administration retained the services of a consultant to look into the option of outsourcing transportation services, which will be …

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Thoreau School Gets New Baseball Field

Work was completed just in time for this year's baseball/softball season.

A group of dedicated parents have come together to improve the baseball field at the Thoreau School.  Work was completed over the Easter weekend- just in time for this year’s baseball/softball season.   Clay, topsoil and other materials from Nardone Sand+Gravel and paid for by CCYB, were laid out on the field by an army of 25 kids and parents led by CCYBS parent and landscape architect Brian Maloney.  A backstop was purchased and installed with funds provided by Concord-Carlisle Youth Baseball and Softball. Like with the field at The Alcott School, the diamond at Thoreau will be used by the kids enrolled at the school, neighbors and residents and CCYBS. With this new field in place, Concord now has seven 60 foot little league diamonds for…

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School Building Committee Updated on Possible CCHS 'Accelerated' Plan

School Building Committee members hear latest updates on project.

  Last week members of the Concord School Building Committee listened to Project Manager from KVA Building Industry Consultants, David Saindon, update the board about the new CCHS undertaking. Saindon gave some details about a new “accelerated” plan KVA is examining but mentioned, “at this point, we are just planting the seed.” “Prior to Winter [2013] we would like to get as much concrete and foundation into the ground as possible,” explained Saindon. “Then create the steel structure throughout the Winter.” Saindon added that they are hoping to have building complete in the fall of 2015 and site development completed by 2016. However, Saindon mentioned an accelerated plan could push things forward a year. Dealing with cost estimates, …

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Concord Carlisle Scholarship Fund App. Deadline Draws Near

The scholarship has provided nearly $2 million to over 1,000 students over the years.

The following was submitted to Concord Patch. Carlisle twins Benjamin and Hanna Parra excelled in indoor and outdoor track at Concord-Carlisle High School, each serving in their senior years as Captain of both teams.  They also shared a love for music and academics, and were dedicated to helping classmates and friends learn to enjoy those passions with them.  And last fall, Benjamin and Hanna shared one more experience: they were both awarded the prestigious Adrian A. Martinez Memorial Scholarship by the Concord Carlisle Scholarship Fund.   Adrian A. Martinez, CCHS Class of 2002, was a humble, gentle, caring young man whose love of learning inspired the lives of all he met.  He gave of himself selflessly to all who sought his help, …

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About Town

'Little Women' and Costumes in Concord

FIRST Robotics gets the nod to go to St. Louis, there’s still more "Night Music", and Louisa May Alcott is everywhere.

Greetings, and welcome to Thursday! Are you loving this weather, or what?? This taste of spring is like, well, a breath of fresh air – even though we didn’t have the most difficult winter. It’s still so lovely to get out and bike and walk, sans sweaters and boots. Last week, I took a walk in Estabrook woods with my friend Lydia and her dog Lady, and we came across a beaver lodge on the edge of Mink Pond, and, even better, two young minks, who looked at us curiously for quite awhile. Really cool! There’s a lot of fun stuff to tell you about, so let’s dig in! CCHS Robotics Team Wins I know I dream of a robot that will do my bidding, so I’m happy to hear that there’s a robotics team at the High School, figuring out how to build robots and …

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FIRST Robotics Team Earns Spot in World Championships

The event was held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

  The Concord-Carlisle High School FIRST Robotics team took home the regional championship on Saturday at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), earning the right to compete in the national championships in St. Louis, Missouri. The above video demonstrates the Team 3205 robot sinking basketballs during the WPI competition.

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