The Narragansett Pier Middle School offers students a well-rounded curriculum of English-Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies as well as a broad range of Specials such as art, foreign language, music and much more.  In addition, NPS also provides a cutting edge program to their students — Enrichment.   Vanessa Miller became the NPS Enrichment teacher in September 2009 and in this short period of time, she has already seen exciting growth and development within the program.   Miller explains that the philosophy of the enrichment program at NPS is based in the Renzulli Schoolwide …

Lisa Gardner, RN, of Narragansett, has been named resident care director at Tockwotton on the Waterfront.   Gardner will be responsible for the ongoing operations of the nursing program within Tockwotton’s assisted living community, a job that will include responsibility for recruitment, training and supervision of all nursing personnel.  She will report directly to the assisted living administrator. Gardner brings more than 10 years of clinical experience to Tockwotton, including positions in rehab, assisted living and case management. She holds a bachelor of science degree in nursing from …

According to The Westerly Sun, South Kingstown Police Captain Jeffrey Allen is the new police chief in Charlestown. Allen was appointed following a meeting on Monday night. According to a previous article in The Sun, Allen was one of five finalists, which included two internal candidates from the Charlestown force. Allen, a Charlestown resident, served as a public information officer and a commander of the patrol division for the South Kingstown Police Department. He also won the local South Kingstown Dancing With the Stars competition in May 2011. (No word on whether this was a tipping point…

The second annual Narragansett Backyard Carnival is Saturday, Aug. 25 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 50 Conanicus Road. The small, family-run event was completely conceptualized by local kids, and the carnival is also staffed by the kids as well. All proceeds benefit Grace Reddington – the Race for Grace – and go toward research to treat Retts Syndrome. For an article on last year’s carnival by Kyle Doubrava, click here. Cheryl Butler also wrote a profile of Grace in May 2011 – you can read it by clicking here. Admission for the carnival is $3, and this lets you play as many games as you want. …

The Avery-Storti Funeral Home is making history this month as they proudly open South County’s only crematory.  The South County Cremation Care Center is scheduled to open today, and Peter J. Storti, the owner and director, is humble in saying that he and his staff will do everything in their power to maintain the high standards that people expect in their new cremation care center, just as they do for their funeral home. “Cremations are approximately 40 percent of our business, so we are very pleased we can offer this service right here, on site, for the wonderful folks here in South County …

Local resident Leigh Reposa is featured as the August 2012 Reader of the Month in the "Your Words" section of Real Simple magazine. "I answered the question 'What risk are you glad you took?' and I wrote about searching for my birth family 5 years ago," Reposa said. Reposa, who has her Masters in Social Work, is an advocate for adoptees. She shared that her journey to find her birth mother and family has not only been life changing for her, but she hopes it will be pivotal for others — adoptees and birth mothers.  Reposa grew up as an only child in Rumford and said that her parents were …

Riding the school bus is often one of the highlights of most children entering Kindergarten.  They are in awe of the size, the bright color, and the number of large seats and windows that they encounter when they first take those big steps up into the bus and down that very grown-up aisle. That wonderment soon wears off, however, after they make the trip back and forth to school day after day, and year after year and then, like anything else, it becomes more or less mundane and part of their same-old, same-old everyday routine. (Just ask the high school kids!) The students only face their …

Whether you’re a bargain hunter or not, if you haven’t shopped a local consignment shop lately you truly don’t know what you’re missing!  Thrift stores and consignment places are no longer nicer flea markets, oh no — they are chic, welcoming, high-quality, well-organized places that carry eclectic, trendy and stylish clothing, accessories, and household items that are usually exclusive because the merchandise is hand-picked.  Sure it’s used, though many carry brand new as well, but the screening process most shops use to select their new merchandise definitely reflects premium finds. With our…

It’s certainly not uncommon to choose a career path early on in college, only to change gears along the way when realizing it wasn’t the right decision.  Narragansett Elementary School Assistant Principal Lisa Monahan chose a business and advertising major, but she learned soon enough that it wasn’t for her. Education was her real calling and she said it didn’t surprise a lot of people who knew her growing up, because she was always known for playing school with her stuffed animals, dolls and the other neighborhood kids.  Once on her new career path there was no turning back, and Monahan …

Dale Loomis, an eighth grade science teacher at the Narragansett Pier Middle School, grew up in a household that hosted exchange students and says she loved simply being "enlightened" by having people from other cultures live in their home. “The type of young person that typically chooses to do this is generally outgoing, curious, and adventurous, and I enjoy that type of personality,” she said.  “I was an exchange student to Finland and it really opened my eyes to the fact that there are many people with quite different lifestyles and outlooks - it changes your perspective. You learn a lot …

Most of us either have family serving in the military or know of friends or acquaintances that dedicate their lives to keeping our country safe for the rest of us.  In our small, tight-knit community of Narragansett, we also have many families touched by deployment — and in times of war, if it’s not relating to us personally, we may not realize the hardships that these families face on a daily basis when one of the parents is stationed so far away from home. Noah Moroski, a fifth grader at the Pier School, understands what it means to sacrifice, as does his older brother Christian, a freshman…

There’s something magical about spending time in an elementary school library — especially for kids who may have never visited their local library before coming to school.  Not only are there shelves and shelves of colorful books just waiting to be checked out, it’s one of the first opportunities that young children have to demonstrate independence and responsibility. After all, once that book is taken home, it’s up to the student to take good care of it. Borrowing from the library is a well-earned privilege and at Narragansett Elementary School, Brien Jennings is the teacher that all the …

When you see police cruisers pass you by with flashing lights, or perhaps notice them taking radar in a remote parking lot, you probably breathe a sigh of relief when you realize you’re not the one being chased or pulled over.  But did you ever stop and think about what these men and women who proudly wear a police badge do to protect our community on a daily basis? Meet Detective Lieutenant Sean Corrigan, a member of the Narragansett Police Department for the past 15 years and a resident of the community since 2001.  He knew becoming a police officer was going to be his chosen career because…

There are many facets within the Narragansett School District that make it an excellent school system for our community children to learn and grow and at the top of that list are the people who make it all happen — our teachers! For most parents, when their child leaves the house in the morning excited and happy to be heading to school, it’s almost like receiving a gift.  Narragansett Special Education teacher, Karen Festa knows that feeling, but from the opposite end of the spectrum — she’s the one waiting at the school to welcome her students for the six-hour school day. Festa has been …

Narragansett would not be the standout seaside community it is if it weren’t for the good people in town who are proud to call this community their home and their employer!  Our Gansett Patch is coming up shortly on the anniversary of our November launch.  It’s been exciting to watch town folk embrace our hyperlocal news and information site, especially when we get invitations from community-based businesses and organizations to come on down and cover a local event. Our close-knit community thrives because of the dedication of the people who both live here and work here making it the best it …