5/22/2026

STAMFORD HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL'S NEWSLETTER

55 Strawberry Hill Ave. Stamford, Connecticut 06902

Week Ending Friday, May 22, 2026

Mr. Matthew Forker, Principal

FIVE STAMFORD HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS TO GRADUATE FROM CT STATE NORWALK

Students Earned Associate’s Degrees During High School through Early College Studies Program

Five of our seniors from the SHS Early College Studies (ECS) Program are graduating from CT State Norwalk this week with associate’s degrees in computer science. 

The Stamford High students graduating from CT State Norwalk are: 

• Alfred Gascon

• Ritchie Jara

• Shashank Peela

• Alec Stark 

• Nicholas Sutin

The students will walk in the CT State Norwalk Graduation Ceremony at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater in Bridgeport on Wednesday, May 20 at 11 am. 

All five students have committed to four-year colleges or universities to continue their studies. Gascon will attend Penn State University; Jara, Peela, and Sutin will attend the University of Connecticut; and Stark will attend Juniata College.

The Stamford High School Early College Studies Program is a rigorous, intra-district academic program open to all Stamford students regardless of their attendance zone high school. ECS enables motivated students to simultaneously earn their high school diploma from Stamford High and an associate’s degree from CT State Norwalk in as few as four years. Students may apply to the program beginning in fall of their eighth-grade year, and applications remain open until all available freshmen seats are filled. 

SHS ECS began with a single cohort of 40 freshmen in fall 2017 and this school year includes 141 students in grades 9-12. The ECS Program has graduated 20 students with associate’s degrees since 2021, and more than 200 ECS students have graduated from SHS with college credits toward their associate or bachelor’s degree in computer science-related fields. 

THIS WEEK’S UPDATE

Here are some quick updates and reminders for the academic week ending May 22, 2026.  Links have been provided, where applicable, to help with further details.  Have a great weekend with your families! 

MAY DATES TO REMEMBER

May 25: Memorial Day (No School)

May 26: IB Celebrations Night

May 27: Early Release / National Honor Society Induction Night

SHS GRADUATION DATE SET!

Wednesday June 17, 2026

2:00 PM

Boyle Stadium

(Rain Date Thursday June 18; Time TBD)

SCHOOL COUNSELING

MBL (MASTERY BASED LEARNING) UPDATES:

Any seniors hoping to earn their MBL credit must submit documentation via Google Form by Monday, June 1st. Additionally, they must notify their school counselor of their submission so that if can be added to their schedule, which is a placeholder for your grade to be entered. If approved, the P (Pass) will be added by June 8th. Flyers with QR codes are below and the link is here: https://forms.gle/RrRfgTwbLfxVgJ5p6

COLLEGE AND CAREER CENTER

The SHS College and Career Center Newsletter is up to date and can be found HERE. Follow the department on IG for updates and information and daily posts! @shscounselingdept  

POETRY SLAM DELIVERS ONCE AGAIN!

Mrs. Gillin, Stamford High English Department Leader, through a generous donation from the Kuriansky Foundation in memory of Isabelle Kuriansky, hosted the 17th Annual Poetry Slam on Tuesday night.

The student performers, many of whom were first-time performance poets, did an amazing job. The evening was made possible by long-time friends of SHS: Mahogany L. Browne, Lincoln Center’s inaugural Poet-in-Residence and Jive Poetic, slam poet and DJ for the event. Lex Bean, a dynamic and engaged featured poet performed, as did Susana Cuertas (SHS Class of 2013 and three-time SHS Poetry Slam winner) who also joined us this year as a judge.

Thanks so much to the rest of the judging panel Ms. Annie Dunn, Mr. Ryan Hough, and Mr. Jonny Ortiz and senior Cal Gillin for co-hosting. Additional thanks go to Ms. Dunn and James Jordan for their assistance in producing the event. 

Congratulations to all who performed! Note that winner Noelle Brown (11) is invited to be a featured performer at Knight of Excellence.

1st Place Noelle Brown (11)

2nd Place Joshua Dent (11)

3rd Place Carmela Belfort (12)

Sebastian Di Fatta (10)

Rhoheem McGawn (11)

Sarahi Rodriguez (12)

Zaniyah Williams (12) 

SACRED HEART TEEN VISIONS ART AWARDS

Stamford High School artists were honored last Sunday at the Teen Visions Art Exhibition at Sacred Heart University. Co-sponsored by Jerry's Artarama and organized by Jack de Graffenried, associate professor at Sacred Heart, the event showcased top talent from Fairfield County.

Selected participants included Ricardo Chaparro Marquez, Nicole Carias, Helen Diaz Morales, Safira Gloria, Jaqueline Mencos, Nazar Motruk, Madison Ortiz, and Ivana Roman. All artists will receive gift certificates and gift bags.

Congratulations to Stamford High Award Winners: 

Jaqueline Mencos – First Place ($100 gift certificate) for “Untitled”.

Nicole Carias – Second Place ($50 gift certificate) for “A Snake’s Coat”.

Special thanks to Patrick Madigan of Jerry's Artarama and the Sacred Heart University team for providing this platform for young artists.

ART STUDENTS SHINE AT THE BRUCE MUSEUM!

Huge congratulations to Jamie Rosado and Laeliah Bailey!

Their artwork has been selected for the prestigious iCreate Exhibition at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT. This regional competition showcases the very best high school art, and we are incredibly proud of their achievement.

This success is a testament to the talent within our Visual Arts program and the mentorship of AP Art instructor Mr. Eaton-Koch. Jamie and Laeliah recently gifted me copies of their pieces, which I am honored to display in my office.

Exhibition Details

The iCreate exhibition has celebrated student artists for nearly 20 years. This year, all submissions will be featured in a digital presentation, with selected works physically displayed in the gallery.

• Opening Day: June 11, 2026 (Awards and prizes distributed).

• Gallery Display: June 13 – August 23, 2026, in the Mahoney Gallery Lobby.

• People’s Choice Award: Public voting will take place throughout the summer, with the winner announced in late August.

We encourage the entire school community to visit the Bruce Museum this summer to support our talented artists!

SHS SENIORS AND COACH RECEIVE AWARD FROM THE STAMFORD OLD TIMERS ASSOCIATION

Congratulations to seniors Rachel Stokes (field hockey, basketball, softball) and Orlando Camacho (football, lacrosse) for being awarded the 2026 Stamford Old Timers scholarship.

Additionally, congratulations to Head Girl Basketball coach Diane Burns on being named the Stamford Old Timers 2026 Mickey Lione Jr. Coach of the Year!

SHS MUSICIANS CELEBRATE IN PARADE AND SPRING CONCERT

CLUB OF THE WEEK

This week, students in Dr. Lawson’s Ukrainian Club made frames that they decorated with mosaic tiles to put a memory in of our time together this year.

STUDENT COUNCIL FUNDRAISER

This Wednesday, May 27th from 12:00–5:00 PM, Stamford High School Student Council is hosting a fundraiser at SoBoL Stamford, and we would love your support!

With it being a half day for students, this is the perfect opportunity to grab lunch, a smoothie, or an acai bowl with friends, family, or colleagues while supporting Stamford High School. For every bowl or smoothie purchased during the event, SoBoL will donate $2 back to Stamford High Student Council.

SoBoL Stamford
900 High Ridge Rd, Stamford, CT

Every purchase makes a difference towards offsetting the rising costs of prom.

Important: The attached flyer must be shown at the register for the purchase to count toward the donation.

Thank you for supporting our students and helping make this event a success. We hope to see you there!

2026-2027 SPORTS INFORMATION

Black Knight Athletics Registration – Opens May 5th for the 2026–2027 school year.

Registration for all Stamford High School athletic programs (Fall, Winter, and Spring) will open on May 5.

All student-athletes must complete registration online through Final Forms. A parent/guardian must register the student first – Then the student will get an email in their school email where they will log on and complete the registration. You can register here - https://www.stamfordathletics.org/about

Registration instructions can be found here:
https://www.stamfordathletics.org/about/registration-process

All athletes are required to have a current physical, which must be uploaded to Final Forms and approved by the school nurses (nurses check the website regularly to approve) prior to participation in:

• Any summer activities

• Tryouts for the 2026–2027 school year (Fall starts; golf 8/10, football 8/13 & rest 8/24)

Instructions for uploading a physical can be found here:
https://www.finalforms.com/blog/end-of-year-reminder-how-to-upload-a-physical-in-finalforms

Please note: Student-athletes who do not complete the full registration process (including an up to date physical) will not be permitted to participate.

ATTENDANCE GRADE RECOVERY (AGR) INFORMATION

Questions about the AGR process?

Grades 9 and 12: jcarde@stamfordpublicschools.org 

Grades 10 and 11: dostasiewski@stamfordpublicschools.org

CELL PHONE POLICY FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’S)

For cell phone Frequently Asked Questions, please click here.

“OPEN CAMPUS”

Parents and families, as a reminder, the SPS “Open Campus Policy” is only permissible for students in GRADES 11 and 12.