Simsbury High Set To Ring A Bell For Victories

SIMSBURY, CT — If you hear a loud bell ringing near Simsbury High School in the future, it's not a church bell, dinner bell, liberty bell, or a "bell of freedom."

It's merely a "Victory Bell."

At the Simsbury Board of Education's last meeting on Feb. 25, board members unanimously approved receipt of the bell as a gift from the Class of 2025.

The bell gift required approval from the school board because of its value — $8,000 — which puts it within the regulations regarding gifts needing board approval.

Those regulations mandate a board vote on any gift greater than $1,500.

When installed, the 26-inch "Victory Bell" will be a place where Simsbury High School sports teams and fans can celebrate victories by ringing the bell.

"So every time we have a big win, that bell is gonna be rung," said Simsbury Assistant Superintendent of Schools Sue Homrok-Lemke at the meeting.

Simsbury High School Class of 2025 President Brendan Russell, who attended the school board meeting, said the original hope was for a bell to be installed in the fall.

But, Russell said, those plans fell through and the company it was expecting to buy the bell from had already sold it.

The hope, though, was for another bell to be purchased and installed this spring, perhaps by the middle of March or April, he said.

Russell said he was inspired to seek a "Victory Bell" by looking at other schools, for example, the private girls' high school in Simsbury — The Ethel Walker School, has one.

He also said other schools in the area have them, such as the Loomis Chafee School in Windsor and Avon Old Farms School in nearby Avon.

"Talking to students there, they really enjoy it," Russell said. "It's a really cool idea to bring the students closer together."

As expected, board members had no issues with the "Victory Bell" funds and they easily voted unanimously for the gift.

"This is an amazing gift," said Simsbury Board of Education Vice Chairman Jennifer Batchelar, remarking about the unusually large value of the annual graduating class gift.

One likely thing is that enthusiasm for ringing the bell will be intense.

After all, the Simsbury High School Trojans' student section was recently named by the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletics Conference as the winner of the 2024-25 "Battle of the Fans Contest."

So spirit is always high in Simsbury.

From March 10: 'Simsbury HS Student Sports Fans Deemed Best In CT: CIAC'

For the minutes of the Feb. 25 Simsbury Board of Education meeting, click on this link.

For an example of the 'Victory Bell' at Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, click on this link.