GOFFSTOWN - On Dec. 3, students at the Villa Augustina School will have a new principal as Andrew Maloney marks his last day at the school on Friday.

Maloney said he approached the board at the Villa before the end of the last school year to let them know he planned to retire, joining his wife, who had done so already.

"I told them I would come back for the fall and help transition a new principal into the building," he said.

Taking Maloney's place is Beverly Broomhall, a former principal in Burlington, Vt., who has thirty years of experience in education, including the Catholic school setting.

Broomhall, who recently earned a master's degree from St. Michael's College in Colchester, Vt., said she was drawn to an online ad for the position.

"I wasn't really looking, per se," Broomhall said, "but I saw this and I was a little bit intrigued."

Broomhall said her husband's job at IBM allows him to work at home, and the couple has a daughter that lives in Wellesley, Mass., making the decision to move from Vermont to Goffstown an easy one.

"I feel like this is where I've been called to be," she said.

Broomhall is spending the week at the school with Maloney to get a feel for the atmosphere at the school. She has spoken with all of the classes and is excited to begin building new relationships.

Broomhall said that so far she has seen a joy in the school, as well as a high level of learning and dedicated teachers.

"I'm not coming in mid-year and start to change things," she said. "The school is doing well."

Maloney agreed, noting that when he took over at the Villa 2½ years ago, the school had just come from the brink of closure.

"We've got a solid population of students, and we've stabilized our curriculum," he said, adding that a strong partnership with staff and parents has made a positive impact.

"We're doing a lot of great things here," Maloney said.

A five year plan is in place for the school, which Maloney said will include a celebration of Villa Augustina's 100th anniversary in 2018, as well as a plan for the beginning of its second century.

Broomhall said she has been welcomed as a part of the school community.

"It's that feeling of home," she said. "Everybody here has been very welcoming and gracious."

kremillard@newstote.com