Superintendent's Newsletter - Back to School Edition
Bus Protocols Raise Concerns for Parents as New School Year Starts
No masks, no remote classes, no eating lunch in classrooms...and no school buses for middle and high school students living within 1.5 miles of Murdock Middle High School. Parents raised concerns on social media and to the school administration about this back-to-normal rule from NRT Bus Inc., the transportation company that services the Winchendon Public School District. (To make this less abstract: it is exactly 1.5 miles from Murdock Middle High School to Dunkin Donuts, going down Central Street; or from Murdock Middle High School to the vicinity of 254 Maple Street past the Winchendon Community Park, going by Central and Maple Streets. Even with sidewalks, it's a bit of a hike in the wintertime, and would take the average person around 25 minutes in optimum conditions.)
Winchendon Schools Superintendant Thad King posted a message to parents on Tuesday, August 30.
I would like to take a moment to address the concerns that have arisen surrounding our bus transportation. While transportation is much improved this year, I recognize there are still some issues surrounding the walk zones, particularly for our middle school students.
Bus transportation has operated in an irregular manner in past years, due to COVID and even prior to that for a multitude of reasons. NRT is attempting to normalize the way that bussing works in Winchendon for our middle and high school students who live more than 1.5 miles from the school building. I realize this is a dramatic and unexpected change, especially after COVID, where everyone was provided a bus regardless of how far they lived from the school.
The district is working with NRT to establish a more reasonable wall zone limit that works for our families. While there may still be some differences from what was done in previous years, the bus company staff is hard at work, looking at bus capacities and route times to determine was can be done to facilitate the transportation of middle and high school students who live in a closer range to the school. I anticipate that by next week, we should have more information on how we can better accommodate the transportation needs of Winchendon families.
Grant Gives Green to Go Green at Sizer School
Recently, Sizer School in Fitchburg was awarded a Whole Kids Foundation grant of $3,000 for the purposes of starting a student-operated, raised bed garden at the school.
Sizer School was selected out of over 1,200 applicants across the U.S. and Canada.
"I was absolutely ecstatic when we received the news that we were awarded this grant!" said Sizer School ELA teacher and grant contributor Cassie Johnson. "Gardening is a hands-on and highly therapeutic activity, and also a great skill to have. This garden is going to serve so many purposes."
Johnson and Health & Wellness Teacher, Corryanne Ashe, applied for the grant in the Spring. Johnson, who teaches 9th grade at Sizer, is also the staff advisor for Reclaiming Sunshine, an environmental advocacy and action student club.
"It has been amazing to see students working with plants during my time leading our Reclaiming Sunshine club, and I very much look forward to getting more of our students and staff involved in the gardening process."
As a student-initiated, student-led after school club, Reclaiming Sunshine was founded by then 9th grade student Elysia Cornier in 2020. Since the club began, students have been interested in gardening and have worked with leaders at Growing Places in Leominster to grow and harvest garden vegetables and flowers.
Reclaiming Sunshine will be the student club responsible for maintaining the new garden when it is constructed but Johnson added, "the garden will be used in various classes for hands-on learning as part of Sizer's overall commitment to a project-based, hands-on approach to education."
The vegetables and other produce harvested from the garden will be sold as a fundraiser and/or donated to local food pantries/banks.
"I am super excited that we received the grant for the garden," said Corryanne Ashe. "I had open discussions with our students, and I learned that a lot of kids don't always eat breakfast or lunch. Being able to grow and work directly with herbs and vegetables will encourage students to eat healthier; it will positively impact a student's mood, including stress and anxiety."
She added, "I am really looking forward to planting roots for a healthier future."
Sizer School welcomes back all students August 29, 2022. As a North Central Charter Essential School, Sizer is a free public charter school serving 7-12 grade students from 25 local towns and cities. Sizer's hands-on, project-based approach to education takes place in a community where each student is known personally, challenged intellectually, and actively engaged in their learning.
Sizer will be accepting applications starting September 1st to finish filling seats in 7th, 8th and 9th grade for the 2022-2023 school year. Visit https://tinyurl.com/SizerSchool to apply.