When Peter Renwick talks… people listen. And it's not because he happened to begin his career for the company that coined the familiar slogan …E.F. Hutton. It's because he is so passionate, positive and proud of his role as principal of one of the top high schools in the state ...Westfield High School. And he can't say it enough. "I am grateful each and every day to be able to come into this building and feel like I can have an impact on over 1800 students," he said. "We have an incredibly talented, dedicated and caring staff." Renwick, 45, is pleased with what he's accomplished so far in …
About two years ago Sally Susan Heyder was assigned to be the librarian at the Lincoln School Early Childhood Learning Center. But there was one problem - the school didn't have a library. "It was really disheartening to me," Heyder said. "I was totally in shock that they could have an early childhood learning center without a library." So Heyder sprang into action. Hedyer also splits her time as a librarian at Washington School, so she started a book donation program with kids at Washington School. Last year around Christmas she asked all the students to donate one hardcover book. Heyder …
When Julia Walker and her family chose to move to town, it was "because of the Westfield schools." Nine years later, the school board has chosen her ….as its leader. And as the new president of the Westfield Board of Education, and board member since 2003, she doesn't take her responsibility lightly. "Our goal, as a Board of Education, would be to maintain our level of excellence in a growing field of regulation," said the mom of two. "The greatest concern going forward is how to maintain the level of excellence with almost no state aid." Walker, an attorney who grew up in Lexington, Kentucky…
When Westfield High School teacher Sara Soriente, 27, saw the devastation in Haiti from the earthquake back in January, she felt compelled to help. And she finally got her opportunity two months later, during her spring break. Through an organization called Foundation For Peace (FFP), she spent a week at a tent camp outside of Port-au-Prince with a group of thirteen volunteers from all over the east coast. "It was a huge relief to finally be there and do something," she said. Tara Wyant, an 18-year old member of WHS' Class of 2010, agreed. She too took the trip, along with older brother …
"We took him out of his crib. We just kept taking turns holding him. You could see that he was slipping away." Peter McNamara continued... "While we were holding him, his breathing was getting easier. He seemed to be much more comfortable. He became more and more peaceful." "The two of us just sat with him… and watched him go." It was a snowy day, March 9, 2007, the day Peter and his wife, Lisa, lost their 16-month-old son, Liam, to a chronic brain disorder called Lissencephaly (Miller-Dieker Syndrome). Liam was a twin to his brother Nathanial. Two years later, May 15, 2009, this Westfield …
