Hudson - Litchfield News | March 30, 2012 - 5


Martin ‘Bo’ Schlichter Retiring After 26 Years in Litchfield


by Kristen Hoffman After 26 years in the Litchfield School District, Martin “Bo”


Schlichter is retiring. Schlichter began his career as the Assistant Principal at Griffin Memorial School (GMS) in 1985. Schlichter left in 1987 while middle school was being built, and assumed the role of Principal at Litchfield Middle School when it opened in September 1988. Schlichter made the decision to retire with the help of his wife at the end of last summer. In many ways, he is sad to leave the District, but felt it was the right time to do so. Schlichter, a life-long runner and avid basketball fan underwent quadruple bypass surgery in the summer of 2005. He began experiencing symptoms of the illness during that year’s eighth grade class trip to Washington, DC.


“I taught in Nashua for seven years starting in 1978, and then I came to Litchfield in 1985, and I’ve been in love with the town since.” When Schlichter began his career in


Litchfield, Griffin housed students from readiness to grade 8. Litchfield had about 3,500 residents in 1985, and there were three teachers per grade level. Schlichter has seen the town through both its student population boom in the 1990s, and early 2000s into its present state of decline. “The population has really increased, up to a time where we had about six teachers per grade level. Now we’re back to five,” Schlichter said. Working in Litchfield has not just been a job for Schlichter, it’s been his passion for the past two and a half decades, “I love my job, I grew up in a small town similar to Litchfield down Massachusetts,” he added, “I grew up with some of the same values that are reflected in Litchfield, a hardworking community, a lot of people living in the community have a lot of respect for each other, similar types of demographics, similar types of youth sports, which I was always involved in,” Schlichter said. Schlichter added that sports were always his connection to school. “To be able to work with kids all day—I’m very fortunate that I’ve been able to have that opportunity, and I’m thankful for that every day,” Schlichter said. Schlichter’s passion for his work is evident in his interactions with children. Walking through the hallways, he greeted every student he saw, and complimented their hats. GMS takes part in “Reading Across America,” and on March 5, students were encouraged to wear in the style of Dr.Seuss’s most memorable characters. Schlichter freely stated that he was not the best student in school, but he works to help the children of Litchfield find their place in


Staff photo by Kristen Hoffman Martin, “Bo” Schlichter is leaving the Litchfield School


Distrct after 26 years. He will be leaving his post as Griffin Memorial School’s Principal at the end of the school year.


the school, by blending academics with extracurricular activities and sports. “Whether it be drama, music or sports, I’ve always tried to develop programs and find programs where every kid can find a positive connection to the school. I think that’s really a really important aspect to a kid finding success,” he said. Right now, two popular programs at GMS are the “Green Team,” a group that promote recycling, and the chess club. Both are after school activities that foster growth and development for young children. The Green Team is run by Fern Sedien, GMS’s Guidance Counselor. The Green Team coordinates the school- wide recycling program. The Chess team is run by parent volunteers. GMS also has a Student Council, made up of fourth graders. “I think what separates GMS from other schools would be our emphasis on reading and literacy,” Schlichter said. He added that the GMS students consistently get high scores in standardized tests. Moving from the Middle School to the Elementary School created a new set of challenges for Schlichter, “For awhile, I liked the surprises at the middle school, but after I got older and I had my bypass surgery, those surprises I could do without,” he said. He added that middle school aged students have a whole different type of energy, something that could make working their stressful. For his first seven years at the Litchfield Middle School, Schlichter did not have an Assistant Principal, a position that is an assist to Middle Schools. During these seven years, the school grew immensely. By 1992, LMS was already in need of an addition to handle the influx of students. “There were definitely a lot of different


bullying was more pronounced in Middle School, “It was always difficult to deal with those kinds of situations,” Schlichter added, “I’m glad to see it being addressed so thoroughly now. Part of working in the Elementary School is preparing the young students for what lies ahead, both academically and culturally. Every morning at GMS, each class has a meeting. It is a time for students to share their experiences of the past few times, but also let others know about what’s going on, and address instances of bullying. These programs are important for young children, as they instill an sense of community at a young age. As of now, Schlichter is unsure of what he will do when he


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Hudson Partners with Brox Industries for Town Paving


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by Doug Robinson For the third consecutive year, Hudson’s Road Agent, Kevin Burns, has negotiated a zero increase in the cost of paving materials from Hudson based company Brox.


According to Burns, “Brox industries offer to extend the current


paving contract price for the next fiscal year. Pricing has new been steady for three consecutive years even as liquid asphalt prices and fuel cost rise.” The current price for asphalt is now and will be all next Fiscal


Year $67.48 per ton in place. That price includes the trucking, the asphalt itself, the liquid tack coat, the physical paving work to include associated handwork, and rolling. Cold planning which it the milling off the existing pavement like


Kindergarten and First Grade Enrollments


by Lynne Ober Spring hasn’t arrived and students are still not dreaming of summer vacation, but the Hudson School District has been busily enrolling kindergarten and first grade students for the next school year.


Once again, kindergarten and first grade parents could enroll their students via an on-line registration process. While parents are still required to sign the hardcopy documents, provide a copy of the child’s birth certificate, proof of residence and current medical information, using the on-line process can expedite the whole registration process, which parents can start at any time convenient to them. Once the on-line part is complete, each student is scheduled for a 40-minute time slot for the incoming first grade and kindergarten screening. According to Superintendent Randy Bell, 175 kindergarten students have already registered for next year. Kindergarten is a half-day program. As a result some parents opt to place their students into a full day program not run by the school district. Bell said that in addition to this year’s kindergarten students, 63 new first grade enrollments have already been received by the district.


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we did on Ferry Street and also on Derry Street is $1.35 a square yard. The reclaiming, or removal of the asphalt, price is $1.36 a square yard. This includes the pulverizing in place of the existing asphalt and mixing it with the existing sub base to improve the roads sub structure. It also includes the fine grading to reshape the gravel and then includes the required vibratory rolling for compaction. “This is a very good deal for the town. Brox does a very good job for us and stands behind their work. I also think it important that Brox is a local Hudson company that employees local people and pays local property taxes here in Hudson” continued Burns.


Leonard A. Smith Memorial Scholarship Applications


submitted by Friends of the Library of Hudson The Friends of the Library of Hudson are accepting applications for the Leonard A Smith Memorial Scholarship. All high school seniors who are residents of Hudson are eligible. Alvirne High School seniors may pickup applications in the guidance office. Applications and guidelines for entrants are also available on- line at www.rodgerslibrary.org. The Friends of the Library page is accessed from the “About Us” tab. Completed forms may be returned to the Alvirne guidance office, mailed to the Friends of the Library of Hudson, 194 Derry Rd., Hudson, NH, 03051 or dropped into the designated box in the George H. and Ella M. Rodgers Memorial Library lobby. This scholarship is awarded annually in memory of Leonard A. Smith, a staunch library supporter, for his many years of dedicated public service to our town. Applications are due before May 1.


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retires. He doesn’t want to step out of the education ring quite yet. He knows that he does not want to completely leave the field quite yet.


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challenges at the middle school, the kids are dealing with interpersonal relationships,” Schlichter added, something that is not as prevalent at the Elementary School level. He added that


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