May 29, 2021  |  Submitted by Tammy Rost  |  TBPS PTO

In just two short weeks, the Thatcher Brook Primary School community will say farewell to five retiring staff members and two staffers who have served students and the community with hard work and dedication for many years.

Retiring this year are kindergarten teacher Sonja Burbank, principal Denise Goodnow, math interventionist teacher Sara Hanson, fourth grade teacher Anne Hutchinson, and art teacher MK Monley. In addition, remote academy teacher Sally Kulis and school counselor Laura Standard are moving on to new adventures. They all will be greatly missed.

The TBPS Parent Teacher Organization is organizing a card shower for these departing staff to show them appreciation and good memories of their time at TBPS. Community members are invited to send them a card (or letter, picture, photo, etc.) that PTO volunteers will package for each of them.

Please spread the word! It would be fantastic for them to hear not only from current TBPS students and families, but from former students, colleagues, and anyone who worked with or learned from them over their many years of service.

Cards may be sent to TBPS, Attn: Retirees, 47 Stowe St., Waterbury, VT 05676 or emailed to tbpsretirees@huusd.org (they will be printed out). Please send cards by June 4 and indicate who they are for.

Thank you for helping us honor and send off these dedicated staff members.

Teachers brought the celebration out to the curb for Thatcher Brook Primary School's 70 finishing fourth graders last June. Teacher Anne Hutchinson made sure students get the message. File photo by Gordon Miller.

As a separate note, Crossett Brook Middle School Principal Tom Drake shared news of several staff departures coming up there in June as well:

Nancy Prall, a longtime paraeducator at both Crossett and Thatcher Brook schools
Former literacy interventionist and special educator, Sara Huff, who currently teaches language arts in the remote academy.
Dona Culver, longtime staffer and school secretary who anchors the school’s main office

Below are brief sketches of the teachers and staff who soon will end their time at Thatcher Brook Primary School, submitted by their colleagues.

Denise Goodnow, principal

Denise Goodnow has been both a co-principal and principal at TPBS. A native Vermonter, Denise earned her B.S. in Elementary Education from Salem State College, followed by an M.S. in Instructional Technology and Media Management from SUNY. Finally, she earned an M.S. in Educational Administration from the University of Scranton. She was a computer teacher and technician in Connecticut before moving back to Vermont to become a principal in the Cornwall School District for seven years. Denise joined Thatcher Brook as co-principal in 2013 and became principal in 2016 until now.

As soon as she arrived at TBPS, Denise put on her comfortable shoes and got right to work. On any given day, Denise can be seen delivering lunches to classrooms, serving entrees in the cafeteria, having lunch with students, directing the traffic and students during dismissal (like air traffic control), visiting classrooms with Cooper (her therapy goldendoodle), making morning announcements or problem-solving with a student or colleague.

Denise leaves a legacy of supporting students and their families, so that everyone gets what they need. She started the Backpack Program in December 2018 in an effort to provide nutritious meals and snacks for children over their weekends and extended breaks, at no cost to families. She also leaves a legacy of positive relationships and a great sense of humor, neither of which will be lost on her family and grandchildren in this next chapter of her life.

-Submitted by Sarah Schoolcraft, assistant principal

Anne Hutchinson, teacher

Longtime teacher Anne Hitchinson is retiring this year after 41 years of educating the students of Waterbury and Duxbury. Anne began her career at Waterbury Elementary School as a paraprofessional in the Resource Room in the fall of 1979. By January of 1980, she was teaching her own second grade classroom. Anne has taught second, third and fourth graders over her long career. She will move on this year with her last class of fourth-grade students. She has been an integral part of the fabric of the school system in Waterbury.

Anne has gone above and beyond her classroom duties by being part of the Common Core Math Committee, the Math Assessment Committee, and the Math Leadership Committee. Additionally, she has been a summer school tutor and an ELL summer tutor. For many years she also worked in the summer being part of the weeklong Adventure Camp Program for students in our school. She engaged in team-building activities at the beginning of the school year with her students to create a positive and supportive environment for students to learn in.

Anne has shown her commitment to the residents of the town by working on the Waterbury Ambulance as an EMT for many years.

A valued member of the school community, Anne will be missed. We wish her all the best as she enters this new chapter of her life.

-Submitted by Brenda Ververis, special educator

Sara Hanson, math interventionist

Sara Hanson will be retiring this year from Thatcher Brook Primary School after teaching for 36 years in the school district. She began her career as a kindergarten teacher for two years at the former Duxbury Elementary School before moving to a first and second grade classroom. After the Waterbury-Duxbury merger in 1995, Sara continued to teach first and second grade at Thatcher Brook Primary School until 2006. She then taught multi-age second and third grade for one year before moving to multi-age third and fourth. Since 2013, she has helped many children improve their math skills in her role as a math interventionist.

During Sara’s tenure, she has engaged in many additional roles for the district, including summer tutoring, writing science units, helping to develop district curriculum, and serving on the Local Standards Board. As a Cooperating Teacher, she has mentored many student- teacher interns from the University of Vermont and Johnson State College.

Thanks to her love of nature, her many talents, and her sense of humor, Sara always kept learning fun for her students. Sara’s students were treated to her musical talents when she played guitar and led sing-alongs. Her students always looked forward to memorable weekly celebrations such as “Pie Day on Friday” - when the class was treated to delicious pies. There were smiles on every face in Sara’s classrooms.

Although she will miss the school community, especially the students, she says she is looking forward to spending more time gardening, reading and traveling with her husband, including to Washington state to visit their children.

We wish Sara the best and have truly enjoyed having her as our colleague!

-Submitted by Sue Rooney, special educator

Sonja Burbank, teacher

Now at home in her kindergarten classroom, Sonja Burbank started teaching 26 years ago and was my first teammate at Thatcher Brook. I knew right away that she was a special teacher and person.

Sonja knew the importance of connecting to her students and would take her class on camping trips to Little River State Park every year. She also wanted them to feel comfortable. Her classroom always had a pet bunny hopping around and her kids loved this entertainment.

One thing that Sonja did as a teacher was to make her students feel valued and loved and to this day her former students return to visit, reconnect, and share their accomplishments. Ms. Burbank, as they all know her, will be missed by this community.

-Submitted by Tom Thurston, 1st/ 2nd grade teacher

MK Monley, art teacher

MK Monley, a teacher at TBPS for 19 years, received her BA in Education from Hiram College in Ohio in 1983, a Masters of Education from UVM in 1987, and a C.A.S. from UVM in 1991.

MK transformed the art curriculum to “Choice-based Art”-- a revolutionary concept she made her own after seeing it modeled in one of the many workshops she took to advance her understanding about how to best teach art to young children. Using stations, mini lessons, and her enthusiasm for the subject, she transformed the art room to a place where children have many options and they ultimately decide what they create.

The community River of Light Parade is MK’s brainchild. In response to a cultural study of Brazil more than a decade ago, MK led the students in making lanterns, invited a Samba band that led us through the snowy, illuminated streets of Waterbury, and the parade has become an annual tradition for the whole community.

MK is a member of numerous organizations and school committees. An active collaborator with her team, MK worked to provide schoolwide opportunities including artists in residence, cultural studies, and countless sets and costumes for performances. The many art installations she has had a hand in around school and town reflect her passion for the visual arts. She is a tireless and creative colleague in every sense of the word.

To her school and wider community, MK is an icon. Representing the best in education, she is passionate about her students, her instruction, her school, and her community.

Student reports on MK offer their praise and admiration: “She’s wonderful.” “She’s my favorite art teacher in the world.” “She is kind and caring and makes other people feel that way, too.”

-Submitted by Nancy Daigle, librarian, and Carol Baitz, PE teacher

Sally Kulis, math interventionist

Sally Kulis will be leaving Thatcher Brook Primary School after 24 years of teaching. She began her career as a kindergarten and first grade teacher in the Harvard Public School System in Massachusetts. After moving to Vermont, Sally taught kindergarten in the Barre Supervisory Union for two years before moving to Thatcher Brook Primary in 2010. While at Thatcher Brook, Sally taught multi-age grades 1 and 2 for five years, after which she spent the rest of her 11 years as a math interventionist.

During her time at Thatcher Brook, Sally was much loved and respected by all of the students she worked with as well as their parents. Sally was an extraordinary teammate to her colleagues. She was always willing to go the extra mile to help people whether it was with planning, helping out with assessments, or just being a friend to brainstorm ideas with. Sally was also a cooperating teacher for interns from UVM, giving them a great foundation and helping to instill a love of teaching.

Sally’s temperate, passionate, and kind nature, as well as her high expectations for her students helped them thrive while they were with her. Sally truly loved her job and it showed in the creativity of her lessons and how she interacted with her students and colleagues alike.

Sally will be greatly missed by everyone at Thatcher Brook. We all wish her the very best!

-Submitted by Pam Menz, teacher

Laura Standard, school counselor

For the past 13 years, Laura Standard has been the school counselor at TBPS and she will be leaving to continue in that role in Chittenden County which is much closer to her home in Burlington. She began as a school counselor with a Masters Degree from UVM in School & Community Counseling. She taught for a few years in the Burlington area and then took time off to raise her children. She joined our school community in 2008.

Laura has worked for years within the classroom bringing social skills and guidance curriculums to our students. She has also worked with small groups of students and individual students to help them deal with life issues as well as forming friendship groups to help students develop social networks.

Laura has been instrumental in bringing the Puppets in Education Program to our community each year for our young students to learn from. The program treats difficult subjects such as bullying prevention and how to stay healthy and safe, with a great deal of empathy and compassion. Laura has done an amazing job with our community and she will be missed as she heads to the next step in her career.