SAUGUS — The School Committee and district officials are seeking athletic records from before 1969 as part of a broader effort to recognize athletic achievement in Saugus through the years.
Officials are seeking “data on Saugus High Sachem Boys and Girls sports teams prior to 1969 that won a conference, regional and/or State Championship,” School Committee member Dennis Gould wrote in a press release. “For example, we need data on the 1966,67 or 68 Saugus varsity cross country team that won the State Championship.”
“We need the team, the year, and what championship they won,” Gould said.
The Athletic Subcommittee is giving residents until June 1 to submit data for legacy banners to hang in the new middle/high school complex. All data should be emailed to Gould at [email protected].
Acting Superintendent Michael Hashem, the former principal of Saugus High School, told the subcommittee that the district has data dating back to 1969 based on the banners that hung in the Burns Gym, which was demolished as a part of the construction of the new complex. The subcommittee voted unanimously to move forward with replacing those banners, pending getting the necessary funding.
Gould also suggested the subcommittee move forward with purchasing individual banners for the teams that have won championships since the new complex was constructed, which the subcommittee voted unanimously to do. Hashem suggested those banners could be hung in the entryway of the complex and then given to the team’s coach once the students involved graduate.
School Committee Chair Vincent Serino suggested a committee be formed to raise funds to pay for the banners, which Hashem estimated would cost between $10,000 and $12,000 for 25 banners.
The effort by the subcommittee builds on a similar initiative launched by Middle/High School Principal Brendon Sullivan late last year. He said in the move between the old high school and the new complex, existing records were put away and not cataloged.
“We have students doing great things on the football field, on the soccer field, and we want to make sure that we recognize people appropriately,” he said. “(I) want to make sure we continue the legacy and tradition in the new building.”
