[Editor's note: The following Letter to the Editor was submitted by Winchester resident Dennis France.] After watching the School Committee debate held on St. Patrick’s Day in a somewhat chilly high school auditorium, I walked home with a sense that this really is quite a special town. Here were four parents sharing their views on a variety of issues related to our children’s education, vying for two open unpaid jobs that require long hours away from family for numerous interminable meetings. One cannot fail to be impressed with this spirit of volunteerism, and the impressive crowd of …

[Editor's note: The following Letter to the Editor was submitted by Winchester resident Denise Goluboff.] As a parent of two young children, I am keenly aware that Winchester School Committee decisions have a direct effect on my family for the entirety of my children’s formative years. Moreover, those decisions affect our town in varied ways, from real estate values, to taxation, to the quality of preparation provided to our future leaders as they emerge from their schooling and enter into the “real world.” I also believe that democracy is all about listening to – and truly considering – new …

[Editor's note: The following is a Letter to the Editor submitted by Winton Club Cabaret 2013 Producer/Chairwoman Lianne Green.] Dear Winchester Patch Editor: Well, the magic dust from Cabaret 2013 has settled. The snow conveniently moved in after the show, and spring is right around the corner. Before I exit stage left, I must reflect and thank everyone for supporting the Winton Club Cabaret 2013, “Myth, Magic and Mystery.”   The support from the Winchester Patch was outstanding, including your coverage of everything from my producer announcement, Winchester Town Day, the farmer’s market, …

[Editor's note: The following is a Letter to the Editor submitted by Winchehster resident Stacy Jaquinta.] Dear Winchester Patch, I am writing on behalf (of) Brian A. Vernaglia, my neighbor and lifelong Winchester resident, who is a candidate for Winchester School Committee on the March 26 ballot. Brian has my family’s full support because he is committed to improving our school system to better serve the needs of students, parents, teachers and administrators alike. Further, Brian is quick to comprehend complex issues and the needs of different stakeholders, and he is ready and willing to …

What I believe we need as a community right now is graciousness and leaders that are courageous enough to weigh all of the information available and make decisions with clarity of purpose.   As a School Committee Member, I strive to have the courage to help fulfill our educational mission with or without outside support or acknowledgement. I strive to listen with kindness, but the strength to at times disagree and make decisions with students and teachers first and foremost my priority. Ms. McCarthy, I respect your passion and service as an advocate for your neighborhood.  I always favor …

Dear Editor, During tonight's School Committee meeting, members present discussed the redistricting mistake on Map 1 that was recently acknowledged by the Superintendent for a portion of Washington Street. Cindy Bohne clearly stated during this discussion that tonight was the first time this situation (the mistake between Oak and Westley) was brought to her attention. The emails below between myself and Cindy clearly indicate otherwise.  The email exchange documented here clearly shows that Cindy absolutely and unequivocally knew about this situation- she asked many questions in return, …

Dear Editor, Immediately after the School Committee’s Nov. 5 vote to adopt Map 1, I contacted the School Committee and CC'd Superintendent McAlduff to request, once again, clarification regarding the fate of the four houses on Washington Street that are located between Westly and Oak streets. A week later, I had not received a response. Unbeknownst to me, other parities also wrote to the Superintendent requesting information regarding the fate of the four houses on Map 1. They were informed that Map 1 was in error in that half of our block was incorrectly colored. My question for the RAC and …

On Nov. 5, the School Committee voted to adopt Map 1 for the redistricting plan. Following the vote, numerous people in town expressed surprise by this decision. They felt that the K Flex plan had received wide-spread support and should have been the chosen plan.   However, aside from Chris Nixon, the four other School Committee members continued to pursue and support their own agenda. They even failed to endorse their own Superintendent’s recommendation for the K Flex Plan. The preference for K Flex had fallen on deaf ears. Following the vote, I once again looked at Map 1 and was uncertain …

Today is the last day that the school committee is accepting public comment regarding redistricting as they prepare to make their decision next week. By all means, write and speak out for the plan which you believe to be best for the town, as we certainly have. Come tomorrow, however, the time for division is over. Each plan has merits and each plan will leave some neighbors in town unhappy. No doubt can remain, however, that whichever plan is chosen, our children will continue receive an outstanding education. The school committee, the superintendent, the RAC, and every member of the …

The State Fire Marshal suspended the license of the fireworks company that was responsible for leaving unexploded shells in several Massachusetts towns last summer, according to Boston.com. The one-year suspension is effective July 10, 2012, and will run through next year’s Fourth of July season. Dear Editor, Pyrotecnico has always upheld safety as our number one priority.  As we have said, earlier this year upon learning that unexploded fireworks shells were discovered in several Massachusetts communities where we had performed shows, we acted immediately to conduct a thorough examination of…

The community involvement in the redistricting discussion has been a great example of democracy in action, and we have been proud to be even a small part of this process. The superintendent and school committee members should be applauded for keeping their ears, minds, and hopefully their hearts open to ideas that may go beyond the normal paradigms of traditional redistricting exercises.   The presentation of the 5 redistricting maps on Oct. 11 did little to reduce parents’ concerns around walkability, safety, fairness, and costs.  We feel that among the alternative plans put forward, the …

The recent redistricting dilemma prompted us to seize the opportunity to offer a NEW alternative to redistricting. Our Advanced Learning Opportunities program (ALO) is a voluntary and flexible school assignment model, which addresses current and future capacity issues, AND provides equal access to a challenging curriculum. An ALO program solves the problem by getting critical masses of children to the identified schools, without the need for redrawing district borders. The program ALSO addresses another issue, which is providing equity of opportunities for challenge for children who …

To the Editor: Our family-owned company, Pyrotecnico, has been a fireworks industry leader representing a standard of excellence for over 100 years – and safety has always been of utmost importance to us (“State Suspends License of Company That Left Live Fireworks Shell,” July 12, 2012).  It is our commitment to safety that led us to act immediately when we learned that unexploded fireworks shells were retrieved in some of the Massachusetts communities in which we recently performed shows.  We acted quickly to conduct thorough examinations not only of the areas in which these shells were …

On Thursday August 16, 2012 The Chocolate Truffle hosted an Art in August event featuring local artist Wendy Jo New Metal Designs. The weather cleared for a well attended beautiful night of art, chocolate and cupcakes. I am thankful for having the opportunity to work with the very talented Wendy at this cross promotional event and I appreciate the support of local artists and patrons who came to the store. Events like this are important to bring the community and businesses together to help strengthen us both through the mutual support. Wendy’s work is still on display at The Chocolate …

Some of you may remember, back in April the weekend of Palm Sunday my very good friend and his female friend were in a horrific motor vehicle accident on I-93 on the Woburn/Stoneham Line. His female companion tragically expired from the injuries sustained in the accident. My friend Joey Rocco Testa was med-flighted to Mass General Hospital and sustained life threatening trauma to his head, neck and throughout his body. He was given a very slim chance of survival, now 15 weeks later still in a coma like state, he continues his fight in rehab were he undergoes physical therapy and medication to…

I live in Spruce-Lincoln community. Both of my kids are in Lincoln Elementary School though only my younger one will be forced to transfer to Lynch, according to the RAC plan. I read RAC's report and do not think this proposed report will achieve the goals that they set up.First of all, the goal of redistricting, according to RAC, is to establish close to similar size of schools for kids of different schools. There is no valid model to project student size in the schools for the future. Moving/renting/relocating due to economic and house market reasons makes the mode within a confidence level…

My family has lived on Oak Street for 14 years. Our daughters attended Lincoln Elementary, a 10-minute walk from our house. Many cherished memories, indeed some of our best Winchester friendships, were made lingering while the kids played at “our” school playground before meandering home. Therefore I was shocked and saddened by the School Redistricting Plan. If accepted, it threatens to compromise our beloved in-town, walkable lifestyle, and weaken the desirability that brought many young families to our neighborhood. It will erase the rich tradition of families strolling down Washington …

The following letter was sent to the Winchester School Committee in regards to the proposed redistricting plan. Sue and Stephen Kim of Winchester provided this letter to Winchester Patch. Dear Members of the School Committee, As parents of a former and current Muraco student who live in the Cedar-Tremont- Swanton-Winter St neighborhood, we are truly outraged with the proposed redistricting plan. We appreciate the difficulty the committee faced in determining which neighborhoods would be moved to different schools, but the recommendation does not appear to take our neighborhood’s strong …

My home is redistributed to Lynch Elementary School from Lincoln in the newly proposed redistrubuting plan by Winchester school committee. I was so shocked when I heard this, I cannot even sleep well since then. How could this happen to our community?  You may wonder why I reacted so angrily with a simple redistrubuting plan? Well, let me explain the details of this redistributing story.  First of all, several simple facts:  Our neighbourhood is truly walkable to both Muraco and Lincoln elementary, and our community has historically been these two school districts for hundred years. We are at…