JERRY WOLKOWITZ Roosevelt Public School sixth-grade teacher Cindy Allred reviews reading materials as she awaits the return of students for the 2000-01 academic year.
ROOSEVELT — The staff and administrators at the Roosevelt Public School welcomed students to the 2000-01 academic year on Sept. 7.
"The classrooms are all organized, the floors are brightly polished and the staff is anxiously awaiting the return of many smiling faces for a new school year," Chief School Administrator Dr. Dale Weinbach said. "Some improvements will greet the returning staff and students on the first day of school."
In the last week before the new school year commenced, workers put the finishing touches on a new outdoor tetherball court on the playground, adding to the equipment already in place and preparing it for another year of use. The playground was given a new covering of mulch as part of an annual maintenance program.
"The tetherball court was made possible through the fund-raising efforts of the school’s student council, Weinbach said. "On the inside, in addition to the normal summer maintenance of the facility, we completed the installation of new carpeting in the first grade classroom."
JERRY WOLKOWITZ Dr. Dale Weinbach, chief school administrator of the Roosevelt Public School, prepares information for returning staff members as the borough school gets set for the 2000-01 academic year.
Weinbach said the routine maintenance work had to be scheduled around the use of the building for five weeks in the summer by the borough’s recreation program.
"In addition to having an immaculate building ready for use, we’ll be taking advantage of a brand new television, VCR unit and several compact disc players we earned through points by participating in an AT&T program made available by a resident."
When school started on Sept. 7, students met their new art teacher, Randi Brauner, who will work with students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
A substitute physical education teacher has been hired to replace Kathleen Masella, who is on maternity leave, Weinbach said.
"One of the wonderful things about our staff is that most of them are around the school during the summer break," Weinbach said. "Most of the classrooms are organized and ready for the students next week."
Teacher orientation, a full two-day in-service program was held on Tuesday and Wednesday before school officially opened for staff and students on Sept. 7
"We use this time to review the school’s internal operating policies and to go over state mandates, reporting procedures and new curriculum," Weinbach said. "Our teachers are well-prepared for the new school year because we concentrate on the orientation program."
This year, the school will be the site for an after-school care program administered by the YMWCA of Hightstown, running from 12:30 p.m. when kindergarten classes are dismissed until 6 p.m. The program is available to all students from kindergarten through sixth grade.
"If this program is well-received, we might consider a before-school care program in the future," Weinbach added.
The summer months saw a concentrated effort at reviewing and revising selected curriculum through teacher committee activity, Weinbach said.
"Our social studies curriculum was realigned in scope and sequence to meet new state core curriculum standards," she said. "Language Literacy, formerly known as Language Arts, also underwent a substantial review and revision."
In the area of Language Literacy, the committee created student profile packets for all pupils that will be updated annually and travel with them from grade to grade, according to Weinbach. Monitoring and graphing will be completed in the areas of speaking, listening, reading, writing and spelling on an individual basis.
Selected Language Literacy textbooks were chosen to pilot in third and fifth grades and the district’s Junior Great Books program, which is used to promote high-thinking skills, that was initially introduced in first and second grades last year, will be extended to fifth grade this year, she said.
"The district recently received state funding for the Character Education program advanced by the governor’s office," Weinbach said. "In a related matter, we will hold an in-service program conducted by the World of Difference organization, relating to bias and prejudicial attitudes and behavior, for all staff members on Nov. 7. If it goes over well, it may be extended to parents."
Activities planned for the coming school year include the annual winter and spring concerts, featuring vocal and instrumental performances. An art fair is planned for the same time as the spring concert, Weinbach said.
District officials expressed optimism that the school received a satisfactory verbal report from the school district’s auditors, for the fifth consecutive year.
"The Board of Education is excited to be participating in a voluntary local government budget review program offered by the state Department of Treasury," Weinbach said. "This group is invited into our school and will review our entire operations in an effort to make recommendations where we might be able to implement cost-effective and tax-savings measures. The board is always looking into more efficient ways to operate the school and reduce spending."
The review team is expected to start work Sept. 11 and continue for four weeks until the review is completed and a report is issued for the board to review, she said.
Back to school night for all grades is scheduled for Oct. 3.
"We may be a little place, but we always have a lot of things going on," Weinbach said.