Darien Morning Briefing: 3.7.12, Wednesday

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Today is Wednesday, March 7, 2012.

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From the Darien High School website:

Attention to the parents of all 9th graders

"After some consideration, we have decided to consolidate the Science Practice CAPT, originally scheduled for Wednesday, March 7th, to coincide with the English Practice CAPT on Friday, March 9th. The English test will run from 7:40-9:00 and the Science test will run from 9:10-10:25. Freshmen do not have to report to school prior to their first scheduled classes on Monday-Thursday. The complete CAPT schedule can be found here.

"The only day Freshmen are asked to arrive by 7:40 is on Friday, March 9th, for a Practice CAPT test in both English and Science. Students will be notified of which classroom to report to by their English teachers. Busses will still run at their regular scheduled times each day and there will be areas for Freshmen to report to if they are unable to arrive later. Please contact your child's teacher if you have any questions about either of these tests.
Thank you for your understanding with this change."

—Dan Haron [Darien High School principal]

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HEADLINES:

EVENTS & REMINDERS

Adults

• Public Information Meeting on I-95 Rest Stops: 7 p.m., Darien Library. "The public is invited to listen to a brief presentation about the redevelopment plans for the Darien Service Plazas and ask questions regarding the upcoming construction."—from t on Darien Patch.
• DHS Coaches Speak to middle school parents: "Darien High School coaches and the district athletic directors will be Middlesex Middle School on Wednesday, March 14th at 9:15am to discuss the various high school sports offered."—from on Darien Patch
• Teacher/Parent conferences for elementary school students run from Wednesday through Friday this week. 
• The YWCA Darien/Norwalk’s Masquerade Ball "will have a silent and live auction featuring unique items including travel and culinary experiences.  The Masquerade Ball will take place at the Country Club of Darien on March 24, 2012 and will feature dinner, cocktails, dancing in addition to the auction—from on Darien Patch
• One Book, One Community 2012: "Visit us now to check out your copy of 97 Orchard [for adult] or The Inquisitor's Apprentice [for young readers]. Then, join us in March and April as we host a slew of discussions, workshops, lectures, film screenings, and events that support the books’ themes. There will be programs for adults, teens, and children. Help build a better community!"

Kids:

• "Hugo" Matinee: 2 p.m., Darien Library.—from the library's announcement.
• FRIDAY: "The Lorax" Matinee: "The Darien High School Orchestra is hosting a special fundraising viewing of "The Lorax" at the Darien Playhouse on Friday, March 9 at 4 p.m.  All proceeds go toward supporting the Orchestra's upcoming trip to Disney World as performers in the Magic Music Days. A limited number of tickets are available.  To order tickets, please contact Jane Minnis at 203-655-3981, ext. 2287 or JMinnis@darienps.org."—from the Darien Patch .

Teens:

• Darien High School schedule: CAPT followed by a Modified "C" Day: Classes begin at 10:35 a.m. Periods: 4 | 1 | 8 | 68 (CAPT Week AP Review sessions schedule here)
  
• Vote in the DMV Teen Safe Driving Video Contest for 2012: See the video attached to this article. The Connecticut DMV and Travelers Insurance are "sponsoring a challenge to communities – in Connecticut and outside the state — to view these videos and rally behind one,  as shown by the number of views it gets,  that best supports a community safety message.  Please help us promote this challenge. [...] Schools ranking in the Top 10 [...] can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/teensafedriving12 "—from The Depot website
• Darien Depot March Calendar
  

DARIEN PLAYHOUSE SHOWTIMES

• The Artist: 4 and 7 p.m., P.G.-13 (1 hr., 40 min.)—IMDb—trailer—Rotten Tomatoes
  
• The Lorax: 4 and 7 p.m., PG-13 (1 hr. 26 min.)—IMDb—trailer—Rotten Tomatoes

• Lorax Matinee on Friday: "The Darien High School Orchestra is hosting a special fundraising viewing of "The Lorax" at the Darien Playhouse on Friday, March 9 at 4 p.m.  All proceeds go toward supporting the Orchestra's upcoming trip to Disney World as performers in the Magic Music Days. A limited number of tickets are available.  To order tickets, please contact Jane Minnis at 203-655-3981, ext. 2287 or JMinnis@darienps.org."—from the Darien Patch .

GOVERNMENT MEETINGS

All meetings take place in , 2 Renshaw Rd., unless otherwise noted. Since Darien town government provides no reliable, centralized list of town government meetings, and there is not enough time in the day to go searching for them, this list may well be incomplete:

• Five Mile River Commission, 7:30 p.m., Rowayton Community Center, 33 Highland Ave., Norwalk
  
• Advisory Board of Health, 7 p.m., Room 213
  
  

FORECAST as of Wednesday (update)

• Wednesday: "Sunny, with a high near 54. Southwest wind between 9 and 14 mph."
• Wednesday Night: "Partly cloudy, with a low around 43. Southwest wind around 11 mph."

INTERSTATE 95 TRAFFIC CAMS

See also Darien Patch's "Traffic & Gas Prices" page.

• Stamford: southbound, Exit 8 - Elm St.

• Stamford: northbound, south of Exit 9 - Lockwood Ave.

• Darien southbound, north of Exit 9 - Darien Service Plaza

• Darien northbound Exit 12 - Tokeneke Rd.

• Darien northbound, south of Exit 13 - Darien Service Plaza

• Darien southbound, Exit 13 - Rt. 1 (Boston Post Rd.)

• Norwalk southbound, Exit 15 - Stuart Ave.

• Norwalk Rt 7 south of Exit 1 - Connecticut Ave.

• Norwalk northbound, Exit 15 - Rt. 7

TIDES & TIMES

• Sunrise: 6:18 a.m.
• Sunset: 5:52 p.m.

• Low tide: 4:19 a.m. (-0.5')
• High tide: 10:20 a.m. (7.8') 
• Low tide: 4:43 a.m. (-0.7')
• High tide: 10:43 p.m. (7.6')

HOW TO USE PATCH:

Forecast obtained from the National Weather Service; tide information obtained from saltwatertides.com (calibrated to Long Neck Point).