Glastonbury Proud: Excellence Across our Schools
- Submitted
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
Submitted by Glastonbury Schools
A sampling of some recent student awards:
New York Times 100-word memoir contest recognition
Glastonbury High School students Jessica Capece, Nina Jarrell, Sophia Luo, and Jane O’Connell were recognized by the New York Times 100-word memoir contest. Their entries were in the top 20 percent of 14,232 submissions.
Wax Hands
By Nina Jarrell
She was just lying there. Peacefully.
No emotion sprawled on her face. The wax made her skin glow with life and warmth. She held her rosary adorned with butterflies with hands that carried no force. I held her hand, the freezing temperatures sent a shiver down my spine. I didn’t want to leave, I didn’t want to stay.
Family came from all over for the service, but I wanted a few more minutes with her.
“Stay here. Come back please.” No words escaped her mouth. Once the dirt adorned her casket, I had to let her go.
Goodbye, sister.
The Day I Decided to Change My Life
By Jessica Capece
I tried. I tried to show love through silence, through defense he never saw. He built a story where I’m the villain, and no matter how many times I say I’m not, he won’t hear it. He talks behind my back, rewrites the truth, and plays the victim. I watch him twist Dad’s view, and I brace for blame. But I’m not jealous. I’m not cruel. I’m just tired. Tired of being misunderstood, of being erased from the narrative. So today, I chose quiet. Not defeat —just peace. Let him believe what he wants. I know who I am.
Crying at the Chinese Night Market
By Sophia Luo
In the bustling streets of the night market, I rubbed at the tears in my eyes. It felt like smoke was catching in my throat, but really, it was the stunted words on my tongue nobody understood.
My relatives chatted in their Hunan dialect, too fast for me to understand. Even in a street full of people who looked just like me, I felt like an imposter.
Suddenly, my aunt’s hand clasped mine. “Let’s go get bingfen,” she grinned, switching to regular Mandarin so I could understand.
I smiled. Although I felt out of place, I wasn’t on my own.
The Bloom He Nearly Crushed
By Jane O’Connell
My Avô called them “greedy flowers.” Ginger lilies — stalks rising from the hills, strangling his fig trees.
He tore them out by the roots, muttering in lazy English, “Steal from the soil, give nothing in return.”
But I knew their secret.
Peel the petals just so, and they surrendered a single drop of nectar — a sweetness I chased across the valley.
That afternoon, while he gardened, I offered him a bloom. He tasted it unwillingly, fingers tightening around the stem.
He never smiled. Never spoke.
But that evening, the bloom he nearly crushed stood glowing in a chipped vase on the windowsill.
5th Grade Spanish Spelling Bee Winners
Three Gideon Welles School fifth graders took the top spots in this year’s fifth-grade Spanish Spelling Bee. Congratulations to: Rafael Angelo De Dios, first place, Annette Jung, second place, and Evangeline Gruner-DeJesus, third place.
Connecticut Council of Language Teachers essay contest
Smith Middle School student Caitlin Sprague won first place in the CT COLT essay contest. The topic was “Tomorrow speaks through today’s words.” Here’s her essay:
Dear youth of today, hello!
Today I would like to talk to you.
I am not going to talk to you about unneeded topics today.
I am going to talk about YOU.
Whether you think so or not, you have an important story to tell. No matter what your past was, and no matter what others say you are.
Listen to me close here, because this might be one of the most important things you will ever hear. I'm going to tell you something simple:
SPEAK.
I know you have something special to tell, and it’s yours. No one else owns your story. When you talk about your language, your culture, your SELF, what is coming out of your mouth is more than just words.
It is power.
You have the ability to paint the picture of our future. All languages are so beautiful and so diverse, all different yet can have the same power.
What comes out of your mouth today will affect not just tomorrow.
It will affect the rest of your future.
You may think you are just one little person, unable to make a difference in this huge world, but I tell you, you can. Just because you aren't an adult yet doesn't mean you can’t share your ideas.
Don't get me wrong, people can be great at advocating for their culture and making the world great through the power of language.
But we need youth voices.
Something that I kept on thinking of when I was writing the beginning of this letter to all of you was the last time I went to another country. My grandmother lives in an apartment right next to the Quebec border in Vermont, and sometimes when my family and I visit, we all go over to visit Quebec.
Every single time, their culture, their ways, and their language always amazes me. Languages definitely should and can bring everyone together. If we could all only speak one language, think of how plain (and boring!) that would be!
So I urge you again, tell your story. We must come together from all cultures, all languages, to speak the story of tomorrow, together.
Best of luck,
Caitlin
CT COLT Artwork Contest
The following students were recognized for their artwork tied to the theme “Tomorrow speaks through today’s words.”
MATHCOUNTS
MATH COUNTS
Five Smith Middle School students competed in the MATHCOUNTS State Competition in March: Eighth-grader Eric Ren placed fourth out of 172 competitors and will advance to the national competition in May. This is the first time since 2004 that a student from Glastonbury will compete at the nationals. From left to right: Leona Jia, Shaurya Bidkar, Eric Ren, Tim Cheung, and Nandha Muthukumar.
Aspirations in Computing Awards
Grade 12 student Jesse Wang received the 2026 NCWIT Aspirations in Computing High School, National Honorable Mention.
Grade 10 student Aavni Parekh received the 2026 NCWIT Aspirations in Computing High School, Connecticut Rising Star Award.
Grade 11 student Catherine Brown received the 2026 NCWIT Aspirations in Computing High School, Connecticut Affiliate Award.
Pictured from left to right: Jesse Wang, Aavni Parekh, Catherine Brown.
Million Women Mentors
Grade 11 student Leelah Mouradov received the Million Women Mentors/Next Generation Role Model Award for her STEM leadership and mentoring. Grade 11 student Catherine Brown was a finalist for the same award.
Pictured from left to right Catherine Brown and Leelah Mouradov.
CodeQuest Award
Members of the Glastonbury High School Coding Club won the Lockheed Martin CodeQuest Novice Division. The team included juniors Ali Al-Kawaz and Peter Solan, and senior Afraz Sohail.
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