News: October 2021

October Report

Fall sports ended on October 30^th, with a jamboree held in Lebanon, NH.  
Norwich Recreation Afternoons is at capacity (16 children).  Our teens walk the kids to the library or to their practices, play with them on the fields/at the gym and help them with their homework if needed.  Parent feedback for this program has been overwhelmingly positive.

Norwich Recreation hosted the NorWitchy Woods Walk again this Halloween.  Participating organizations included:  Marion Cross School staff, Norwich Public Library, Norwich Fire Department, Norwich Women’s Club, Norwich Lions Club, the Richmond Middle School Student Council,  Hanover High School’s Youth in Action and Upper Valley Trails Alliance.  Almost 300 people attended.

The Upper Valley Land Trust has expressed interest in working with Norwich Recreation on grooming the Nordic Trail again this year.  We will partner on the Nordic at Night events, with a schedule that is still to be determined.  The Norwich Lions Club has been offered the opportunity to host fireworks at one of the events 

We have been working with resident Anna Schivas to host a series of community dances at Huntley Meadows.  So far, we have hosted three dances, with the last one in Tracy Hall.  They have been attended by 17, 17 and 23 people respectively.  Our next dance will be in mid-November

Winter indoor sports have been approved by the SAU 70 to take place in the Marion Cross gymnasium.  We will host programs for children K-6^th grade with no parents/spectators present.  All participants will wear face masks.  The state guidance (ACCD) has been to additionally require that all participants take part in their school’s surveillance testing, and we are negotiating a method of communication between Norwich Rec and the MCS staff, in the event of a positive test result. 

Indoor programs will also take place in the Tracy Hall gymnasium, with pickleball, yoga, soccer and basketball set to open in mid-November.

Both our Capital and Operating budgets have been submitted to the Town Manager and the Director of Finance.  We have reduced our costs in some areas in order to add a Program Manager to our department.  This position would manage the team, game and field schedules, staff timesheets and paperwork. They would assist with monitoring grant and stipend expenses and reconciliation, equipment/structure lifecycle logs and gift recognition.  The proposed position will be part time, year round, shared with the Department of Public Works.