Three new names proposed for Thatcher Brook Primary School
May 26, 2021 | By Waterbury Roundabout 
An effort to rename Thatcher Brook Primary School is underway after community members, including students, learned of the history of its namesake Partridge Thatcher, an 18th-century early landowner in Waterbury who owned slaves. File photo by Gordon Miller.
Editor’s note: Below is a letter to the community from the Renaming Team at Thatcher Brook Primary School. This was updated May 28 with a new deadline for voting and information on paper ballots.
The Renaming Team at Thatcher Brook is pleased to announce that the ballot is ready! The team, made up of 15 students and staff from Thatcher Brook Primary School, has reviewed, discussed and weighed the nearly 250 nominations received from community members across all six HUUSD towns.
The three finalists on the ballot are:
Brookside Primary School - This name honors the multiple brooks that run throughout both Waterbury and Duxbury and the significance of water in our community.
Winding Brook Primary School - This name honors the multiple brooks that run throughout both Waterbury and Duxbury and the significance of water in our community.
River of Light Primary School - This name honors the significance and presence of water in our community and also references the lantern parade which represents light, art and hope.
Voting by electronic survey will open at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, June 1, and close at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 9. The link to the online ballot is here.
If access to the online form presents a hardship, click here to print a paper ballot (image below) and drop off anytime in the airlock of the front main entrance of TBPS, or mail to 47 Stowe Street, Waterbury, VT 05676. Please avoid drop-off and pick-up times when the loop is busy on weekdays between 7:15 and 8 a.m. and 2:15and 3 p.m. Deadline to vote is 5 p.m. on June 9.
One vote per community member is permitted. We look forward to bringing the results forward to the HUUSD School Board meeting on June 23 for final confirmation by the board. Thank you for engaging in this exciting and important process!
Renaming Team members:
Sarah Schoolcraft, Assistant Principal; JoAnne Smith, grade 1/2 Teacher; Rachael Burns, grade 1/2 Teacher; Sally Kulis, grade 1 HURA Teacher/TBPS Interventionist; Anne Hutchinson, grade 3/4 Teacher; MK Monley, Art Teacher; grade 4 students Willa Hudson, Gia Gendimenico, Tomas Wulff, Vivienne Boyle, Grayson Eley; grade 3 Students Emaline Dubois, Addison Manley, Sam Phillips, Isla Allardyce.
Right click to download the image to print. This will also be printed in the Waterbury Reader’s June 4 edition.