September 24, 2025

Important Dates

• Wednesday, October 1 - Norwich Board Meeting 6:30 PM, Marion Cross School
• Wednesday, October 8 - Hanover Board Meeting 7 PM, Bernice A. Ray School
• Friday, October 10 - No School all SAU 70 Schools - Professional Development Day
• Monday, October 13 - No School all SAU 70 Schools - Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day (NH/VT) 
• Tuesday, October 28 - Dresden Board Meeting, 6:00 PM, Hanover High School
• Tuesday, October 28 - SAU 70 Board Meeting, 7:00 PM, Hanover High School

District Calendar 

From Our Superintendent

Pictured above: Opening Day at Marion Cross School - Superintendent Steiner, Interim Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, and Principal Gonyaw

The school year is off to a positive and energetic start! Thanks to my five years of experience within the district, getting to know our staff and students, and understanding the unique laws and nuances of both states, the transition has been incredibly smooth. I feel fortunate to serve this community in a new role.  

Since the opening ceremony in August, I've been focused on our students, and specifically the teaching and learning in our classrooms.  Currently, I spend time in each school, one to three times a week, and sometimes more often. During these visits, I meet with principals and other administrators and spend time in classrooms. As we enter the fifth week of school, I can confidently say I've been in most classrooms, many of them multiple times, and I am so impressed with what our students are already learning.

Focusing on Data and Instruction

This year, our Leadership Team meetings are focused on our students and staff, with an emphasis on teaching and learning and instructional coaching. We're meeting in a different school each month and basing our discussions on the book Data Rules: Elevating Teaching with Objective Reflection by Jim Knight and Michael Faggella-Luby. We read a chapter each month, discuss the content, and then use one of the book's data tools in classrooms. Afterward, I share the collected data with the staff at that school.

Our first Leadership Team meeting was at Hanover High School last week. We used a "20-Minute High Impact Survey" to gather data. Each team visited three classrooms for 20 minutes across a variety of subject areas. The data was impressive. For example, our observations showed that an average of 93% of our students were on task! We also observed a variety of teaching methods, including cooperative and experiential learning, labs, and direct instruction, all of which showed high levels of engagement and learning.

I look forward to sharing more updates with you throughout the school year. It is truly a privilege to serve as your Superintendent.

Robin Steiner

Superintendent SAU 70 Schools

From Our Interim Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

Our schools are off to a great start for the 2025-2026 school year! It's been a busy and positive beginning, highlighted by a district-wide kickoff event where a student panel reminded everyone that what matters most is kindness, feeling welcome and seen in the classroom, and teachers who take the time to connect with them.

Grant Funding & School Programs

The allocations for grant funding have shifted this year, which affects each district differently.  Funding for the Dresden and Hanover school districts was reduced this year, while Norwich saw an overall increase.

• Dresden (Hanover High & Richmond Middle): Reduced funds will support a 9th-grade summer camp, professional development on trauma-informed practices, and a new saxophone for the band program, with funds still available for future needs.

• Hanover (Ray School): Reduced funding will maintain the kindergarten summer camp and support professional development for teachers of English Language Learners.

• Norwich (Marion Cross School): Increased grant funding will be used to hire a reading and math tutor and to provide professional development in data analysis, social-emotional learning, and student engagement.

Curriculum Updates

• Online Access: We are working hard to get curriculum documents for all subjects and grade levels posted on the SAU 70 website. Much of the middle and high school curriculum is already available for viewing. The current focus is on completing and uploading the remaining elementary school documents, especially for science.

• New ELA Program: The elementary schools (Ray and Marion Cross) are working together to research and select a new English Language Arts (ELA) program to ensure our students are receiving the best literacy instruction.

Teacher Collaboration

To develop a smooth and connected learning experience for students as they move from elementary to middle and then high school, we are continuing with our monthly K-12 meetings across the district. Teachers in the same subject area collaborate to align their instruction and share best practices. Teacher feedback has been essential in making this time productive and valuable.

School Safety

In October, a safety retreat is planned that will bring together teams from each school along with Hanover and Norwich police and fire departments to strengthen our district-wide safety protocols. 

Lauren Amrhein
Interim Director of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction

---

 

OGAP Math Training at the Ray School with Ray and MCS staff participating. 

---

From Our Director of Educational Technology

As part of our ongoing security efforts and in conjunction with our response to the new NH ‘Bell-to-Bell’ legislation, we turned off ‘self-registration’ on our guest wifi.   What this means is that while we still have a guest network, people can no longer gain access to it on their own.

This has created some concern across the parent community regarding communication with students after hours at the schools.  We have been working with a network security firm to re-design our next generation of network security and guest network design.  We hope to roll out our new design sometime in the next couple of months and will send out an announcement when it goes back online.  The students’ school-issued devices are still fully connected so parents can continue to send emails and messages to these devices any time of day.

Bryant Patten

Director of Educational Technology

---

Board Meetings

We’ve made links to board meetings available for your easy reference.   The Zoom links are listed below as well as start times.   Should you encounter issues, the  necessary zoom links, including passcodes, can be found on the SAU 70 calendar on the pop up of the event.

Regularly Scheduled Board Meetings for October and associated Zoom links:

Norwich Board Meeting - October 1, 2025 - 6:30 PM Marion Cross School
Hanover Board Meeting - October 8, 2025 - 7 PM Ray Elementary School
Dresden Board Meeting - October 28, 2025 - 6 PM Hanover High School Library
SAU 70 Board Meeting - October 28, 2025 - 7 PM Hanover High School Library

---

Policy Updates

The Policy Committee meets monthly at the SAU.  Meeting dates and times are available on the  SAU 70 Calendar.  If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to Ryanne Schoonover.  

Below you will find what was presented to the Boards this month.  Staff members are encouraged to review the agenda, as some topics may be relevant to your role.  Please be aware we have moved our board governance solution to Simbli.

SAU 70 Updates:
Simbli link to August 19, 2025 meeting.

The Board will do a second reading of EH-R1, EH-F1, and EH-F2

Dresden Updates:
Simbli link to August 19, 2025 meeting.
The Board will do a second reading of EH-R1 and its accompanying forms EH-F1 and EH-F2.

There was no policy discussion at the September 23, 2025 meeting. 

Hanover Updates:
Simbli link to August 13, 2025 meeting.
The Board will do a second reading of the policies EH-R1, EH-F1, and EH-F2.

There was no policy discussion at the September 10, 2025 meeting

Norwich Updates:
There was no policy discussion at the August 14, 2025 meeting.

Simbli link to September 3, 2025 meeting.
The Board will do a first reading of JBTA regarding Behavior Threat Assessment, which will be required by law on October 1st.

 

Religious & Federal Holidays as identified by the Calendar Committee   

Each month we will include these important dates.

• Yom Kippur - Oct 2

• Vijayadashami/Dussehra - Oct 2

• Sukkot - Oct 6

• Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah - Oct 14

• Samhain - sundown Oct 31 - Nov 1