Good evening:
We have worked most of the day gathering information from NH Department of Environmental Services and our local fire department to best understand what is happening with our water supply in town. As it stands now, there is a NO CONSUMING mandate for all public tap water, however the water can be used to bathe and clean.
Our food service director has worked with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) as well as the Department of Environmental Services (DES) and has received guidance on preparing food safely for all students and staff, safely cleaning all cookware, and providing fresh water for students and staff in the cafeteria. As an additional safeguard, we will be moving to disposable plates and utensils for Thursday's meal services (tomorrow's plates and utensils will not be affected as they were cleaned on Monday prior to the issue arising).
Principal Megan Pouliot has already purchased several cases of water for students and staff to drink during the school day, and the fire department has a large shipment of gallons of water that are available to all residents. - please stop by the Winchester Safety Center to pick it up. Please feel free to send your child to school with bottled water, as well.
DES spent the day sampling water all around town today and all of the samples are being tested in Concord at their labs overnight. We should know what we are dealing with by morning. I will certainly share any more information that I receive.
As it stands now, school is safe to open and operate. Food service has their plan for safely preparing meals, including using disposable plates and utensils as an additional caution. Director Kevin Seaman and his facilities team will be closing off the drinking supply so that no one can consume tap water, and Mrs. Pouliot will be reminding all classroom teachers to consistently (through the day) remind students that they cannot drink any water unless it is what we or you provide for them in bottles or personal drinking vessels.
We ask that you please prepare your children to not drink any tap water from water dispensers or faucets until further notice, and to only drink water that is provided in a bottle.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email us back at dryan@wnhsd.org or mpouliot@wnhsd.org.
Thank you and have a pleasant rest of your evening.
We have worked most of the day gathering information from NH Department of Environmental Services and our local fire department to best understand what is happening with our water supply in town. As it stands now, there is a NO CONSUMING mandate for all public tap water, however the water can be used to bathe and clean.
Our food service director has worked with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) as well as the Department of Environmental Services (DES) and has received guidance on preparing food safely for all students and staff, safely cleaning all cookware, and providing fresh water for students and staff in the cafeteria. As an additional safeguard, we will be moving to disposable plates and utensils for Thursday's meal services (tomorrow's plates and utensils will not be affected as they were cleaned on Monday prior to the issue arising).
Principal Megan Pouliot has already purchased several cases of water for students and staff to drink during the school day, and the fire department has a large shipment of gallons of water that are available to all residents. - please stop by the Winchester Safety Center to pick it up. Please feel free to send your child to school with bottled water, as well.
DES spent the day sampling water all around town today and all of the samples are being tested in Concord at their labs overnight. We should know what we are dealing with by morning. I will certainly share any more information that I receive.
As it stands now, school is safe to open and operate. Food service has their plan for safely preparing meals, including using disposable plates and utensils as an additional caution. Director Kevin Seaman and his facilities team will be closing off the drinking supply so that no one can consume tap water, and Mrs. Pouliot will be reminding all classroom teachers to consistently (through the day) remind students that they cannot drink any water unless it is what we or you provide for them in bottles or personal drinking vessels.
We ask that you please prepare your children to not drink any tap water from water dispensers or faucets until further notice, and to only drink water that is provided in a bottle.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email us back at dryan@wnhsd.org or mpouliot@wnhsd.org.
Thank you and have a pleasant rest of your evening.
Time to plan for the future! We are in search of volunteers who would like to help us conduct research, review information, and develop purposeful and achievable goals for the Winchester School District Strategic Plan. The purpose of the strategic plan is to design a blueprint for growth and improvement that aligns with the community's interests and financial planning resources. Ideally, it is a map to increasing student success while maintaining an affordable and cost efficient budget.
Our year long planning process, including a timeline, can be found on our website under the Strategic Planning button and we would like to have a healthy mix of stakeholders work together on four specific teams framed by WestEd's Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement Framework, the same principles used to build our current CSI plan.
The time commitment will be moderate over the course of the next six months and will involve an orientation, team meetings, and data gathering. We are grateful for the amount of participation on previous volunteer committees, and we look forward working with all of our community members on this important project.
Just a reminder that the High School Selection Surveys were sent via email to all eligible families including current 8th grade, 9th grade, and home/charter/independent school students. Please be sure to review the survey letters as all choices are due no later than September 29. If you did not receive a survey and believe you should have, please contact Sheena Bushee at sbushee@wnhsd.org.
DON'T MISS OUT!!
The Hoop Shot is a Basketball Free Throw Contest for Boys and Girls ages 8 to 13
Thank you to all of our community members who turned out on Saturday to cast their votes for the high school tuition contract. We are grateful for the vote of confidence and support in the agreement which was passed by a 108-27 count, and will now be submitted to the NH State Board or Education for consideration at their June 12 meeting. This is the final step in the process that will set up our current seventh graders with their anchor high school and establish a bright new future for all of our Winchester students. Thank you!
The Hinsdale School District quickly and resoundingly ratified the high school tuition agreement with Winchester at a special school district meeting held on Tuesday, May 13. You can read the recap in the Keene Sentinel here: https://www.keenesentinel.com/news/local/high-school-deal-heads-to-winchester-voters-with-hinsdales-go-ahead/article_8e28a7f0-39dc-4537-b4b7-b2be1e493cc9.html
Please take a few minutes this Saturday between 10:00 and 5:00 to stop by the Winchester School gymnasium and cast your vote on the tuition agreement. Should the agreement pass, it will be sent to the NH State Board of Education for final approval. We hope to see you!
Just a reminder that the public hearing for the draft high school tuition agreement with Hinsdale School District is set for April 3 at 5:00 PM at the Winchester Town Hall. The slide deck for the hearing and all of the tuition agreement information is located on our website on the High School Tuition Agreement Committee page. We hope to see you at the hearing!
Thank you to all in our community who supported our FY26 school district budget and the teacher's collective bargaining agreement for 2025-2028. Particularly in a difficult financial period when other school district budgets were defeated, we are grateful for your support and vote of confidence, and it does not escape us that our proposed budget was narrowly passed by 15 votes. We will endeavor to scrutinize our budget development for the 2027 fiscal year with a sincere effort to reduce even more spending while increasing the learning opportunities and experiences for all of our students. On behalf of all of our students, staff , and families. thank you!
At the January 13 meeting of the Winchester School Board, the High School Selection Committee chose not to select a second high school and confirmed their choice for Hinsdale High School to move forward as the school district’s anchor high school. As the only school moving forward, there will no longer be a need to place the item on the March 2025 warrant.
The school board also voted to begin tuition agreement negotiations with Hinsdale and bring the agreement to the Winchester voters in late spring for their approval. The Committee and school board plan to still host a community forum on Thursday, January 23, to explain the process used to arrive at this decision and the reasons that led to only one school being recommended.
Join us on Thursday, January 23, 2025 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM to learn more about the schools that will be moving forward in our search for the next anchor high school. As of today, Pioneer Valley, Monadnock Regional, and Hinsdale are the three schools being considered, and only two will be moved to the March warrant. Be on the lookout for information about the schools that is being mailed to your home, and we will look forward to seeing you on January 23 at Town Hall to hear more input.
Coming to a mailbox near you! Be on the lookout for information about the next steps in the high school selection process as the committee will be mailing information to your home to help inform you about the process and the schools involved. We also will be posting the presentations that the three schools shared at the high school information night, and our email Q&A system is still open at wsdhsprocess@wnhsd.org. In early January and after collecting more input, the committee hopes to name the two schools moving forward to the warrant, so stay tuned!
Join us on Thursday, November 21 at 6:00 for the High School Information Night at Winchester School. Our three potential high schools (Pioneer Valley, Hinsdale, Monadnock Regional) will be on hand to present their information to our families and other stakeholders, allowing time to answer questions and explore the details of what each school has to offer. Come learn about the future of high school learning for our students!
HIGH SCHOOL SELECTION FORUM - OCTOBER 30 - 6:00 PM - TOWN HALL
Join the High School Selection Committee and School Board for an evening of input and feedback about the next anchor high school for our Winchester Tigers. We especially want to hear from our students who are being asked to share what they want included in their high school experience. All families and community members should feel welcome and encouraged to attend and share their input. The forum will be livestreamed on our Town's channel for those who are unable to physically attend. We hope to see everyone there!
We've had a terrific first few weeks of school and can't thank our families and staff members enough for making everything so smooth! While we will always encounter a few kinks here and there, everyone has worked together to smooth them out and it has been a joy to be a part of it.
Just a reminder that tomorrow, September 10, is Primary Voting Day which means no school for students and staff. We will look forward to seeing everyone back on Wednesday!
SAU #94 is looking forward to seeing all of our students back on campus on August 28 for the First Day of School - enjoy the remaining summer days and see you soon!