Botelle Beat
The Botelle Eagles Celebrate Earth Day By Lauren Valentino Botelle students rolled up their sleeves and dug into hands-on learning to celebrate Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22. With help from community partners, students had “the best day ever!” according to kindergarten students. Students and staff gathered in the cafeteria to learn the history of Earth […]
Search Committee Formed
By Avice Meehan Four members of the Board of Education (BOE) -, three staff employees of Botelle Elementary School and two representatives of the public – will screen candidates to succeed Mary Beth Iacobelli as Norfolk’s school superintendent. Four applications have been submitted to date. The deadline for applying for the part-time position is May […]
Students Honored by School Board
Elana Procopio, a student in the upper intermediate class at Botelle Elementary School, was one of several students honored at the April Board of Education meeting. Procopio, pictured above with a hand-decorated coffee warmer, received the Litchfield County Superintendents Award for leadership and the Susan Bruso Award for Exemplary Character and Leadership in Athletics. She […]
No Monkey Business in this Jungle
By Virginia Coleman-Prisco The Botelle Elementary School Theater Group performed Disney’s “Jungle Book Kids” based on Rudyard Kipling’s classic over three days in April to substantial audiences in the school gymnasium. The 18 students commanded the stage with energy and professionalism, supported by lively musical numbers, ingenious costumes and sets under direction from parents Becky Keyes […]
Norfolk Starts Superintendent Search
By Avice Meehan The Board of Education took three major actions at the March 11 meeting held at Botelle Elementary School: opened the search for a new school superintendent, approved the 2025-26 school budget and adopted a policy for managing unspent funds. Virginia Coleman-Prisco, board chair, opened the discussion about searching for a successor School […]
Norfolk’s Regional School Assessment to Drop
By Avice Meehan Norfolk’s Board of Finance and other residents had a first-hand opportunity to dive into the details of the proposed Northwestern Regional 7 budget for 2025-26 during March 26 workshop presentation held in the Botelle Elementary School cafeteria. The proposed budget for the regional middle and high school is $22,629,264, an overall increase […]
Community News
Calling Young Artists From Norfolk and Colebrook The deadline filing an application for a Battell Arts Foundation scholarship is Monday, April 21. Young artists in Norfolk and Colebrook are urged to apply. The scholarships are offered to students in grades 3 through 12 who are pursuing an interest in music, visual arts, drama, literary and performing […]
Draft School Budget Shows Modest Increase
Annual cost for Botelle School is $2.7 million By Avice Meehan The Board of Education (BOE) is considering a budget of $2,762,690 for the upcoming fiscal year, which represents an increase of 4.29 percent over this year’s adopted budget of $2,649,086. The draft budget was presented at the Feb. 11 board meeting and will be […]
Future Proofing
Norfolk, Colebrook Hold Joint Meeting About Schools By Avice Meehan The Hall of Flags at Botelle Elementary School has been the scene of many important Norfolk meetings, but few have carried as much significance as the Feb. 20 joint session with Colebrook to explore how the towns might work together to address declining school enrollments. […]
Budget, Road Projects, School Topics for Selectmen
By Ruth Melville The 2025/26 budget season is here, and at the Feb. 5 meeting of the Board of Selectmen First Selectman Matt Riiska reported that about half the departmental budgets have been received, along with several requests from outside organizations that the town supports. The next meeting of the Board of Selectmen,March 5, will […]
