Administrators and teachers get ready for first day of school.
By: Josh Appelbaum
There was a flurry of activity this week at Cranbury School as teachers, administrators and staff got busy hanging bulletin boards, drawing up lesson plans and attending professional development workshops in preparation for the first day of school, set for Wednesday.
Most teachers had unpacked boxes, placed books on their shelves and wired the bevy of Macintosh and Dell computers in their classrooms this week, and chatted with colleagues they hadn’t seen all summer.
The professional development workshops for new teachers and staff held Wednesday and Thursday stressed recognizing the individual needs of students as well as classroom instructional, management and discipline methods.
However, professional development at Cranbury School isn’t just for new teachers. Several veteran teachers have taken graduate level courses to enrich the classroom experience for students, and courses on how to use technology more fluently in class.
Teachers also were busy putting the finishing touches on their classrooms.
"I’ve already unpacked all of my boxes and put up my bulletin boards," fifth-grade teacher Jane Papszycki said. "Now I’m just doing the cute stuff, the fine tuning."
She said good preparation makes for a smooth opening day and organization gets students into their classroom routines more easily.
Ms. Papszycki said the fifth-graders also will participate in an in-class anti-bullying workshop that will be conducted the first week of school.
Linda Weber, who along with Ms. Papszycki and Amanda Ackerman teach the fifth-grade class, said being organized and welcoming on the first day of school helps students get off to a good start.
"For me, I’ve always done well when I was comfortable in school," Ms. Weber said.
She and Ms. Papszycki said they are working to ensure students are ready to be challenged in the classroom.
"The work should be challenging, but not frustrating," Ms. Papszycki said.
To that end, the fifth-grade teachers will be focusing more on student-centered learning, where students are able to work together on classroom exercises and individualized, one-on-one instruction. In addition, the teachers are implementing a component to their classroom instruction, called Habits of the Mind, meant to get students in the right mindset for success in school and life.
"It’s been proven that successful people possess certain habits of the mind," Ms. Papszycki said. "By introducing these habits such as being accurate and persistent the students can use these habits throughout their lives."
She said these concepts also lend themselves to good study habits. Ms. Papszycki and Ms. Weber are looking to implement these concepts after completing graduate course work from Mary Grove College, a distance learning institution.
Ms. Weber said the fifth-grade teachers will also use more technology in the classroom and will focus on student-centered learning.
She said computer and Web-based learning is well suited to the world.
"Today, students are globally educated," Ms. Weber said. "They pool knowledge for a lot of different resources."
Ms. Weber said students will often work in small groups, with teachers moving from group to group for more individualized attention.
"Students are responsible for their own learning," Ms. Weber said. "We’re just the facilitators."
First year Cranbury School fourth-grade teacher Lisa Csatari said she’s planned a series of first day activities to get acquainted with her students.
"We’re going to have fun for the first couple of days," Ms. Csatari said. "We’re just going to get to know each other. We’ll do things like share our favorite colors and favorite foods. Nonacademic things to get them comfortable with the classroom and their surroundings."
Ms. Csatari said she’s gotten a friendly response from veteran teachers at Cranbury.
"I’ve felt very welcome so far," Ms. Csatari said. "It’s a friendly staff. They’ve been very inviting."
She said fourth-graders are set to learn about the history of New Jersey in social studies and will read "Sarah, Plain and Tall," for language arts. Students will also learn about metric measurement for applications in science and math.
But Ms. Csatari is most eager to meet with the parents of her new students.
"I’m excited to hear that the parents are very involved with the school environment," Ms. Csatari said. "I can’t wait until Back to School night on Sept. 12. It’ll give me a chance to explain to parents how my love of their child is like theirs."
For Catherine Elliott, Cranbury School’s new health and physical education teacher, professional development was an opportunity to acquainted with her new colleagues.
"I think the entire atmosphere is great," Ms. Elliott said. "Everyone has been very helpful and information is easy to access. The teachers have been readily available."
A health and physical education teacher for eight years, Ms. Elliott is comfortable with her instructional approach in the classroom, but said the school’s professional development was helpful.
"This is the third school district I’ve worked," Ms. Elliott said. "But it’s a good refresher. You get helpful tips and suggestions."
Jaclyn DiLouie, the new vocal and general music teacher, is looking forward to putting all her energy in educating students in Cranbury. Last year she worked part-time at the Catholic Diocese of Trenton and various churches in the area. This year she will teach upper grade music and serve as the music director for the spring musical.
A West Windsor resident, Ms. DiLouie knows many Cranbury residents through her work as a choir leader at various churches in the area.
"It’s funny because a lot of people recognize me from their churches," Ms. DiLouie said.
Ms. DiLouie said she plans to review some basic musical concepts in the first few days of school and assess students on their ability.
"I’m going to pick up where (former music teacher) Mary Mittelstadt left off," Ms. DiLouie said. "It’ll be an easy-going start."
Although Ms. DiLouie is confident in her teaching abilities, she’s thankful for Cranbury School’s professional development program.
"We got a lot of good tips as far as classroom management and discipline," Ms. DiLouie said.
For upper grade Resource Room teacher Andrea Kaplan the priority is to get students acclimated to the middle school setting.
"They need to get used to switching classes, rather than having everything in one room," Ms. Kaplan said.
Upper grade Math teacher Judy Huston said it can be overwhelming for some students to adapt to the change.
"There’s a lot to get used to," Ms. Huston said. "It’s not just getting to know the hallways, it’s the interaction with all of the different teachers."
Ms. Huston said she’s had a busy summer working on integrating new hands-on educational methods and pre-algebra into the seventh grade math curriculum. She said sixth-graders last year worked with a similar curriculum to good results.
"It was very successful in sixth grade, and we’re hoping for the same reaction in seventh grade," Ms. Huston said.
Ms. Huston said the new seventh-grade program will incorporate more technology and group activities.
Both Ms. Huston and Ms. Kaplan attended Apple Computer training to learn how to use Macintosh computers in their lesson plans.
"We learned how to incorporate programs like iTunes, iPhoto and iMovie in our lessons," Ms. Kaplan said. "It should be a pretty fun year."