I hope that everyone is enjoying the summer break.  I have some wonderful news to share with all of you.

America's Best Public High Schools – BestColleges.com has recognized NCHS as one of America's Best Public High Schools for 2015, based on a number of ranking factors as provided by Niche.com. Of the thousands of schools across America, New Canaan High School rose to the top by providing an outstanding learning environment, including academics, safety, teachers, and facilities.The complete review of the Best High Schools in America for 2015 can be found here:

http://www.bestcolleges.com/features/best-high-schools-in-america/

Additionally, I am pleased to announce that New Canaan High School has earned the "Safe Sports School " first team award from the National Athletic Trainers Association.  This is a great honor; this states that New Canaan High School's sports medicine program has fulfilled all the requirements to make sports safe for high school athletes.  We will be receiving a certificate and a banner that we can proudly display.

Announcement from Dr. Luizzi:

Dr. Bryan Luizzi is very excited to announce that Matthew J. Salvestrini will assume the role of Director of Digital Learning for New Canaan Public Schools on August 21. Mr. Salvestrini has served as Principal at Gainfield Elementary School in Regional School District 15 for the past six years. While at Gainfield he successfully implemented a program to upgrade the school’s instructional technology, resulting in the availability of SMART Boards, document cameras and iPads in all classrooms. Matt has served as an Elementary Assistant Principal in both Brookfield and Darien, and has taught at the elementary and high school levels. Matthew Salvestrini was awarded a B.A. in English Literature from Loyola College and a Masters in Teaching from Sacred Heart University. He also earned a UCAPP Educational Leadership Degree from University of Connecticut.

Vision for NCHS

I wanted to share a little about my personal vision for New Canaan High School and what I believe are key components to a successful school community.

Personal Vision for NCHS:

To create a sense of community where parents want to send their children, students want to learn and enjoy being a part of the NCHS community.  New Canaan High School will be a place where all employees feel respected, valued and love coming to work always doing what is in the best interests of students!

Two key components for our school community:

1. Always do your personal best and learn from difficulties that you face - if you can look in the mirror and say that you have given your best effort, and learn from challenges that you have, I have no doubt that you will be successful.

2. Be kind and compassionate to everyone that you meet - no one ever looked back in life and regretted treating people with kindness and compassion.

I have no doubt that NCHS will continue to be an amazing school that inspires everyone to be their best! Have a great weekend.

Social Media and Suggestions

Social Media Use:

In an effort to communicate more effectively with the entire school community you will see a few updates on our website. Updating the website will be a continuous process and if you have suggestions, feel free to email me possible enhancements.  On the right side of the website, there is now a Principal's Corner.  In this section, you will notice the New Canaan High School Principal's Chat.  The blog will keep you updated on the latest happenings at New Canaan High School.

Below the blog is the newly created NCHS_CT twitter feed.  The twitter feed is designed to celebrate exciting events around New Canaan High School.  You should see pictures from classrooms, sporting events or other co-curricular activities. I am encouraging all to follow and send your tweets to @NCHS_CT. Additionally, you can follow my twitter account @WEganprincipal.  I try and tweet on a fairly regular basis and use my twitter account for professional learning and community sharing.

We want to hear from you.  In an effort to hear from all of our stakeholders, we have designed a on-line suggestion box.  You will find the suggestion box form on the bottom of the quick link section on the New Canaan High School website.  This form has been created to hear about possible improvements and ways that we can work together at New Canaan High School. We want to take what is already an amazing school and make it better.  The only way that we can do that is to provide forums for everyone to contribute to the school.  This is an anonymous form, so we can gather honest feedback.

On a personal note, my daughter and I are going to the Taylor Swift concert on Friday night.  It should be a great deal of fun because Ella is a huge fan.  We even created T-shirts.  Below is a copy of what my shirt looks like.  Ella gets to be Taylor's #1 fan.  

Introduction Letter - Bill Egan

Dear New Canaan High School Family,

I hope that you are enjoying the start of summer vacation.  The summer is an important time to refocus, gather your thoughts, and rejuvenate your mind for the upcoming school year.  My name is Bill Egan and I am the proud new principal of New Canaan High School.

After graduation and before starting at New Canaan, my wife, a language arts teacher at Newtown Middle School and my nine year old daughter, Ella, and I went to Amelia Island, Florida.  It is beautiful and I feel like there is nothing like the ocean air to renew focus and spirit.  Later in July, we will be making our annual journey to Cape May, NJ.  Cape May is our favorite place on Earth and we try to go every year.

Some of you are already aware of this, but I wanted the entire community to know about my background.  I have over 20 years of educational experience spanning grades 6-12. My teaching experience is a blend of work in both suburban and urban communities and I bring a vast amount of administrative experience.  For the past six years I have had the honor of leading a 7-12 grade high school.  During my tenure at Wamogo Regional High School, the school accomplished an array of honors, and these awards are a testament to the power of working together to achieve great accomplishments.

At NCHS I intend to continue the legacy of success established by building strong relationships with parents, students, staff, and community partners.  Together we will continue to support a thriving academic program and build on the amazing athletic, VPA, and co-curricular programs at the school. For a school to be successful, students need to be happy. My hope is that every student loves New Canaan High School and looks forward to coming to school each and every day.

I am certain that New Canaan High School will continue to be one of the finest high schools in the state and country.  I look forward to working with a school community that places a high value on education. We will continue to develop well-rounded students who are compassionate and committed to a global society.  Our students will be equipped to become the future leaders of our nation.  I am committed to leading this fine institution into the future.

I look forward to learning together, working together and growing together.

Wishing you a happy, restful and enjoyable summer,

Bill Egan
New Canaan High School Principal