LHS students named to All-State band

Sarina Barnes and Lucas Crowe have been named to the Connecticut High School All-State Band, which will perform at the Connecticut Music Educators Association All-State Festival in April in Hartford.

Barnes, a clarinet player, and Crowe, a trombone player, are both freshmen at Ledyard High School. All All-State performers must place at their respective regional music festivals to be eligible to audition at the state level; 10 LHS students performed at the Eastern Region festival this year.

“There are no short-cuts in musical performance,” Zach Thomas, director of instrumental music at LHS, said in a release, noting that it was especially impressive that Barnes and Crowe were honored as freshmen. “The only way to achieve this level of success is through hard work and dedication to one’s craft. We are all extremely proud of Lucas and Sarina.”

New London resident wins young Miss Connecticut title

Nine-year-old Adeline Burnett of New London, a student at Jennings School and daughter of Dan Burnett and Alisha Blake, won the title of 2020 USA National Miss Connecticut in the Princess category (ages 7-9) on Feb. 15 in Springfield, Mass.

Adeline competed against seven others in the state pageant. She has been competing in pageants for a little less than a year.

"She likes competing in pageants because she gets to meet new friends, travel, wear fun outfits and volunteer in her community," said her pageant coach Kristin Lennon, an advertising assistant at The Day.

Required competition categories were formalwear, runway and the interview. She also competed in several optional events including casual wear, fitness wear and photogenic, winning all three of these events.

"Adeline has a big personality," Lennon said in an email (Lennon's sister Stacey, a pageant coach in Oregon, is her official coach). "This is her first state title and she has worked very hard practicing for the past few months to prepare for this pageant. She likes the girl time as well as the adventures she gets to have competing in pageants."

Interested in geology, Adeline will spend the next year working to promote the pageant's official charity, The Crown CARES. The Crown CARES promotes an anti-bullying culture through character education and social responsibility in school-age children.

Adeline's grandmother is Marilyn Burridge of New London.

Friends and Neighbors is a regular feature in The Times. To contribute, email times@theday.com.