City Hill Middle School to Bring Autism Awareness to Naugatuck

NAUGATUCK -- The Wingman program at City Hill Middle School will kick off autism awareness month this Thursday, April 5, with a program called “Light Up the Green Blue.” The event, which is intended to enlighten people about autism and its effects, will begin at 5 p.m. at the Gazebo on the Town Green at the corner of Church and Division streets.

Seventh-and-eighth-grade student-leaders involved in the Wingman positive behavior program at CMHS have organized the event along with faculty advisors Carolyn Laurentus and Christina Rinaldi. They have sold several sponsorships for wooden puzzle pieces roughly the size of sandwich board advertising signs to area businesses and organizations. Students from Rinaldi’s art classes have donated their time after school to paint spectacular murals with the business or organization logos. They will be unveiled for the first time Thursday night and will be on display at various locations around downtown Naugatuck over the next month. The puzzle pieces are significant to Autism Awareness because they reflect the complexity of the autism spectrum, according to the nonprofit organization Autism Speaks.

“The beautiful puzzle pieces will be available for public viewing thanks to the kindness of our town workers who will be laying them throughout town,” Laurentus said. “Motorists and pedestrians can gaze upon them in awe of the talent of our students at City Hill Middle School.”

Money raised from the sale of puzzle pieces will be put toward the Wingman program. The program is a part of Dylan’s Wings of Change, a foundation established in memory of Dylan Hockley, a student killed during the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012, which claimed the lives of 20 children and six educators. The foundation’s mission is to help children with autism and other related conditions achieve their full potential. Hockley’s father, Ian, helped start the Wingman program and launched it in three schools across the state in 2015. City Hill was one of those schools; it is now in 18 schools across the state. The goal is to help students learn positive behaviors through a variety of activities throughout the school year.

Ian Hockley, who has dedicated countless hours to Dylan’s Wings of Change, will speak at Thursday’s event, as will CHMS student leaders and Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess.

The public will also have an opportunity to donate to the Wingman program through a macaroni and cheese dinner fundraiser on Saturday, April 7, between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the cafeteria at City Hill Middle School, 441 City Hill St. Tickets, which are available at the door, are $5 per person. There will also be music and door prizes at the event.

Contact Wingman advisors Carolyn Laurentus or Christina Rinaldi at carolyn.laurentus@naugatuck.k12.ct.us or christina.rinaldi@naugatuck.k12.ct.us for more information.

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About Wingman

The Wingman program is designed for all children to experience. Wingman is based on leadership principles, peer modeling and recognizing positive behaviors in all children. The primary goal is to recognize children for their unique and individual strengths, improving self-image and self-confidence while strengthening camaraderie and developing a stronger community. Ultimately we dissolve the "us" and "them" barrier, making it every child's responsibility to treat one another with kindness and respect, not just the child with differences. In so doing, all children become one another's "Wingman".