Winchester’s Network for Social Justice celebrates 35 years
A look back on how it started and why it’s important and maybe even more relevant today
Chris Stevens | Correspondent
Winchester School Committee left with hard choices after failed override, must slash $2.3M from proposed budget
When he took over the reins as School Committee chair on March 26, Tim Matthews said he hoped to be giving a very different speech. “After almost a year of preparation, followed by a sprint to last Saturday’s town wide vote, the disappointing result we face today has far
Winchester High School students and Jenks Center seniors meet up for some Mandarin one-on-one
It was Mandarin lessons, lunch and ping pong when Xuemei Li’s students met their Chinese speaking pen pals for the first time. Natalie Taylor admits she was feeling nervous when she first walked into the Jenks Center to meet one-on-one with a new friend, but it didn’
Oh, what a trivial night! WFEE bee was a load of fun!
I feel the need to apologize to the Teletub-bees seated at our table during WFEE’s recent Trivia Bee. I was one of the Winchester Newshounds, Round 5, losers. Reporter Will Dowd and editor Nell Escobar Coakley were my teammates and Will taunted those poor high school girls like
Ambrose regains ‘School of Recognition’ title, principal credits school community for academic success
Everyone likes to be recognized for their efforts and the Ambrose School is no different. The school recently received an A from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), being named a School of Recognition. “It’s very exciting,” said Ambrose Principal Andrea Phelan. A School of Recognition
Science abounds at Winchester’s Ambrose School during first in a generation fair
You could blame the Muraco School for the fact that the Ambrose cafeteria became the site of a raucously rambunctious science fair on March 5. “They were the inspiration,” said parent volunteer Karen Kinnaman, who spearheaded the event. “They put on a huge science fair every year.” Kinnaman said it’
Winchester teacher contract settled
After a somewhat lengthy negotiation session that, at times, saw teachers marching with signs, the School Committee and the Winchester Education Association settled the teachers’ contract. Superintendent Dr. Frank Hackett said that under the new three-year agreement, teachers will receive what he called a 2-3 split for the
Winchester school officials struggle with unconventional budget season
Every budget season is tricky when it comes to School Department funding, but this year Winchester School Committee’s proposed budget comes with the added twist of a potential override and a will-it-or-won’t-it pass scenario. “This is a very unique budget year, and we spent
Winchester School Committee grapples with Muraco feasibility funding question
Amid discussion of budgets, essential services and a possible override, the Winchester School Committee must also decide when is the best time to ask for a little bit more. The Muraco School project is fully in the jetstream of the Massachusetts School Building Authority funding program, but Superintendent Dr. Frank
Winchester School Committee honing FY27 budget
The Winchester School Committee is still honing its fiscal year 2027 budget, but with a number of deadlines looming, the window for tweaking is just about closed. During the Jan. 22 School Committee meeting, member Michelle Berstrom presented a revised budget timeline that includes: • Jan. 28, 2026 – Budget Summit with
What do you know about Winchester’s school councils?
Parents show up to School Committee to support school councils Erica Walsh was a Vinson-Owen Elementary School parent for four years before she realized there was a school council. “It wasn’t until last year that a fellow parent mentioned to me and explained that we can attend,” she
Muraco School project on the move as MSBA invites Winchester into next round
It might not seem obvious since there are no shovels in the ground or designs plans to decipher, but the Muraco Elementary School project is nonetheless on the move “We’re kind of into it now,” said Superintendent Dr. Frank Hackett in a recent update to the School Committee. “We
Winchester High School Mandarin teacher Xuemei Li named Mass. Foreign Language Teacher of the Year
It was a typical day in Xuemei Li’s Winchester High School Mandarin class — until a party broke out. Li, who is in her third year at WHS, was teaching as usual when a group of people came through her door armed with flowers and a surprise. Li had been
Winchester minister Jane Ring Frank wins Lifetime Achievement Award
Everyone wants to be the best in their chosen field — or at least recognized, right? Turns out First Congregational Church’s Minister of Worship and the Arts Jane Ring Frank achieved that milestone without even realizing it. Choral Arts New England has named Frank the 2025 Life Time Achievement award
Singing, dancing and culture fill Winchester Town Hall during Indigenous Peoples Day
Na-Pow-Sa Pocknett says there are people within his own culture who don’t take that culture seriously, but the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal citizen takes it very seriously. And he shared that culture as one of the Red Hawk Singers & Dancers who performed at Winchester Town Hall on
Karma in Winchester celebrates International Sake Day
I have little context for sake. I tried it once a decade, well, actually a lot of decades ago and I wasn’t a fan, so I never thought to try it again. It didn’t really occur to me that I was young and what I tried was probably