Winchendon School - Vestigia Yearbook (Winchendon, MA)

Page 10 text:

Wag? MTN!! Mr. Hatch retired in 1959 at which time the Board engaged Mr. R. Rob- ert Marr to head the school. He pos- sessed the maturity and experience necessary to make the school prosper. Once again the school moved, this time to Winchendon Massachusetts, where it was housed in the famous Toy Town Tavern. With the move, the school assumed a new name, one to indicate its geographic signifi- cance-The Winchendon School. Prosperity followed and enrollment peaked at 154 students. A vigorous building program added a new dor- mitory, a classroom building, a sci- ence laboratory, a library-classroom complex, several new playing fields and eight new tennis courts.

Page 9 text:

'Midi ...M il or through rental arrangements-additional com- mitments were made. The schoo1's name was then changed to the Hatch School. Using tuition monies for real estate rather than for food, fuel oil and faculty salaries, the school be- came seriously overextended and in financial straits. To combat this crisis, parents were called upon for help, and in February of 1958, the Board of Trustees was reorganized.

Page 11 text:

No one could forsee the sudden turn education was about to take. The new era ushered in a period of disen- chantment with tradition and higher education by the nation's youth. Consequently, enrollment at The Winchendon School plummeted. In 1973, Mr. Marr retired.,After several months of searching for a new head- master, the Board was fortunate to engage the services of Mr. Lewis V. Posich who became the head of the school in the fall of 1974. Mr. Posich, the third headmaster, was most ef- fective in turning the school around, operating more in tune with the times, and in meeting youth more on their own terms while maintaining the Winchendon School's fine repu- tation for excellence in education. Mr. Posich passed away in the win- ter of 1982. The Board of Trustees again began a careful search for a new headrnaster. Mr. Keith Otto, who had been with the school for nearly twenty years, assumed the position of Acting Headmaster for a year and a half. In July of 1983 Mr. Stephen V.A. Samborski was appointed as the school's fourth Headmaster. During the last three years, Mr. Sarnborski has undertaken a strong campaign to not only strengthen and maintain the school's basic philosophy, but also to make significant improve- ments to the physical plant. This past summer new tennis courts, an outdoor swimming pool and an out- door basketball court were added. The school is currently constructing a new girls' dormitory adjacent to Merrell Hall. Also, plans are being made to revitalize the school's play- ing fields. During this sixty-year span there have been many ups and downs, small crises, and many problems to be solved: however, the school sur- vives and continues to grow in strength. The original concept of a small student-teacher ratio and of- fering help to students who had not developed their potential has never changed. A great need continues to exist for this unique educational ser- vice, and this is our reason for being. .N