Newcomers To The Area Say The High School Gives A Warm Welcome

By Susan Coney

The Newtown High School guidance department held a newcomers coffee on Wednesday, January 25, to welcome new residents to the area. The coffee was hosted by Director of Guidance Neil Culhane, counselor Gerri Waterbury, and District Health Coordinator Judy Blanchard.

A small group of parents met in the high school career center to share stories with one another about their relocation experiences and to gain additional information about the school and the Newtown area.

A variety of materials such as area maps, the high school program of studies, the Hawkeye newspaper, informational pamphlets on the area, and a detailed town profile sheet were made available to the new residents.

Lynne Rosentrater, a transplant from sunny, southern California stated, “It’s always a challenge to move.” She added that in the past the family has relocated approximately every three years so they have lived in numerous locations across the nation. “We all love it here. Now we don’t want to move again. We found Newtown to be a welcoming kind of place with a small town feel,” Ms Rosentrater said.

She, her husband, Michael, and daughter, Lindsay, moved to Newtown in November. Originally from the Boston area, Lynne welcomed the opportunity to relocate back to the East Coast because of her husband’s job, making them within proximity to relatives.

Ms Rosentrater said the moment she and Lindsay, who is a sophomore, entered the guidance office they felt welcome. “Deidre Croce, Lindsay’s guidance counselor, went above and beyond to make her feel at home. She introduced her to other girls the first day that we arrived to tour the school.

“This has been a great move. The staff at the high school has been phenomenal. I was so impressed by assistant principal Cathy Ostar. She noticed the California license plate when I was picking my daughter up from school and came out to the car to introduce herself,” Ms Rosentrater said.

Maryann Fernandes recently moved with her family to Newtown from Lancaster, Penn. She stated, “Everyone said that the people in Connecticut are so snobby but we have found the opposite to be true. I have two boys, one in ninth grade and one in eleventh. The hardest part of living in Newtown is it is so spread out. The kids can’t just ride their bikes or walk to a friend’s.”

Mrs Fernandes said, “It was harder for my eleventh grader, but he actually settled in fairly well and we encouraged him to join something.” She continued, “A lot of schools don’t offer anything like the applied science course offered at your high school. My son really enjoys it.”

Helene Cote said that her family visited Newtown over the summer. She said that they saw the town and the high school and knew it was the place. “My husband works in Trumbull and I work in Westport; we looked for over a year to see what town we wanted to settle in,” Ms Cote said.

“I was really worried about my daughter, but she loves it here. She was welcomed with open arms. She has made so many friends in an incredibly short amount of time,” she said.

“I am so impressed with the teachers and the passion with which they teach. We had only been in the house a short time and her math teacher called home to talk to me about my daughter’s class placement,” Ms Cote said.

District Health Coordinator Judy Blanchard told the group of parents that she has lived in Newtown since 1976. She has had four children go through Newtown schools. “I love the town. I love the school system,” Ms Blanchard said. “We wanted to bring new people in and welcome them to the area,” she continued.

Guidance counselor Gerri Waterbury stated that she has lived in the Newtown community for many years as well, also raising her children here and always feels the need to reach out to others who come into the community to make them feel welcome.

“I try to put myself in the shoes of the parents and try to make sure the kids fit in. I’m sensitive to the moms who relocate here. The dads go off to work and the kids go off to school and sometimes the moms are forgotten. They are the ones who often times hold everything together,” she said.