Westport, Connecticut: Coleytown Elementary

Westport Image Gallery
Westport Matchbooks
Westport People
Memories
News
Stories
Articles
Westport Links
The Westport quiz
A Brief History of Westport

1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
faculty - parents - guests - residents

SPECIAL NOTICE

This notice is for one of our own Billy Palladino, Staples H.S. graduate, class of 1968. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in November of 2009 and has been hospitalized since Feb. 6, when complications from throat cancer surgery in November robbed him of his ability to speak. He had an operation where they removed his epiglottis, the flap that covers the trachea during swallowing so that food does not enter the lungs. He had a Tracheotomy and now is unable to speak. He is presently in Danbury Hospital and is receiving Chemotherapy and Radiation and hoping to go home soon.

With all this going on for Bill, another tragedy struck his family. His wife, Janice Ann McClenathan Palladino, age 45, passed away from a massive heart attack on February 11, 2010 at her home in Sandy Hook, CT. She was also a Staples High School Graduate, class of 1983. Not only did his wife meticulously prepare meals that were injected through the feeding tube Bill had implanted after his surgery and monitor his medications, her full-time job at a small manufacturing company in Oxford provided the health insurance that covered the bulk of his medical bills.

Now there is no income for family and they don't know how long the insurance from Janice's job will cover Billy's medical bills. They have 2 daughters, Michelle and Sarah Palladino who are both in college.

We want to let you know that a trust fund has been set up for Billy and his family at:

Newtown Savings Bank
30 Main Street
Danbury CT 06810
Phone: (203) 205-0080

For those of you that want to contact him or send get well cards to, his home contact information is:

Bill Palladino
7 Overlook Knoll
Sandy Hook CT 06482
(203) 426-8960

Here are some links for more information:

Article on Billy in the Danbury News Times, Feb. 21, 2010.

Obituary from the Westport News on Janice Ann McClenathan Palladino.

Please help out where you can. Collectively we can all make a difference for Billy and his family, no matter what the $ amount is. Words of support are also needed if you can't make a donation during these hard times.

Thank you, Shelby Goodlett Pike

Coleytown Elementary Bulletin Board To add an entry on this board, please log in or sign up.
Jo Shay, best 5th Grade teacher, whipped me into shape. "You are not done. A turkey is done. You have finished." I tell my kid that all the time.	Eden Bossom 1990 view posts Tuesday, 03/02/2010 11:15:31
The best teacher ever! Mr Hawes.	Richard Busch 1971 view posts Wednesday, 12/02/2009 13:16:58
I remember Mrs. Shay. She used to shake everybody's hand at the end of the day. She told me I had a bad attitude. I told my mother I thought Mrs. Shay had a bad attitude. I live in Texas now and all my friends are jealous when I tell them about the snow forts and snowball fights we had on the playground every winter.	Adaire Atkinson 1970 view posts Sunday, 11/01/2009 13:55:57
Even at this advanced age I still remember all the names of my teachers at Coleytown El. Kindergarten-Mrs. Ginty, 1st grade-Mrs. Dennis, 2nd-Mrs. Hall, 3rd-Mrs. Bleifield, 4th-Mrs. True, 5th-Mrs. Walker and 6th Mrs. Chiarappa. I think that I must have had Mr. Hawes for homeroom in 6th grade. I really liked the playground at Coleytown especially the tunnels. I remember one spring a bunch of us were collecting caterpillars in empty school lunch milk cartons out at recess. One kid happened to touch their eyes and had a kind of allergic reaction to the caterpillars, so the teachers put a stop to our fun project. I also remember Miss. O'Dell's introductory words at every assembly. "Boys and girls, we have a real treat in store for you today " I am going to the '69 reunion and look forward to seeing you and continuing with the nostalgia.	Cheryl Wiener 1969 view posts Tuesday, 08/18/2009 06:38:55
I taught physical education here from 1968-71. My husband, Bob,taught and coached at Coleytown Junior High. It was the best experience ever! I loved the children and the faculty. I especially loved working for principal Lynn O'Dell. I put on three girl's p.e. programs featuring all the girls in grades 4 & 5. The girls performed gymnastics, dance, ball routines, etc, and each program had a theme. My closest teacher friends were Sally Collamore, music, and Joan Miller, 4th grade. Mrs. Harding was the school's secretary. It was the beginning of 35 years of teaching in Westport. I loved everyone of those years and thoughts of my students bring back fond memories. Suzanne Holliday	Bob Holliday 1962 view posts Thursday, 07/16/2009 20:43:04
Now I remember: I had Mrs. Shay for 5th grade. Mrs. Resko for 3rd. Yes, I remember playing some serious dodge ball in gym. Those pink balls could really sting if you got hit from close range! Lindsey f/k/a Terry Straus '63	Lindsey / Terry Straus 1969 view posts Sunday, 05/31/2009 10:51:50
I was in the Coleytown Elementary class of 1963 (Terry Straus then, Lindsey Straus now). I had Mr. Hawes for home room (one of my favorite teachers of all time) and Mr. Donofrio for math. I found our class picture and have posted it to the image gallery. I went away to school after 8th grade at Long Lots so I didn't make it to Staples, but have fond memories of my years at Coleytown (Mrs. Wolfson for second grade, Mrs. Resko for third (or was it 5th, I can't remember), Mrs. Friedman for fourth grade (remember watching Alan Shepherd, the first American in space) in her class in May 1961; Mr. Hawes for sixth. Mrs. O'Dell was our principal. Does anyone remember doing "A Christmas Carol" in fifth grade? I was Bob Cratchet. Would love to hear from others who were at Coleytown during those years. Lindsey f/k/a "Terry" Straus	Lindsey / Terry Straus 1969 view posts Thursday, 05/28/2009 11:43:38
Hi Bradley, Glad to hear you had an opportunity to go to NY, would love to hear of your adventure sometime. Remember me ? You use to stomp on my feet...?	Patti Green Fischer 1974 view posts Thursday, 04/30/2009 21:02:09
I had Miss Passton too, can't make a picture of her in my mind, I can't make a mental picture of my kindergarten teacher Miss Ginty either. I remember Miss O'Dell fondly, the first principal there. Mrs. Hall, my third grade teacher still substitutes there. Aw...I just thought of Mr. Hawes... haven't thought about him in decades. What a great guy. What was his first name?	Mary Palmieri Gai 1970 view posts Monday, 04/27/2009 14:00:50
Remember the fort? And the sewer pipes?	Mary Palmieri Gai 1970 view posts Monday, 04/27/2009 13:15:27
Miss Broderick you mean? She was so tough. I still work out three times a week (and weigh less than I did at Coleytown) just to be sure I do not run into her and have her think I am out of shape.	Honor Heath 1976 view posts Saturday, 04/11/2009 06:31:05
You guys are all HILARIOUS... I remember all of those names and what fun was that Gym for a dance ... I'm not sure what was more dangerous "war" or the dances. I thoughr Mrs.(Diane) Ugolyn was the hot gym teacher and Coach Holliday was the oh so hot boy's coach. I could be wrong but that's the way I remember it.	Melinda Bell Dietrich 1974 view posts Wednesday, 02/25/2009 20:07:33
Bradley Jones?? (Sorry, I shouldn't be posting here, but I got here by mistake - thought I was going to Coleytown Jr. High and hit the wrong link.) Anyway, Bradley, I saw your name and am so curious to know what you're up to. I'm sure you don't remember me, but I was one of those Coleytown and Staples theater geeks and I remember you well. I lost track of you (and many people) during (or just after) Staples, but I heard you went on to NY and would love to hear what you've been up to.	Lisa Kaplan Steier 1976 view posts Saturday, 11/29/2008 14:52:15
That last comment about the "hot gym" teacher has me laughing out loud! I'll have to tell her you said that! Her name is Mrs. Holliday; She's my sister-in law and she's still pretty hot, I guess.	Sue Holliday Windrick 1976 view posts Saturday, 11/15/2008 19:54:31
the hot gym teacher's name was miss Holiday	David Gray 1979 view posts Tuesday, 11/04/2008 16:36:22
Let's see, there was Miss Spencer, Miss Gateswiler, Miss Carter (she threw an eraser at me), Mrs Resko, Mr. Donafrio, and Mrs. Shay. Elementary school was a horror show, especially gym class where the boys played WAR. I STILL HAVE THE SCARS! And who was that really HOT gym teacher? Anybody remember?	Bradley Jones 1975 view posts Monday, 11/03/2008 16:22:12
How about Mrs. Shae or Shay? 5th grade teacher. She did not like my handwriting, or, my purple ink. (I think she thought I was a rebel for using purple ink.)	Holly Disque Hood 1973 view posts Wednesday, 10/15/2008 06:42:24
Me! I do! She was a bitch. I had Phyllis Kramer. Miss Paston later became Mrs. Camarra although that spelling could be off.	Andy Atkinson 1974 view posts Sunday, 09/14/2008 06:14:51
Who remembers Miss Paston, 1st grade teacher.	Janine Campbell Loescher 1973 view posts Tuesday, 06/03/2008 03:06:18

Coleytown Elementary Image Gallery

Please send any images you'd like added to the gallery to admin@westporters.com. Include as much information about the picture as you can: Who is in it, when and where it was taken. Thanks!

6th grade class, 1963 [508k]
Front row, sixth from right: Debbie O‚ÄôDell
Second row: Fourth from right: Kyle Rolnick, eighth from right: Denise Pommier
Third row: First on right: David Ottinger (I think), fourth from right: Jim Casperson; seventh from right: Jay Martin, eighth: Bruce Bowman; ninth: Terry Straus; twelfth: Chris Kennealy; eighth from left (towering over the rest of us): Butch Johnson.
Sent in by Lindsey/Terry Straus, Staples '69

5th grade class, 1971 [253k]
Kelly Johnson, 5th grade [38k]
Sent in by Kelly Johnson, Staples '78

1953 - 5th grade [832k]
Sent in by Peter Silver, Staples 1962: "The teacher, as I recall, is Mr. Mortara. I'm the kid with the striped shirt in the front row."