Botelle Elementary School serves students in pre-kindergarten through grade 6. All students are accepted, appreciated, nurtured and challenged in a safe, caring learning community. Warm relationships are the foundation on which learning is built. Students achieve at high levels in a multi-age environment and remain with the same teacher for two years. This allows our staff to know each child as a learner and person and tailor instruction to their needs and interests. The curriculum is based on the Connecticut Core Standards and students work on rigorous, real-life tasks.
As partners in the learning process, students develop the skills to be self-directed, engaged learners. They develop the knowledge, skills, strategies and desire needed for life-long learning, which supports the Norfolk Public School mission “…to educate all students to be competent, confident, thoughtful, responsible, and contributing members of society.”
The town acquired the current Botelle building in 1970 from the Augustinian Brothers who constructed the building and operated a seminary at the site from 1958 to 1970, and named it for Myrtle Botelle, longtime teacher at the Norfolk Center School. In 1996, an extensive renovation of the site modernized the facility for its current use. Students completing sixth grade at Botelle usually attend Northwestern Regional School in Winsted, which serves grades seven to 12 for students from Barkhamsted, Colebrook, New Hartford and Norfolk.
News
Creating Community: One Piece at a Time
9/14/23
Botelle Elementary School’s theme for the 2023-24 school year is “Celebrating All and Creating Community.” Each month our school community plans to do just that, both within our school and within Norfolk. September’s focus is “Celebrating Creativity.” Ms. Bazelmans, Botelle’s art teacher, is creating a community quilt. We invite you to participate with our students, families and staff!
Our quilt will have paper patches from each student, staff member and various people in our greater community—firefighters, EMTs, local shopkeepers, librarians, bankers, municipal employees and town volunteers. Our goal is to come together in a fun, creative way that highlights the interconnectedness of all of the people in this wonderful town. We all work together to make our school and town what it —a small, unspoiled New England town, surrounded by beautiful hills and forests with a lovely little school that has a big HEART. Each one of us plays a part in the greater whole and the quilt is symbolic of our community connection.
Please design a small paper triangle however you please. You can draw a picture or decide on an abstract design. It’s entirely up to you! Use any color pen/pencil/colored pencils/markers…whatever you choose. Just have fun getting creative! Please write your name/business name/location on the front with your design. You can pick up your triangle paper piece at the Norfolk Library or at Botelle (see office hours below). Complete your piece of the quilt by 9/26 and drop it off at either location.
Once the quilt is assembled, we will post pictures of it online, at the library and at other locations across town. Please participate in our celebration of creativity!
—Lauren Valentino, Principal
Useful Links
Contact
Address: 128 Greenwoods Road East, Norfolk CT 06058
Phone: 860-542-5286
Fax: 860-542-5770
Main office hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
School calendar
A simple listing, in month-by-month calendar form, of school events. It can also be viewed in weekly or Agenda (list) formats. A single-page calendar showing holidays, early dismissal days and the dates for winter and spring breaks is posted here.
Parent/Teachers organization
The goal of the Botelle PTO is to enhance the educational experience and support the students and teaching staff by providing additional equipment, services and special events. It works to foster a close working relationship between parents, teachers/staff and students, and believes that a strong PTO is evidence of parental interest and ensures a better school environment for our children. Meetings are held at 6:00 p.m. on the first Monday of each month. All are welcome to attend or to send input to pto@botelleschool.org.
Board of Education
The Norfolk Board of Education is an elected body charged with maintaining the organizational and fiscal well-being of the town’s school. The Board meets at 6:00 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month to hear issues of importance to the school, its teachers and its families. All are welcome to attend. Budget information, minutes and agendas are posted on the school website’s BOE page and video recordings of the meetings can be viewed on YouTube.
Facebook and Instagram
See Botelle School Facebook and Instagram pages for photos, event notices and more.
Newsletters
Links to Botelle School’s weekly newsletters are posted on its home page. Read the most recent one here.