Hopewell Valley’s four elementary schools will begin the school year on Sept. 6. Principals of the schools Bruce Arcurio, Christine Laquidara, Steve Wilfing and Dan Umstead have outlined some of the new year’s highlights and introduced new staff members
By Ruth Luse
BEAR TAVERN
ELEMENTARY
Principal Arcurio reports that Bear Tavern Elementary, which will open with about 560 students, will house a new class for students with special needs in kindergarten and first grade. "This class is a natural progression from our very successful Bear Tavern preschool program," he said.
Bear Tavern will have a new visitor entrance. In an effort to provide a greater level of safety for the youngest children in A-cluster, "we have moved the visitor entrance down the walk to the other side of the office. It will be clearly marked with a large banner that reads, ‘Visitor Entrance.’ This entrance will be the main entrance to the building after morning drop-off, which will run as it did last year. We appreciate the cooperation of the Hopewell Valley fire and police departments in ensuring that we provide a safe environment for all," Mr. Arcurio said.
A fence has been installed around three sides of the kindergarten playground to enclose the play area and ensure that students do not go too near the parking lot or Bear Tavern Road.
A new preschool play area has been placed in the courtyard outside of the library. This 30-by-30-foot area will be for the sole use of preschoolers.
There are two new Temporary Classroom Units outside of the fifth-grade classrooms to accommodate the school’s growing numbers. These spaces will house various small instruction classes.
The PTO is purchasing additional equipment for the main playground. They also are having a sound system installed in the All-Purpose Room.
About the school’s theme, Mr. Arcurio said: "Our theme over the past years has centered in the B.E.A.R.S! motto (Believing Experiencing Asking Reaching Succeeding!) This year we move to an extremely important component of our theme Experiencing. It is clear that the experiences we provide our children shape their learning and their lives."
John Dewey, educational philosopher, believed that "education is life itself," said the principal. "He believed students should be involved in real-life tasks and challenges. Dewey had a gift for suggesting activities that captured the center of what his classes were studying. I think it is clear that Bear Tavern Elementary School has always focused on creating community and developing young minds and bodies through practical approaches and real life experiences. This year we will work to highlight the experiences the children are afforded. Our committees, teachers, and students will take a look at our ‘Bear Tavern Experiences,’ and ensure that they meet our school vision and foster our goal of educating the whole child."
New staff members include:
Heidi Haldeman, school nurse, has varied experience with children and adults of all ages. She received her nursing degree from Kean University and continues her studies at Rutgers University.
Sarah Paluzzi is a three-day-per-week art teacher. She is a graduate of The College of New Jersey and has done undergraduate work at Elon University. She completed her student teaching in Montgomery Township.
Linda Bradshaw (not new to district) will teach art one day per week. She also will teach at Hopewell Elementary the other four days.
Diane Dempsey, school social worker, has prior related experiences at Mercer County Special Services. She received her undergraduate degree from Montclair State University and her master’s degree from Fordham University.
Michele Maglione, part-time LDTC, has prior related experiences at Eden Institute and Mercer County Special Services. She received her undergraduate degree from Rowan University and her master’s degree from TCNJ.
Mickey Coakley, part-time school psychologist, recently did an internship at Bear Tavern with the full-time school psychologist. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and her Ed. S. from Rider University.
HOPEWELL
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Principal Laquidara, Freddie the Frog, and the staff of Hopewell Elementary School, will greet students at 8:45 a.m. on the blacktop to celebrate the beginning of another "great year of learning." Enrollment at Hopewell is about 470 with a kindergarten enrollment of 61. Both enrollments are decreases from last year.
The PTO Welcome Back Carnival will be held Sept. 7 at 6 p.m., rain or shine. Back to School Night will be held on one night Sept. 18, using last year’s format.
The school will continue to Leap into Learning with "our ongoing focus on using research-based classroom instructional strategies that foster greater achievement and student engagement. This will include and continue our work with differentiated instruction, expanded use of nonfiction literature, and building reading strategies," said Ms. Laquidara.
"Our teachers strive to create caring and safe classroom communities with responsible, respectful students. It is our hope that these character traits are seen on the playground, buses, and in the community. We will use a team approach in building this foundation in our children, and hold them accountable for their actions, so they develop into caring, responsible teenagers and adults," she said.
Parents can look forward to the green Wednesday Communication Folder as well as increased use of electronic messages from the PTO and the principal.
The Direct Appeal fundraiser, conducted by the PTO, will be continued this year. Parents should have received new appeal information in the summer packet and may drop off donations at Back to School Night.
The school will follow the district nutrition/wellness policy, in accordance to state guidelines. This can be reviewed on the district Web site under Board Policies and there will be a summary in the district calendar/handbook. Parents who provide snacks or birthday treats should follow the nutritional guidelines.
The PTO will provide assemblies and field trips again this year. The parents and teachers already have activities planned, including the return of musician Jonathan Sprout and a Nature by the Yard workshop for all grades.
All district schools will increase safety measures by upgrading the security monitor system, adding additional cameras to the outside perimeters, and locking all doors, including front doors, and installing door buzzers on the front door for entry. All visitors will be monitored and must identify themselves and their purpose to enter prior to being admitted. They then will be allowed entry to the office where they can sign in or drop items off as necessary. Vincent Cahill, safety officer, will assist in the monitoring of visitors.
The only truly new staff member this year is Denise Elliott, school nurse. Mrs. Elliott comes from Orchard Elementary School in Montgomery where she spent several years as school nurse. "It is a much larger school than Hopewell so she is excited to be in a small community school like ours," said the principal.
Cecelia Cardano, guidance counselor, is transferring to Timberlane. Lauren Myers will return as her replacement. Mrs. Myers was at Hopewell two years ago as part-time counselor. Janet Mills is returning to Hopewell to teach primary strings, orchestra, and band.
Ida Chiaradia will use Hopewell Elementary as her base. Dr. Chiaradia is a K-five itinerant vice principal, who assists the principals in working with teachers and various curricular projects.
STONY BROOK
ELEMENTARY
Principal Wilfing expects about 490 students when his school opens.
The Valley’s youngest school celebrates a milestone this year. The very first kindergarten class at Stony Brook is now entering fifth grade.
Stony Brook has received a grant awarded from the NJ DOT for Safe Routes to School program. "We will be installing new bike racks, staff will be trained in bikes safety (these staff will then address the students). We are working with local police to ensure our crossing guard needs are met. We are working to establish a ‘walking school bus. Bus stops’ will be established where students can meet up and share the walk to school. On Wednesday mornings ‘celebrity walkers’ (including teachers, the principal, police officers, and other surprise guests) will join students on the walk. Students who walk on these days will be given a coupon that can be exchanged for a healthy snack in the school cafeteria," said Mr. Wilfing.
Stony Brook has two new SMART Boards. One will be permanently mounted in the technology lab and the other will be a portable model that will be used in various places around the building.
The school will continue its Sunrise Science and Constellations programs. Sunrise Science is a monthly 8 a.m. classes delivered by grade level from community volunteers or staff members who have specialized background in topics relevant to current science curriculum., Constellations is a bimonthly project that places 10-12 students from across each grade level (one-five) into a group that meets with a teacher from the building to engage in language arts based, community building activities.
"Each school year at Stony Brook begins with classroom conversations about setting goals for ourselves, both socially and academically, based on our individual hopes and dreams. During our final school meeting in June, our current fifth-grade friends were given a pin that featured a hand reaching for a star and the quote, ‘Nothing happens unless first you dream.’ Certainly each of us is hoping for big things from ourselves this year and according to the quote, we need to DREAM BIG," the principal said.
Members of the school community, new or old, will carry on the tradition of the "endless Search for Truth, Appreciation of Beauty and the Demonstration of Goodness and will treat person and property reasonably, respectfully and responsibly (star-cubed)."
New staff members are:
Maria Russo, grade two. She is a graduate of American University (journalism); College of St. Elizabeth’s Graduate Education Program. She is trained in Orton-Gillingham, Wilson Reading, Lindamood-Bell and Hochman Writing. She comes from the corporate world.
Katie Chin, Resource Room. She is a graduate (elementary and special education), Rider University, where she participated in track and field. She was a member of Rider Council for Exceptional Children and was a Student Athletic Mentor. She will teach math.
Brynne (Mentzer) Zachow, grade four, has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Penn State University.
Fran Szymanek, Resource Room, is a graduate of Penn State University and previously taught at Timberlane and at Bear Tavern.
Amy Orlando, grade three, is transferring from Hopewell to return to the classroom. She has five years at Hopewell and four at Toll Gate Grammar.
TOLL GATE
GRAMMAR
Principal Umstead and the faculty are planning traditional opening day festivities, which will begin on the school’s blacktop at 8:45 a.m. Parents who accompany students to school are invited to a PTO-sponsored "Welcome Back." Coffee will immediately follow the opening day celebration.
Enrollment at Toll Gate, the district’s smallest school, stands at about 320.
The Toll Gate community will spend the year "Treasuring the Many Gifts of Toll Gate Grammar School." The theme is appropriate for a variety of reasons, said the principal, who is "looking forward to a year of discovering all of the gifts that have made Toll Gate Grammar the resounding success that it is."
Throughout the year, teachers will "continue to develop effective teaching practices, with particular focus on mathematics and word study, to meet students needs and advance gifts," Mr. Umstead said.
Toll Gate students and staff will have access to two SMART Boards interactive whiteboards that connect to classroom computers and provide teachers and students with the opportunity to transfer information from the board into the software program of one’s choice. Technology teacher, Carol Olson, and the rest of the faculty are preparing for the boards’ use.
Parents will encounter increased safety measures in place at Toll Gate this year. A newly installed buzzer/intercom/video monitor will assist in regulating access to the school. A member of the front office staff will greet each visitor, permit access, and direct all to the front office to follow sign-in procedures. The school will continue its campaign to increase awareness of student safety as cars access the school’s front traffic loop, particularly during arrival and dismissal.
New staff members are:
Sarah Giallela, collaborative kindergarten teacher. This Rider University graduate just completed a maternity leave replacement for a first-grade teacher in Flemington.
Caitlyn Lally, who will serve as a maternity leave replacement in second grade. Ms. Lally has served as a substitute teacher in the building.
Sarah Paluzzi, also teaching at Bear Tavern School, and Kathleen Belton, coming from Stony Brook Elementary, will share teaching responsibilities in art.
Becky Lovett, who spends time at Stony Brook, will serve as occupational therapist.

