Welcome to National Poetry Month! I won’t offend the poets among our readers by even attempting to wax poetic here, but I will offer a reminder that C.H. Booth Library has been hosting another wonderful series by Dr Mark Schenker in recent weeks. The Yale College dean offered programs already on the late Donald Hall and the late Mary Oliver. This weekend, he will conclude his series with a lecture-discussion on former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins. Dr Schenker will be in the Gathering Room of the library, at 25 Main Street, for a 2 pm start on Saturday, April 6. Registration is requested and can be done online at chboothlibrary.org.

While you’re on a poetry roll, don’t forget that the Fourth Annual Risk-A-Verse event, sponsored by the Newtown Cultural Arts Commission, takes place on Sunday, April 7, at 2 pm. Settle into a comfy seat at the Newtown Meeting House and enjoy hearing readings by a variety of residents who will be sharing their favorite poems. Featured readers will be from young to old, people you know, and people you’ll want to know.

Bingo enthusiasts of all ages are invited to say goodbye to snow (they hope) and hello to spring with the first Friday Bingo Night of the season. St Rose Home School Association will host games on Friday, April 5, in the Monsignor Weiss Gathering Hall at St Rose of Lima School, 40 Church Hill Road. Doors will open at 5:45 pm, and games will run from 6:30 until approximately 9:30 pm. Admission is $17 per person, which covers all games. There will be cash prizes for each game, as well as raffle giveaways and concessions.

Teal-colored ribbons appeared on trees and poles in the center of town on April 1, in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The ribbons were placed by volunteers from The Women’s Center of Greater Danbury to raise awareness of the issue of sexual assault and to remind regional residents that services are available for victims. Contact the Women’s Center at 203-731-5200 or wcogd.org for additional information, including confidential help and hotlines. Help is also available through the National Domestic Violence Hotline (800-799-7233). In addition, Connecticut now offers the Connecticut Text to 911 service. Call 911 when you need help. If it isn’t safe to speak, enter 911 as the recipient of a text message. Then text the exact location and brief description of the emergency. Dispatchers will respond with the same questions and prompts they would use in a 911 call.

Maybe you saw the article in the March 29 edition of The Newtown Bee regarding distracted driving (https://www.newtownbee.com/distracted-driving-enforcement-targeting-school-bus-stops/04022019, or A1) and Connecticut DOT tells us, as well, that “April is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) National Distracted Driving Awareness month. According to the NHTSA, in 2017 alone, 3,166 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. To help ensure that motorists keep their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel, The Connecticut Department of Transportation will be partnering with State and local law enforcement all month long as part of the U Drive. U Text. U Pay. campaign.” Be safe as you drive, and keep others safe, too!

I was reminded this week that the Newtown High School Wind Ensemble is scheduled to play at Carnegie Hall on May 24 in the Isaac Stern Auditorium as part of the Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) concert series. The event will feature performances by the Great Bend Center for Music’s Great Bend Chorale and Alexander L’Estrange. Having the students play at the concert will cost $13,000, and the Wind Ensemble is raising money to cover the cost. A website, snap-raise.com/fundraisers/newtown-wind-ensemble-2019, has been set up to raise money. The website’s goal is to raise $6,000 of the total $13,000 cost. Tickets for the May 24 event are available online at carnegiehall.org.

After The Newtown Bee published the article “Owner-Surrendered Cats Inundate Town Animal Shelter; Kitten Season Looms” in its March 29 print edition, Animal Control Officer Carolee Mason told Features Reporter Alissa Silber that so far six of the 20 owner-surrendered cats have been adopted to their forever homes as of April 2. Those interested in adopting cats at the Newtown Animal Control Center, located at 21 Old Farm Road, can visit the shelter Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 3 pm; and Saturday, from 10 am to 2 pm. The adoption fee for cats is just $5, and donations are always appreciated.

I hear the Reed Intermediate School community raised money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. From March 4 to 22, the school collected donations for a Pennies for Patients fundraiser. More than $3,000 was raised by the school. That represents a lot of pennies! The sixth grade cluster that raised the most money was Petrice DiVanno and Matt Dalton’s cluster with $730.02, and the fifth grade cluster that raised the most was Amanda Eide and Kirsten Strobel’s cluster with $404.87.

Congratulations to Newtown High School students Matthew Vigneau and Kai-Li Davey for being named as recipients of the SWC Unified Sports One Athlete and One Partner Leadership Award. NHS announced the news on Twitter this week, @NHS_Tweets. Students were selected for the award for commitment, dedication, and service to Unified Sports at NHS and the South-West Conference. Congratulations are also due to NHS students Jesse Viesto and Brianna Linden, recipients of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) Unified Sports One Athlete and One Partner Teammate Award. Students were selected for their commitment, dedication, and service to Unified Sports, according to NHS.

We hope NHS students had fun attending the March 29 junior prom. We have heard great things about the evening. Parents, please remember to submit photos from the upcoming April 26 senior prom for possible publication in the following print edition of The Newtown Bee. Pictures, with a brief description and the first and last names of those pictured from left to right, should be e-mailed to Education Reporter Eliza Hallabeck, eliza@thebee.com, by the end of the day on Monday, April 29.

Here is one more poetry update. Hawley Elementary School first grade students in Gina Cappelli’s class created these paper kites, seen on display at the school on March 26. The kites are decorated with acrostic poems that spell out the word “spring.” One student’s poem reads, “Sunny, Polln [sic], Rain, Ice Crem [sic], Nines out [sic], Growing flowers.” Another student’s poem reads, “Sunny, Ponnd [sic], Running, Ice Cream, Night is light, Grtin [sic.]” And another poem reads, “Swiming [sic], Planting flowrs [sic], Runing [sic], Ice Pops, Night woks [sic], Great fun days.” Here’s to all the fun days to come.

I know I will have a fun day next week if you promise to... Read me again.