PETERSBURG — “It’s really nice see everyone back in the building,” Superintendent Allison Pessolano told the Board of Education on Sept. 18.
While the new school chief officially began working in July, she recently had her first day with the entire staff and student body in the schools.
“We had a really successful start to the school year, which is a testament to our admin team that worked really hard over the summer, all of our teachers who worked so hard to prepare and have done such a great job getting their students back into routines and setting expectations and procedures,” Pessolano said. “Everything seems to be running very smoothly and the kids are happy when they are in the hallways.”
She noted there have been a couple of issues with buses arriving late or not at all, attributing the problem to a lack of communication from its contracted carrier.
Pessolano said the transportation coordinator is working to resolve the problems and will continue to relay information as quickly as possible to parents.
“We’re on top of it and it will get better as the year goes on,” she said.
Parents are welcome at Back to School Night this week, at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 20 at the elementary school and 6:30 p.m. Sept. 21 at the primary school. Visitation with special area teachers, basic skills and special education instructors begins 30 minutes earlier.
The middle school held its Back to School Night on Tuesday, when Cape Assist was present to share information with parents about warning signs their children may be using vapes or marijuana.
Each of the district’s three principals reported on scheduling and facilities changes.
Upper Township Middle School Principal Jeff Leek said the scheduling committee met during the spring and summer to make revisions to the bell schedule — again.
“I feel like we have put out more new bell schedules than we have kept,” Leek said, noting they likely have tried every iteration available and now need only to choose which plan fits best.
He said after reviewing last year’s schedule, they wanted to focus on prior accomplishments such as increased supervision and connectedness but adjust the WIN period, maximize instructional time and provide enriching activities. They also wanted to build time into the schedule for its SOAR program with house meetings and team building.
“We wanted to incorporate more time for our house program we started last year,” Leek said.
The middle school has changed to 55-minute mods for 2023-24 and changed some subject allocations.
“We’re trying to find the sweet spot for each grade level,” he said.
Instruction time for math, science, social studies and specials will increase from 50 to 55 minutes, while language arts will decrease from 100 minutes to 80 minutes.
Since the mods are 55 minutes, a double mod would be 110 minutes, leaving 30 minutes that will be dedicated to Spanish language learning.
“This is the first time since my second year here that we were able to bring Spanish back at a higher level,” Leek said.
Sixth-graders will be introduced to the language through a world cultures class, which covers geographic regions, lifestyles and celebrations, while seventh- and eighth-graders will get 30 minutes of instruction each day.
The updated enrichment rotation is six days, with two days dedicated to STEM, two days to enriched learning environments, one day for language arts lab and one for math lab. The Gifted & Talented program has been increased to four days to provide more time to work on the Odyssey of the Mind project. Leek noted the school will host the regional competition this year.
He said the lunch rotation was one of the school’s big scheduling successes last year, with groups getting extra gym, specials, sign language and library (sixth and seventh grades) time.
“All in all, it was a smooth, successful start,” Leek said.
Facilities upgrades included new line boards for the classrooms, a new cafeteria floor and new pole banners outside.
The school will continue using its SOAR behavior modification program. The student body is divided into houses that compete against one another to earn coins for displaying positive traits.
Leek said starting in October, each house would meet for 30 minutes every other week for team building and connectedness.
This year, homerooms have been arranged based on houses rather than alphabetically, he said, noting the house members will stay together through eighth grade.
Principal Andrea Urbano said the schedule at Upper Township Elementary School stays pretty much the same as years past with the exception of being 10 minutes longer. The day starts at 9:25 a.m. and ends at 3:35 p.m.
The extra time allowed the school to split a combined 40-minute lunch and recess into a 30-minute lunch and 20-minute recess.
Students also will receive 120 minutes of language arts, 60 minutes of math, 60 minutes of science/social studies, 40 minutes of specials and 40 minutes of intervention.
Urbano said the intervention period was created about 10 years ago and works well because “everybody gets what they need.”
She said the lowest-level readers, a small group of three or four, use the Wilson reading program and those in the next level use Just Words. Other students get speech instruction, occupational therapy or physical therapy, and still others get ELL assistance.
Urbano said the district librarian “feels strongly that the library should always have a librarian in it every day,” noting for the second year in row the librarian will be at the primary school in the morning and elementary school in the afternoon, as well as fitting in all classrooms on a two-week rotation and operating the G&T program.
Other specials are on three-day rotation, with one day of gym, one day of art/music each for half a year and one day of Spanish/ STEAM for half a year.
Regarding facilities, Urbano said all rooms have been painted and finished off with a drop ceiling.
“The spaces look very new and clean and fresh. They look beautiful,” she said, noting plans to resurface the blacktop are on hold but that a new concrete walkway was added from the school to the playground.
The elementary school is continuing its STARS behavior program, which emphasizes character traits chosen by the students and staff. She said students earn tickets for displaying positive behavior, which motivates others to make good choices. Winners are recognized daily, weekly and monthly.
Principal Jamie Gillespie said the Upper Township Primary School will include 180 minutes of language arts, 50 minutes of math, 30 minutes of science, 35 minutes of specials, 35 minutes of intervention in basic skills and enrichment, and 30 minutes for lunch.
Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The school operates on a three-day rotation with one day of gym, one day of music/art for half a year and one day of Spanish/STEAM for half a year.
There were no major facilities upgrades at the primary school. Outdoor seating was added to the courtyard.
The primary school utilizes the Osprey Program for behavior modification. Students earn tickets for making good choices and following rules. Three class winners are recognized each month, with the students earning a certificate and prize.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff