Back to school with new facilities, calendar

School began on Tuesday, September 2, with something new and different for everyone.

Both the elementary and middle schools will have a new calendar, with the last day of classes is June 30. High school classes end June 4. Kindergarten through eighth grade students have longer winter and spring breaks and a shorter summer break.

And both schools will be connected to the high school via the internet.

The elementary school loses the sixth grade, but will have four brand, new classrooms when they are completed in November. Kindergarten enrollment is down significantly from last September's 71 students to about 48 students.

With about 87 students, the fifth grade class has more students than last year's 73. Tim Comfort remains the principal.

Middle school staff, led by principal Rich Shultz, have scrambled to adapt three buildings near the elementary school which will comprise the campus of the sixth, seventh and eighth graders' new middle school. According to Shultz, aside from a major kitchen renovation, the facilities are ready for the students.

"There are lots of cosmetic things, some of which students will be involved in, that remain to be completed," Shultz noted.

There are three new, enthusiastic, sixth grade teachers.

The eighth grade class is large, with about 102 students, but Shultz is not concerned.

"There are four eighth grade classes taking place every period," he said.

He said that class sizes were not much above average, at about 26 or 27 students per one teacher.

Shultz strongly advocated the creation of a separate middle school.

"The focus will be on middle school students without having to accommodate the high school schedule which always took precedence," Shultz said. "Now teachers can focus more on a particular age group and determine what is appropriate as curriculum for that age group."

Middle schoolers will not, however, be able to work with ceramics, as the equipment is located at the high school. Nor will they be able to take Spanish as they were two years ago before the second Spanish teacher was cut.

Shultz said his students would have had a more comprehensive library facility at the high school, but "the new wide-area network will gain us back access to certain resources through the internet."

The music teacher will shuttle between the high school and middle school, and an instructional assistant will share time between the elementary and middle schools, which are on the same calendar and located next door to each other. Shultz said his students will enjoy a better drama program than they have in the past.

Laura Leis will be entering the middle school.

"At first I was kind of disappointed about not moving into the high school," Leis said. "But I enjoy the idea of a new experience, and it is kind of interesting because it is the first year we're on the new calendar."

Leis admits the new calendar with the shortened summer break "might be better as far as retention. Over the summer I tend to forget things."