Schools Closed on Tuesday

An overnight snowstorm has cancelled Hamilton-Wenham schools.

The Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District is closed on Tuesday. It is a snowday, announced Superintendent Dr. Michael Harvey in an e-mail and phone message to students, parents, staff and faculty at about 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary said on its Facebook page that morning classes are cancelled but that afternoon classes will happen and administrative offices will open at 1 p.m. Pingree School is on spring break this week.

• Photos (1)

You Ask...Patch Answers

With Friday's Snowday, When Will School End This Year?

Friday was the third snowday of the year for the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District.

The last day of school this year will be Tuesday, June 18 for the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District, according to Superintendent Dr. Michael Harvey.  That is the last day of school after Friday's snow day cancellation. The School Committee will need to vote to officially set this date, likely in early April, Harvey said. Graduation will still be held as scheduled on June 2, Harvey said. The state requires that graduation be scheduled within 12 school days from the last day of school without cancellation days, which was Thursday, June 13. Even if cancellation days are added at the end of the year, the school district does not need to change the graduation date, Harvey said. That policy is set by state Department of Education …

• Photos (1)

Snow Removal 'On Schedule' to Open Schools on Monday

Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District schools are likely to open on Monday, but a final decision has yet to be made.

Snow removal at the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District schools is on track to have all five schools open on Monday, according to Superintendent Dr. Michael Harvey. "We are on schedule with our cleaning activities to be open tomorrow," Harvey told Hamilton-Wenham Patch at about 1 p.m. on Sunday. Later, Harvey added that he is waiting to make a final decision until he hears from the Hamilton Department of Public Works and Wenham Highway Department about the progress of snow removal on side streets and around bus stops. Some North Shore schools have announced they will be closed on Monday, including public schools in Peabody, Marblehead, Salem and Swampscott. But none of the school districts immediately bordering the two towns, …

•  59 Comments
• Photos (1)

M. M.

4:34 pm on Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Actually we have a car-pool, some folks only drive once a week (or less). We got it together with the neighbors and family.   more ›

New Principal to be Offered Job Next Week

A new principal for Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School is slated to be offered a job by mid-week next week.

The new principal at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School will be offered a job next week, according to Superintendent Michael Harvey. Harvey said he received a lot of feedback from the sessions with the two finalists for the position that were held with teachers, students and the public earlier this week. “I’ll be taking those home this weekend and going through them,” Harvey told the School Committee on Thursday night. That will be the final step for Harvey, after two site visits this week. On Wednesday, Harvey, Assistant Superintendent for Learning Celeste Bowler and teachers Kevan Sano and Kristen Lossee visited Wilmington High School, where candidate Eric Tracy is principal. On Friday, the same team will visit Bedford High School …

• Photos (1)

Patch Facts

Five Things to Know on Jan. 31: Superintendent to Deliver State of the School Address

An essential get-me-going daily morning column from Hamilton-Wenham Patch.

Today is Thursday, Jan. 31. Here are five things you need to know in Hamilton and Wenham: 1. Upside down: Thursday will be an “upside down” day weatherwise, with warm temperatures to start the day and then cooler temperatures later on. Temperatures in the 50s will drop into the 40s and eventually reach a low in the mid-20s overnight. Rain is also expected to move through on Thursday morning. 2. Patton Estate: The Patton Committee in Hamilton continues to meet, even after the gift of the Patton Estate has been formally accepted by the town. On Thursday, the committee will meet at 7 p.m. at Hamilton Town Hall to discuss many important issues regarding the property, including future uses of the property, furnishing the home and the future …

• Photos (1)

Finalist for Principal Job is 'Wonderfully Talented' and 'Hardworking'

Bedford High School assistant principal Kristen Vogel is one of two finalists to be the next principal at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School.

Kristen Vogel, one of two finalists to become the new permanent principal at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School, is "a wonderfully talented, hardworking educator whose love of learning is matched only by her love for children," her current boss said. Bedford Superintendent Jon Sills told Bedford Patch, a sister publication to Hamilton-Wenham Patch, that Vogel has been an integral part of the Bedford Public Schools community since her first year in 2006. "Versatile, resourceful, a big picture thinker with a terrific capacity for detail, Kristen accomplishes every task with graceful efficiency," Sills said. Sills said it will be hard to let such a key member of Bedford Public Schools go, but said he believes Vogel is more than qualified to…

• Photos (3)

Two Regional Principal Finalists from Bedford, Wilmington

The two finalists to become the new, permanent principal at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School will have public interviews in two separate days in late January.

The two finalists to become the new permanent principal at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School are both currently working as administrators at other high schools not far from the two towns. Eric Tracy, the principal at Wilmington High School and Kristen Vogel, an assistant principal at Bedford High School are the two finalists. The announcement was made by Superintendent Dr. Michael Harvey on Friday afternoon. Both candidates will spend a day at the Bay Road school later this month and take part in a forum with the community in the evening. Harvey will make the final pick but is soliciting feedback from students, faculty, staff, parents and community members. The person who gets the job will replace John Hughes, the retired principal of …

• Photos (1)

High School Principal Field Narrows from 37 to 10

The field of candidates to become the new principal at the Regional was narrowed down from the initial 37 candidates to 10 this week.

There field of applicants to become the next permanent principal at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School has been winnowed down to 10 people, according to Superintendent Dr. Michale Harvey. All of those candidates are from Massachusetts and currently work as either a high school principal or assistant principal, Harvey said. All of them will be invited in for an interview. Harvey will make the final decision on who will take over at the school starting on July 1, but he has assembled as advisory committee that will help interview the candidates. He said previously he plans to make a decision by early February. Harvey met on Wednesday with the advisory committee's co-chairmen, Jennifer Clifford, principal of Cutler Elementary School and …

• Photos (1)

School Budget Would Rise 10 Percent with 'Level Services'

School Superintendent Michael Harvey unveiled the cost of a so-called "level services budget" on Thursday night to the School Committee.

The fiscal 2014 Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District budget would require 10 percent more money from each town if services were to remain the same as offered this year, Superintendent Michael Harvey said on Thursday night. The gap has little to do with increased spending – the same level of services next year will cost $247,873, or .9 percent, more in fiscal 2014 than fiscal 2013, which ends on June 30, 2012. Harvey called that "actually good." The gap can be traced mostly to one-time revenue in the 2013 budget that is not currently part of the 2014 budget. The 2013 budget uses $1.49 million from the district’s excess and deficiency, or E  and D fund, which is essentially a savings account made up of previous year’s fund balances, plus…

•  19 Comments
• Photos (1)

Bob Gray

2:20 pm on Monday, December 10, 2012

Jay and Robert are right! The new Superintendent and newly elected School Committee members need to revisit the $90,000.00 Operational Audit report. We all know that not all of the 125 recommendations will work for the HWRSD but it has to be seriously analyzed again! Want to see an interestsing fact.... go onto the boston.com website snapshot and check out "costs per student". If you take the …   more ›

New Permanent High School Principal to be Hired by February

There will be a permanent principal on the job next school year at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School.

A new, permanent principal at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School could be hired by Feb. 1, according to Superintendent Michael Harvey. John Hughes has been the school’s interim principal for the past two school years, since former principal Matt Fox left to become principal at Veterans Middle School in Marblehead. But Hughes, the retired principal from Natick High School, never intended to permanently be the principal. “I fully intend to have someone hired by the beginning of February,” Harvey said. The deadline to apply is Dec. 17. No specific salary is listed, only that it will be "commensurate with training and experience." Since the job is posted to School Spring, a job website for teachers and educators where many have their resume …

• Photos (1)