Fourth graders Luke Lori, Paul Davey, Joe Hanson, Peyton Hackett and Valeria Barbaglio give an impromptu concert at the end of the presentation with instruments made from recycled materials.
— Cheryl Moss photo

Greenwich Catholic School students were recently tuned in to the origins of music with a presentation by Dennis Waring from Young Audiences Arts for Learning.

Mr. Waring uses a wide array of instruments, indigenous and homemade, and weaves fun, fascinating tales of the origin of music and how, through time, all cultures utilized their natural environments for making wonderful sound-making devices.

The assembly was a demonstration and performance of almost 50 handmade and homemade musical instruments based on ideas and inspirations from around the world. Interesting signs, sounds and stories provided the audience with a new awareness of folklore, music, craft and science.

Mr. Rafferty will focus on building upon existing relationships with area facilities, athletic clubs and boosters to provide supplementary academic services to local student-athletes in a seamless and structured way.

With more than a dozen years of experience in the sports and entertainment marketing, Mr. Rafferty is well suited to lead the business in developing robust programs to support student-athletes so that they will succeed both academically and athletically.

“As the father of children who are both excellent athletes and students, designing programs that support kids in pursuing their athletic and academic goals is an exhilarating opportunity,” Mr. Rafferty said. “In this day and age it is far too easy for our children to become distracted. Greenwich Education Group is blending athletic and academic programs in a structured manner; whereby increasing the chances of success in both, while simplifying the lives of everyone in the family.”

Company CEO Peter Newman added, “Greenwich Education Group’s hallmark is developing programs that are tailored to the individual learning styles and academic needs of each student. Our commitment to student-athletes and designing programs around their needs is a natural extension for us.

“David’s background in sports marketing, his ties in the community, and his passion for helping kids, make him a perfect fit for Greenwich Education Group and this position,” he said.

Mr. Rafferty will be spending the majority of his time at Chelsea Piers CT where Greenwich Education Group already offers high stakes test preparation, subject tutoring, college counseling and other advisory services.

The Blue Wave scored in all but one inning while Big Red scored its lone run in the fifth inning.

During the top of fifth inning, Jenn Ambrogio started the rally with a one out single. Rebecca Decarlo came up next and hit into a fielder’s choice. With two outs, Colleen Bennett unloaded a double that drove Decarlo racing around third base and crossing home plate.

Dakota Sarcone was the other Greenwich High School player to get a hit on the day. In addition to the three hits, Erin Ferguson netted two walks.

On the mound, Alison Kach pitched a complete game and finished with one strikeout and eight walks.

On the other side of the ball, Darien’s Erika Osherow had a great day on the mound. In addition to giving up only one run, the DHS pitcher struck out five and walked four batters.

With the loss, Greenwich fell to 15-5 on the season and will be waiting to start play in next week’s Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference class LL tournament.

Taylor Ryan led all scorers with four goals, while Colleen O’Neill finished with three goals and one assist. Mo Leitner finished with the hat trick, while the duo of Emma Novick and Catherine Hayden finished with 0ne goal.

CSH goalie Maddie Pillari finished with 10 saves, while the Tigers drilled 22 shots on net.

With the victory, Sacred Heart upped its overall record to 11-5 on the season and will play in the FAA championship game tomorrow at 2:45 p.m.

“The rhythm wasn’t there and the overall effort wasn’t there,” GHS head coach Caitlin Keane said. “I am a little disappointed with how we came out, but the second half we stayed tied with them. Imagine if we played the first half like we did the second half.”

Three of Greenwich High’s goals were scored by Carolyn Paletta, while the trio of Emme Christie, Sophie Waine and Sarah Rider each finished with one goal.

For New Canaan, Olivia Hompe led all scorers with four goals and one assist, while Eilzabeth Miller added three goals. Brianna McEwan, Isabel Taben and Katie DeMarino each finished with two goals.

“It was crucial for us to come up with those draw controls,” New Canaan head coach Kristin Woods. “I think we came up with the first six draw controls. That set the tone. Possession is everything in this game.”

With the victory, the Rams will advance to Wednesday’s FCIAC championship game. Greenwich High will wait to start play in the class L playoffs, which get underway next week. To read more on the game and to hear what Keane has to say about her team’s postseason chances, check out Thursday’s Greenwich Post.

Both seminars will be led by Bill Cannata, a Massachusetts firefighter, a public fire and life safety instructor and the father of a son with autism. Mr. Cannata is the founder of Autism Law Enforcement Coalition (ALEC), which designed this educational program, recently featured on NBC’s Today Show.

The morning session, which will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., will be geared toward first responders; firefighters, police and EMS personnel. Topics covered will be identifying the characteristics of behaviors of a person with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, special tactics, rescue techniques and how to effectively communicate with a person with autism in an emergency.

The evening session, which takes place from 7 to 9 p.m., will be geared toward anyone who wishes to learn how to interact in an emergency situation with a person, child or adult, with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Both sessions will be held at the YMCA of Greenwich’s second floor meeting room. The events are free of charge to all attendees.

So many British bands had success with their music in the United States in the early 1960s through the 1970s that music critics coined the phrase “The British Invasion.” There were so many popular British artists with hit songs in America, that the Avon Theatre could not feature all of them in their original presentation of The British Invasion. Now, join them for a brand new program of different clips that celebrate more of the British groups that continue to inspire us.

Among the songs and performers who will be featured are The Troggs with Wild Thing, Traffic with Dear Mr. Fantasy, The Silkie with You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away, The Yardbirds with Over, Under, Sideways, Down, Manfred Mann with The Mighty Quinn, Yes with I’ve Seen All Good People, Jethro Tull with Aqualung, The Zombies with Time of the Season, T-Rex with Bang a Gong and many more. The sources of the clips for this compilation of British groups are promos, films and videos of live concerts, studio rehearsals and television appearances. The variety and talent that will be showcased make this a night not to be missed.

Music archivist Bill Shelley has been filming since the 1970s when he recorded bands Twisted Sister and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, then directed music videos for Public Enemy. Shelley Archives was started in 1985 and today the company has more than 100,000 reels of original 35mm and 16mm films in its archives and more than 10,000 hours of rare concerts, television shows, promos, interviews, out-takes and home movies. Preservation of films and music clips is the main focus of the organization.

The screening takes place on Wednesday, May 22 at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices are as follows: Carte Blanche Members: free, members: $6, students & seniors: $8, non-members: $11. Call the Avon business office at 203-661-0321 or the box office at 203-967-3660, ext. 2, for tickets.