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 […]
Community News
Carla Francesca Parachini Exhibit at LibraryThe work of Colebrook’s Carla Francesca Parachini will be exhibited at the Norfolk Library during the month of March. The exhibit “Reflections” will include paintings on canvas, glass and ironstone plates, as well as botanical mixed media. A reception for the artist will be held on Sunday, March 2, from […]
Letters
Don’t Kill Botelle School I’ve been a homeowner in Norfolk for 35 years and have never spoken out publicly before; but I am outraged by the current proposal to combine the Norfolk and Colebrook schools. This idiotic idea gets kicked around every time someone is annoyed by taxes and thinks they can save $1 by […]
Learning Together At Botelle
Multi-age Classrooms Spans All Grades By Avice Meehan Picture this: First and second graders clustered in groups of three, working on identifying words to include in a glossary for reports about endangered animals. Their research topics range from bats to elephants, with a few amphibians thrown in for good measure. Primary school teacher Debra Tallon, […]
