Daily Five: Middle School Consolidation Meetings Scheduled

1.  Today is Friday, Jan. 27.  The National Weather Service forecasts rain, mostly before 3 p.m., a high temperature of 51 degrees and a breeze of 15 to 21 mph. Tonight will be partly cloudy and blustery, with a low of 30.

2.  The school department has scheduled six upcoming public meetings as part of its process of The meetings are open to the public and aimed at hearing concerns and collecting ideas about various topics in the schools. 

Each of the topics to be discussed, along with the meeting times and dates, are listed below:

• Extra-Curricular Activities/Sports: 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1, in the Fitch High School cafeteria.
• Special Education: 7:30 p.m. until 9 p.m., on Wednesday, Feb. 1, in the Fitch High School band room.
• Academic Programs: 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m., on Thursday, Feb. 2, in the Fitch High School cafeteria.
• Music: 7:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2, in the Fitch High School Band Room.
• Transportation/Redistricting/Security: 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22 in the Fitch High School cafeteria.
• Transition: 7:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22, in the Fitch High School band room.

3.  The 2nd annual Black History Month Gospel Choir Concert, organized by a sailor and minister from submarine group 2, will take place on Feb. 11 at Shepherd of the Sea Chapel in Groton. Joseph Brickhouse, of Newark, N.J., has invited churches from Connecticut, New York and New Jersey to take part in the concert. Brickhouse performed his first sermon at age 13 and was ordained in 2004, according to an article on the navy.mil website.

4. Food Network star and celebrity Chef Robert Irvine will visit Naval Submarine Base New London from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. today, according to a news release from the Navy’s public affairs office. Irvine is the host of the network program “Restaurant: Impossible” and will visit the sub base galley and meet cooks for the Navy. The visit will be his first to the base, the news release said.

5. The American Red Cross needs volunteers in Southeastern Connecticut, and is holding a new volunteer orientation from 11 a.m. until noon on Wednesday, Feb. 8 in Waterford. The Red Cross needs volunteers to help with blood drives, disaster response and community education. You don’t need any special skills, but you do need to register. To sign up, call (860) 678-2803 or register by email to CTVol@ctredcross.org.