Home Care In Weston, CT

FAIRFIELD — The moment the buzzer sounded, Emma Love knew that she and her Weston girls lacrosse teammates had accomplished something special, and she had her own special moment to go along with it.

They’d taken their first CIAC championship in a decade, beating New Fairfield 13-6 Tuesday night at Campus Field for the Class S title. They’d ended the dynasty of rival New Fairfield and ended the Rebels’ hex over them.

And the celebratory pile was around Cristina Love.

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“Awesome. It was amazing,” Emma Love said. “I turned and ran to my sister; she’s the goalie. That was kind of great to win a state championship with her before I graduated. And then to see everyone smiling is just amazing.”

Top-seeded Weston (20-2) won its third Class S championship in five final appearances, its first in a decade and its first in three tries against New Fairfield. The Trojans were ranked ninth in the Connecticut Girls Lacrosse Poll before the CIAC tournaments.

New Fairfield had eliminated the Trojans three tournaments in a row and four of the previous five, including both the 2017 and 2021 finals and last year’s semifinals. The Rebels had also defeated Weston in this year’s SWC semifinals to avenge a regular-season loss to the Trojans.

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“I think it was just a lot of motivation at this point,” Weston coach Kyra Fraioli said. “We took it personally that they’ve ended our season for quite a couple of years. We knew they had a streak on the line and that they were predicted to win, so we just wanted to prove that wrong.”

Second-seeded New Fairfield (15-7) saw the end of a record-tying streak of five consecutive CIAC girls lacrosse championships (2017-22, interrupted by the 2020 season that was canceled for the pandemic), all in Class S.

“They worked for it,” New Fairfield coach Greg Schwarz said. “They beat us to the ground balls. They beat us to the 50-50 balls, though we were present in all of them.”

New Fairfield scored first, 3:10 into the game, but Weston scored the next three, and a 6-3 halftime lead quickly swelled to 10-3, then 12-4.

“We were just preaching with our girls to believe, to believe every second that they can go out there and win this game, to believe in themselves,” Fraioli said. “I think that’s the big difference. This year, they just really bought into that mentality. That helped us tremendously.”

The offense was patient, Love said, looking for the open shots, then placed them well. The team had also perfected a zone defense, she said.

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“I don’t think it was any one person,” Love said. “Everyone had to step up, use grit, everything, put everything they had on that field. I think that’s what won us the game.”

Player of the Game

Junior midfielder Sarah Zwack scored six goals for Weston, including its first three and its first of the second half.

Capping it off

This was the final CIAC lacrosse game of the season. It was originally scheduled for Sunday but was postponed twice: once to Monday after last week’s semifinals were pushed back because of poor air quality; again to Tuesday because of predicted Monday-night thunderstorms.

Both the Trojans’ boys and girls teams won championships; the school also accomplished that in 2013, the last time the girls won a championship.

End run

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Only Darien (2013-17 in Class L) had won five CIAC championships in a row until New Fairfield’s run. Even before the CIAC began sanctioning girls lacrosse in 2004, only Darien (1996-2000) had won five in a row.

It’s something the program can be proud of, Schwarz agreed, but “this girls group here has just been focused on just one day. We didn’t talk about the years in the past,” he said.

“We didn’t play our best game tonight, but Weston is a dynamite team. They’re hungry. They’re energized. There’s really no disappointment other than looking at the scoreboard, because this team – they did what we asked them to do.”

Quotable

“This was finally the year. We were like, this is it. This is where we put our foot down and stop New Fairfield, and we did, which was awesome. They stopped us in our tracks in the SWC, and we were like ‘not again.’” —Weston senior Emma Love

Weston 13, New Fairfield 6

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WESTON — Music has always been a part of Sophie Levy's life. She's even a singer and guitarist for her all-girl band, The Corduroys.

So, when Levy, a rising senior at Weston High School, learned her friend didn't have the same access to music lessons and instruments, she knew she wanted to do something to fix it.

"I realized how fortunate I was, and I wanted to give back to people who couldn't afford music lessons," Levy said.

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Enter Weston Woodstock, a benefit concert Levy has been organizing for months and will take center stage at 5 p.m. on June 24.

The advertisement describes the event as "three hours of peace, love and music," playing off the event's namesake.

It aims to raise money for Kids Empowered by Your Support, or KEYS, in Bridgeport which provides music lessons and instruments for students whose families cannot afford it.

"We are so grateful for Sophie putting on the Weston Woodstock Benefit for KEYS," KEYS Executive Director Karen Cobham said. "The extreme effort that Sophie is taking to spread the love of music through our KEYS program means a lot to us. We are truly in awe of the work that she is doing to support our mission."

Cobham said money raised will support their summer camp, which runs July 24 through Aug. 18, providing music education to more than 80 Bridgeport students Monday through Friday.

Levy said she originally wanted it to be for scholarships through School of Rock, where she attends, but it didn't work out. She looked for other agencies in Connecticut, and stumbled upon KEYS in March.

She said participating in School of Rock has been a great experience for her, helping expand her passion for music.

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"I wanted other people to be able to follow what they want to do in life, or even just try music," Levy said.

She added that they are lucky to have music classes in the Weston school district, as not all schools have the opportunity.

Levy said she thought KEYS was a perfect match and were immediately onboard.

She said the current goal is to raise $5,000 from tickets and sponsorships.

After getting KEYS on board, Levy said she started looking for venues, landing on the Weston History and Culture Center, where her band has performed before.

Levy said she struggled with a name for a while, but after securing the venue, her mom helped her come up with the name Weston Woodstock.

There are four bands performing at the benefit concert: Fever, Next Day Delivery, The Barrels and Levy's band, The Corduroys.

She said these bands are all local to Fairfield County and also largely made up of high school students she knew through School of Rock or just from being around the area.

After reaching out to food trucks to attend the event, Levy said it became difficult to balance planning and her school work, so she got her best friend, Avery Kreitler, to help out, who is also interested in music.

With the help, Levy said they were able to get sponsors for the event, who will help raise money.

With the event still a week or so away, Levy said she's already hoping to host another one because it has been fun so far. After she graduates, she said she would either like to keep hosting it, or pass it onto someone else.

Levy said she's excited that they get to play at the concert, as she's always wanted to perform for her own benefit concert.

She added the other bands all have their own style and are very good.

Fitting for the name, Levy said this event is a good way for people to reminisce on older styles of music, and expose younger audiences to older music, as each of the bands are made up of teenagers.

Levy said in the past, The Corduroys have covered songs that are typically written and performed by women, like "Edge of Seventeen" by Stevie Nicks, "Valerie" by Amy Winehouse and "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor, but they've also branched out.

Tickets cost $15 per person or $35 per family and can be purchased at the door.

"Sophie's fundraising efforts will help ensure we continue to offer free music education to young people of Bridgeport and we can't thank her enough for all that she has done to support our organization," Cobham said.

Weston, Connecticut — The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut (TNC) announced that free guided hikes will be offered to the public on July 22 at its Devil’s Den/Lucius Pond Ordway Preserve in Weston. Hikes will last approximately two hours (with breaks) and follow a moderately difficult five-mile loop. Anyone interested in taking part can find details and register at forms.office.com/r/EBXEpjZ6MJ.

The guided hikes will be led by preserve staff member Ben Croll, who will be sharing his knowledge about Devil’s Den’s historic and ecological significance, and elements of TNC’s work in the region. Attendees will also learn how to safely navigate the trails of Devil’s Den, including how to use the new digital kiosk.

The route will follow alongside the West Branch of the Saugatuck River system and include the Spoonwood trail which is on the preserve’s newest acreage. Said Croll, "I'm excited to show off some of the newest parts of Devil's Den. This is a very special place; I love being able to share that with people and exploring where we fit into nature."

The Devil’s Den preserve covers more than 1800 acres in Fairfield County’s Saugatuck Forest Lands and is an important part of southwest Connecticut’s largest remaining contiguous forest. The diverse landscape of the preserve is home to numerous varieties of plants and animals and will provide important habitat for native species that have to move in response to the effects of climate change.

More information on the preserve and how to visit can be found in English and Spanish at nature.org/DevilsDen.

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The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world's toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. Working in 74 countries, we use a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners.

Learn more about The Nature Conservancy’s work in Connecticut at nature.org/connecticut and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

WESTON — Kellie Nalbandian is taking her competitive edge from Weston's athletic fields to national television as part of the cast on the 45th season of "Survivor."

The premiere of this season, called "Survivor 45," aired on Sept. 27, where it is revealed Nalbandian, a current Yale grad student and New York City nurse, is part of the Belo Tribe.

"People think nurses are like nice ladies, but you have to be tough... It's like I got a smile on my face but then the dagger behind my back," she said in her introduction on the show.

Nalbandian was raised in Weston, graduating from Weston High School in 2011.

"I had such a great time growing up here," she said before the premiere this week. "I'm very excited to represent Connecticut."

Her interest in "Survivor" started during the COVID-19 pandemic, while she was working as a critical care nurse in New York City.

Nalbandian said one of her friends, who is also a nurse, put on season 20 for her in a break room, and she fell in love with it.

She eventually watched almost every season over the course of two years.

"I just sort of got this itch," she said. "This looks fun. I feel like I could do this."

The first challenge is designed to determine who should be in what role, involving moving sand bags, swimming to a boat and collecting keys. The first tribe to complete the challenge received a bag of supplies, which was the Reba Tribe.

In the first challenge, Nalbandian swam from the main ship to a smaller boat, paddled the boat with her partner and climbed back up the ship with a key.

Other parts of the episode included her tribe building its home, bonding with teammates and competing in an immunity challenge.

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In the challenge, she climbed through mud and up a ramp, helped drag a bag of coconuts with teammates, threw coconuts into a mechanism to release needed keys, and climbed over a tower to solve a puzzle.

Belo and Reba won immunity, with Lulu sent to tribal council. This means that nobody from Nalbandian's team was voted off "Survivor."

Nalbandian sent in a video about herself to audition. She said she heard back fairly fast, and then went through a thorough interview process.

She originally applied in January 2022. They had already cast the entire show for season 43, but she was hired as an alternate.

Nalbandian didn't end up starring in that season, but they assured her she would be in for season 45.

In preparation, Nalbandian worked out, learned to build a fire and traveled from New York to swim at the Westport-Weston YMCA with her father. She also read multiple books on strategy.

Nalbandian said being a nurse helped her prepare, as it taught her to be comforting and empathetic, but in the show, she also needed to know how to be cunning.

She headed out to Fiji in early spring for filming.

Nalbandian said she could not imagine a better place to be stranded.

She said she liked that the cast was from different parts of the country and ages. One of the best lessons she learned on the show was how to come together and bond, while shutting out the world of social media and work around her.

"It's a really empowering experience," Nalbandian said. "You're there for the game and there's so much paranoia and strategy and talking."

But there was another element for her, realizing she can survive in the wilderness.

Nalbandian said she could see herself doing something similar to this again.

"Any time they want me to come play, I am there," she said.

Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. on CBS.

WESTON, CT — Artificial intelligence is the hottest consumer technology in the world at the moment, and one local entrepreneur is banking on parents being appropriately leery of turning playtime over to the robots.

Weston resident Peter Everett is the founder and CEO of AI startup Imaginable, which creates animated videos starring his customers' children.

The company's initial offering, "The Child from Earth," is a 25-minute video in which the main character who saves the day is also the child who is watching the video. Information about the child such as name, age and hometown are woven into the storyline using an AI voice for them, selected by the parent. The goals of the story are to boost self-esteem, ignite imagination and provide a safe introduction to AI.

"And I think there's probably no parent who, if they knew then what they know today, wouldn't have handled social media and their phones differently with their kids."

The Weston entrepreneur sees the process of creating the Imaginable video online as an opportunity for parents to get ahead of the new tech curve, with their pre-teen children learning alongside them.

"The Child from Earth" is intended for children ages 5 to 8, but future video stories will skew to a wider age range, according to Everett. The company's roadmap calls for a library of hundreds of titles, and foresees placing more and more AI tools into the hands of its customers, with Imaginable enabling children "to create their own stories in a parentally controlled, developmentally appropriate way."

Imaginable (website: www.myimaginable.com) is not in the business of inventing AI tools or processes, but "harnesses the best of breed that exists," Everett said. "If a new company comes out with a better mousetrap, we'll use that."

Along the way, Imaginable's users will learn some of the skills they will need to master in order to thrive in their future's AI economy.

"And with the right restrictions, because we're heading into an AI-driven future. So we need to start preparing our kids right now," Everett warns.

To that end, the company has created a Facebook community called Prepare Kids Safely for AI Future.

If parents leave their children's involvement with AI unscrutinized — as many largely did with social media — the CEO envisions a generation demoralized. Why learn how to write, spell or conduct research, when ChatGPT is just a vocal prompt away? And with preschool children being given the tools to put themselves into their own digital movies, what chance will books have to keep kids entertained?

Scarier still: "There could be really unhealthy relationships with AI chatbots, where (the child) actually thinks it's a person and their friend," Everett said. "There are all kinds of risks that AI poses, and part of what we're trying to accomplish with Imaginable is to help educate parents about those."