Student-Teacher/Faculty Basketball Game, May 29

Thanks to School Counselor Ellen Jordan for contributing many pictures to this slide show.

Palladino: Wallace's Surprise Guest

Wallace Middle School held its annual student-faculty basketball game Friday afternoon, and a surprise guest took the Crosby gymnasium by storm. Minnesota Timberwolves forward and former Wilby High star Ryan Gomes delighted both players and fans with his play. Gomes signed dozens of autographs after the game.

WATERBURY -- It was, as it usually is, organized chaos, and that was before the special guest walked in.

The student-faculty basketball game at Wallace Middle School is a spring tradition, a treat and reward for students who earn the opportunity to play and spectate through good behavior.

When the kids spilled into the gym Friday afternoon, they gasped: Ryan Gomes was in the house. A thunderous ovation greeted their NBA hero when he was introduced.

“This is something special for the kids every year,” said Phil Lott, one of the game organizers and the all-time leading scorer in the city from his days with Wilby.

Phil, how many student-faculty games do you know that feature an NBA basketball player?

“None,” beamed Lott. “This was very special for the kids. They were excited when they saw him. It was great of Ryan to do this for the kids.”

The packed Palace rocked from first minute to last. Gomes threw down three impressive jams, and even though most of the students probably don’t realize what Lott did during his days in the NVL, seeing Lott back on court was as much fun as watching Gomsey. And to be fair, the ovation for Lott may have been the biggest of the day.

But Gomsey was still the main attraction. He thoroughly enjoyed playing against the kids, especially Jequan Lode, who stood all of about 4 feet, 5 inches. The 6-8 Gomes had to bend very low to talk trash with Jequan.

“He told me he was going to

See GOMES, Page 5C

guard me all the way up the court,” said a thrilled Jequan, who was small enough, quick enough, and gifted enough to give the NBA player fits.

For those old enough to remember when Lott ruled the gymnasiums of the NVL, you might want to know about his time on the court: He shot every time he touched the ball; he did not collect an assist; he loves that 3-point arc.

“No way, I must have had a few assists,” he said with mock protest.

He also connected on the most spectacular basket of the day, a reverse layup despite being locked up in a bear hug by a Wallace player.

The faculty won the game, 70-64, thanks to one of the worst officiating jobs we’ve ever seen, “And I want you to put that in the paper,” said Jack Wright, who set the standard for home jobs.

The day was electric, from the Gomes jams, to the Wallace Middle School band, to the Wallace Robotics Club demonstrating a basketball-playing robot, to the half-time dance demonstration that had Wallace students pouring out of the bleachers to join in.

But the real treat was the chance for 11, 12 and 13 year old boys and girls to play on the same floor with Waterbury’s most famous resident, Ryan Gomes. Here, in their own words, is what they thought:

Aseim King: “The experience was amazing.”

Nick DelBuono: “It was crazy. Everyone was into it.”

Phuoc Brian Le: “It was the best game of the year.”

Shayla Perez: “It was a rush of excitement.”

Daje Dillard: “I think it was a pleasure playing Ryan Gomes.”

Roshawn Gainey: “Playing with Ryan Gomes was the best time in my life. I wish he comes back next year.”

The Ryan Gomes summer road show takes him to many places. Thursday he brought a group of city players, called the Waterbury Legends, featuring Gomes, Julian Allen, Marcus James, Bootsy Moore, and others, to a charity game in New Britain against the Tebucky Jones All Stars. Friday he dazzled star-struck middle schoolers. Monday he is back in Minneapolis to begin summer workouts with the Timberwolves.

If you conducted a poll to see how many NBA players competed in a middle school student-faculty game during the offseason, my guess is that list would have only one name on it, and that name would be Ryan Gomes.

BY JOE PALLADINO REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN, May 30, 2009

Forty-five Wallace Middle School Students Sample College Life at Southern

Three school counselors and two eighth-grade teachers took 45 Wallace Middle School students on a field trip to Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven on Thursday, May 21. School counselor Jennifer Formato said the trip "opened up their eyes to what college is, what it looks like and what it feels like." The counselors had the students write about the trip after they returned to Wallace, and some said they would like to go and they "realized now they can't just slack off and expect to get there by doing that," Formato said.

"What I learned from going on the trip to SCSU was that I need to be serious about my school work to get into a good college because it can affect my future greatly. I used to think I could just slack off but this trip inspired me to do better to get into college," Magnus Ezeji said.

William Thomas remarked: One thing that inspired me was all of the resources that a college has to offer to me and other students, especially the programs, computer labs and the library."

Teachers Melissa Banks and Sharon Ogrodnik attended with counselors Ellen Jordan, Lindsay Brown, and Jennifer Formato.

Photos: Forty-five Wallace Middle School students visit Southern Connecticut State University on May 21. Wallace students (left to right) Sandra Davino, Asha Lee, Taylor Bandelloni, Nicole Vega, and Ashley Garcia enjoy lunch in the student cafeteria at Southern.

Wallace Middle School Students See Pearl Harbor through a Veteran’s Eyes

(WATERBURY, CONN. – May 22, 2009) - Thirty students from Wallace Middle School’s FOCUS Program participated in a videoconference with Pearl Harbor survivor and World War II veteran Sterling R. Cale, SGM, US Army (Retired) on May 15. Speaking from Hawaii, Cale, who is also a veteran of the Korean conflict, recounted his experiences as a young man who witnessed the attack and helped in the aftermath.

Marilyn Porzio, FOCUS teacher, coordinated the videoconference at the Adult Education Center in Waterbury. She worked with Paul Heintz, the Education Director of the USS Arizona Memorial Museum in Hawaii. Dave Rosa, a social studies teacher at Wallace, had presented an in-depth overview of the events leading up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor to prepare the students for the event.

The videoconference was part of seventh-grader Nick Olan’s independent study. Nick said he was impressed that Cale could recap the experience from so long ago. He said the most memorable part of the presentation was Cale’s description of the attack. “He thought it was just a drill, but he knew they wouldn’t have a drill on a Sunday morning, and then he saw the red circles on the wings of the planes and knew it was an attack,” Nick recalled.

Porzio said all her students seemed equally impressed. "The students saw this historical attack through the eyes of someone who experienced it first-hand, thus offering a deeper respect for the celebrations of Memorial Day and Veterans Day," Porzio said. "To witness this hero forming connections with my students was very moving."

Photo: (Front row, left to right): Patricia Myer, Brandon Vega, Nick Olan. (Second row, left to right): Selmon Rafey, Greg Nicholson, Kevin Malley. 

Link to Sterling Cale’s story: click here. 

City Engineer Inspects Wallace Middle School Bridges

(WATERBURY, CONN. – May 21, 2009) - Wallace Middle School teachers Mel Rusnov and Lisa Camilleri brought the professional world into the classroom and made it real for their students as they guided them through a bridge-design competition this spring. The project began with students’ working as teams to design and build bridges within a specific time and budget and ended with their work’s being judged by City Engineer for the City of Waterbury, Mark Pronovost.

Rusnov, a former civil engineer who now teaches science, and Camilleri, a former business owner who now teaches math, created work teams that mimicked the organization of a small business.. Each group member assumed the specific role of project director, accountant, architect, carpenter, or transportation chief.

Pronovost met with the top 13 teams, asking questions about their design and construction methods. At the end of the morning, he had scored all the bridges and chose the top three. The winners said they were excited to have been selected by a distinguished guest.

Students experienced the pressure of a tight deadline and budget constraints. Groups were allotted budgets of $1.55 million and given a deadline of 10 days in which to complete bridges according to competition rules and in compliance with building codes. For lumber they used toothpicks; for welding material, white glue—which they “purchased” from a warehouse set up in the classroom.

They experienced setbacks, too. Even after students laid out their designs and drew construction plans, many discovered the need to revise and sometimes even scrap their original ideas. Within teams, respect was gained and lost, friendships tested, and tempers—sometimes—ignited.

When Rusnov and Camilleri threw real-life situational curves at the teams, such as abruptly doubling prices of materials, charging large fees for rental of special equipment, or inconveniently shutting down the warehouse for inventory or vacation, students had to learn to react to the obstacles. The “life is not fair” adage took on new meaning.

Finally, the students experience the feedback of an objective critic when Pronovost judged their work. Pronovost said his work is not glamorous, but it is both satisfying and rewarding. He said: “Your cell phones last a year or two; your TVs, maybe five to 10; cars, 20 years, with luck. The work of civil engineers lasts for hundreds of years.” He asked students to consider that the roads they drive on, the water they drink, the sewers they use, and the buildings of Waterbury “are all the work of civil engineers.

After the judging, Pronovost quipped that he was much more comfortable at his Kendrick Avenue computer work station than facing a large crowd of middle schoolers.

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Photo: Justin Nasario, Mel Rusnov, Mark Pronovost, Durell Anderson, Odalys Galarza