Family Establishes Trust Fund for Newman Boys

All proceeds go to the three boys left behind after the tragic events of last week.

A trust fund has been set up for three boys left behind in the wake of a tragedy in Canada last week. The family of Katherine “Bunny” Newman – who along with her husband Kyle were killed Jan. 12 during a series of events in Oakville, Ontario – has established a trust fund for Kyle and Katherine’s three boys, ages 12, 10 and 7. All procceds will go directly to the three boys, according to information provided on the trust fund’s website, www.newmanboystrustfund.ca. There have been several media reports on the incidents both locally and in Canada: The Toronto Sun published the original account of the incidents Jan. 13. The Swellesley Report published briefs about the incidents and the trust fund. Thespec.com, The Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator…

• Photos (1)

School Committee To Schedule Community Forums In An Effort to Restore Confidence In the System

The forums will give residents an opportunity to ask questions and get answers to concerns about how the administration has handled financial, safety and leadership issues.

The School Committee will schedule two community forums, the first perhaps as early as next Tuesday, to address a number of thorny issues that have arisen over the past several months before the budget season gets into full swing in January. The forums were suggested by Paul Baier, a father of an eighth grader who began a Facebook page over the weekend called “ConcernedParentsofWellesley” to vent his frustration with what he said has been the administration’s incompetence. “I think the forums are a great suggestion, I’m going to take him up on it,” School Committee Chairman Suzy Littlefield said after Tuesday's meeting which had parents filling every available seat and standing in the doorway. That crowd included Selectwoman Katherine L. …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Littlefield Confident Flaws In Business Office Can Be Corrected

New procedures are being drafted to be presented to School Committee on Oct. 18

School Committee Chairwoman Suzy Littlefield said she and members of her committee have gone over a review of the business office and will make sure corrections are put in place to tighten the system of how fees are collected and accounted for. The School Committee will discuss what specific measures will be taken to correct the problems found by the public accounting firm of Powers & Sullivan at a meeting on Oct. 18. The review showed a system of collecting fees, gate receipts and tuitions that had no formal procedures or checks between those collecting the money and those accounting for it. “We are going to make sure every account is properly taken care of,” School Committee Chairwoman Suzy Littlefield said. “I anticipate a very …

• Photos (1)

Fmr. Cafeteria Workers Say They Were Betrayed by Town

They also worry about food quality under the new management, saying they had years of experience, "loved those kids," and treated the kitchen as their own.

Editor's note: This article was originally published Sept. 6, 2011. Sitting in a downtown coffee shop last week, before a single school lunch had been served this school year, women who spent a collective 57 years making and serving lunches in the public schools worried that the private company hired to do their jobs wouldn’t care about the kids the way they had. “In my 10 years cooking food for the kids in Wellesley and managing the kitchen at the Middle School we never had one complaint from the Board of Health,” said Sarah Pozzi, one of the 25 town workers who lost their jobs when the School Committee hired Chartwells to take over food services. “It was like our own kitchen. The people they brought in don’t have our experience,” she …

•  5 Comments
• Photos (1)

Wrangler21

11:19 am on Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Do you honestly think they were working for the Town of Wellesley's Food department for the salary? These women do not get paid well. Please. These women worked for their health benefits. To me, the amount of money they saw on their check weekly was NOT worth the struggles they all went through. Most of them worked another job to help survive the struggles of today's economy. You should be more …   more ›

Will There Be Future Problems with School Lunch?

Tell us your opinion in the comments.

Last night, Superintendent Bella T. Wong said she anticipates no future health code issues with regard to lunches at the Middle School. Two weeks ago, the Health Department found “serious violations” in the Middle School cafeteria, which is now run by Chartwells, a private food vendor. Were those problems simply the effects of a transitioning to a new school system? Were they a one-time fluke? Or have they not heard the last from the Health Department when it comes to cafeteria’s sanitation?

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Swellesley: What Happened to the Middle School's Missing Items?

Twenty-thousand dollars worth of Apple products are missing from the Middle School. What happened to them?

Wellesley's Week in Review

A roundup of news and events from the week.

The week began with severe weather and ended with food service violations at the Middle School. Tropical Storm Irene, which began as a hurricane, swept through Wellesley last Sunday, knocking down trees and rendering the town without power through Monday. St. Paul's Church lost a giant maple tree in the storm. The RDF extended its hours all week to assist with Irene cleanup. School began for students Wednesday, but the lunch service wasn’t quite yet up to code at the Middle School. The Wellesley Health Department found several violations of the school’s lunch service, Wellesley Patch reported Friday. The Stanley Cup passed through The Cottage Thursday afternoon.

• Photos (2)
• Videos (1)

Schofield Air Quality Improved With New Drainage System and Floor Tiles

Tests for mold, humidity and temperature at the school came back normal after $85,000 project was completed.

It was a busy summer for the school department which oversaw the continued construction of the new high school, renovations at the middle school, improvements to the drainage systems at Schofield and Upham, and installation of a new floor in the music room at Sprague. At Schofield, $85,000 was spent to improve the drainage system outside the school and replace carpet with tile in the hallway of the wing built in 1993. “It’s a great improvement to the indoor air quality at the school,’’ Director of Facilities Joe McDonough said. McDonough, who has been on the job a month after being hired from the Norwood Public Schools, said an engineering firm tested the air quality in the newly tiled wing of the school for mold, humidity and temperature…

• Photos (1)