Still feels that way and I haven't been a school kid in a long, long time. I offered a lot of what follows this time a year ago as the days grew shorter and the leaves started to turn but that wasn't the biggest change.
A week from today, children in sixth through the eighth grade begin a new year of classes at Norwich Public Schools, (everyone else in NPS starts a week from tomorrow). joined by students at the Sachem campus of Norwich Free Academy as well as NFA 9th graders.
Like you, I've been seeing back to school displays in stores everywhere for weeks as the retail sector has its own calendar that moves even swifter than the one the rest of us have hanging in our kitchens.
Speaking of back to school, we are smack in the middle of Connecticut Sales Tax-Free Week which started on Sunday and runs through Saturday. Not everything is sales tax-free or exempt though if you're buying back to school clothes or footwear costing less than $100 an item you can save some money.
The CT Department of Revenue has a Chart of Exempt and Taxable Items online that includes "antique clothing" and "bicycle sneakers without cleats" and I mention them because they make me smile
You can combine your back to school shopping with money-saving while patronizing local businesses so that more of our dollars stay here where we live and continue to support those merchants who help make our community a better place for all of us.
As we head towards autumn, perhaps this is a good time to check those kitchen calendars to see if we can't find space and time that allows us to volunteer for one or more of the many activities we have across our city, like the Greek Food Festival, A Taste of Italy or Walktober through dozens (if not hundreds) of others events.
As we head towards autumn, perhaps this is a good time to check those kitchen calendars to see if we can't find space and time that allows us to volunteer for one or more of the many activities we have across our city, like the Greek Food Festival, A Taste of Italy or Walktober through dozens (if not hundreds) of others events.
We all enjoy going to them, right? And while it's nice to believe they run on rainbows, all of them rely on volunteer power, which is where you and I come in. As I alluded to, sort of, last week, there's an 80/20 rule of volunteering about who does the work and who enjoys the fruits of it but my larger point is there isn't a single aspect of our community that would not be better for our getting more involved and engaged.
I mentioned the new school year and not just for parents of school children but for all of us, a great place to lend a hand and stay close to home is our local school. Let's face it, we certainly had a lot to say last May and June about the schools during the City Council budget hearings. But we all have a stake in them, all-year-round. The kids in my house and perhaps yours are grown and gone, but graduations shouldn't mean the end of our interest and engagement.
I mentioned the new school year and not just for parents of school children but for all of us, a great place to lend a hand and stay close to home is our local school. Let's face it, we certainly had a lot to say last May and June about the schools during the City Council budget hearings. But we all have a stake in them, all-year-round. The kids in my house and perhaps yours are grown and gone, but graduations shouldn't mean the end of our interest and engagement.
Summer's ending and it's time to become a bigger part of where we call home starting now.
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