Teachers have been getting ready for the first day, too.
By: Madeleine Johnson
Not all of the new faces in the South Brunswick schools will be those of students approximately 65 new teachers are looking forward to their first day of school, too.
"It’s really exciting," Monmouth Junction second-grade teacher Alana Black said on Wednesday, the day before schools open in South Brunswick.
Ms. Black began working in the South Brunswick schools in January by filling in for a first-grade teacher on maternity leave, and now she’s looking forward to being a full-time teacher with her own classroom.
"I’m excited that I didn’t get to do the first day last year" as a temporary teacher, she said. "I get to introduce them to the school this year."
Some of South Brunswick’s other new teachers come to the district with experience, too, such as fifth-grade teacher Suzanne Libourel Hirst and Lisa Manganello, who will be a librarian at South Brunswick High School, Brooks Crossing at Deans and Indian Fields at Dayton.
"I used to work for Princeton University and I’ve taught at the community college level," Ms. Manganello said on Aug. 24. "I wanted to work with kids and I love kids, so I decided to go for the school librarian position."
Ms. Libourel Hirst taught for four years in Franklin Township, after working as a school psychologist, and will now be a fifth-grade teacher at Brunswick Acres.
"I used to be a school psychologist, but I really wanted more contact with kids," she said on Wednesday.
Ms. Libourel Hirst’s daughter, Maike, is a seventh-grader at Crossroads South, and is why she decided to begin working in the South Brunswick school district.
"My daughter is in the South Brunswick schools and, from the things I’ve seen her doing, I got the sense that the model for instruction was similar to what my teaching theories are," she said. "I think children should experience hands-on learning and authentic reading and writing."
Ms. Black is equally as pleased with what she has seen from the South Brunswick schools.
"There’s a lot of support in the system. The other teachers are all really helpful with setting up the classroom, and the kids are great, too," she said.
Before beginning the 2007-2008 school year, all of the new teachers had to go through a series of workshops to help them become acquainted with the district.
"I attended a number of workshops that were specifically addressing the curriculum. They were really helpful to see what the focus is for South Brunswick and what they really want the students to achieve," Ms. Manganello said. "Also, they did a lot of area orientation and, since I’m not from the area, it was nice to get a sense of where my students are coming from."
Ms. Black found that the workshops helped reinforce and explain what she figured out during her first experience with the South Brunswick schools.
"I just kind of came in last year and had to pick stuff up, and actually going to the workshops, you found out about all the little details in the school’s programs," she said.
Ms. Libourel Hirst enjoyed learning that her teaching methods are, indeed, similar to the district’s curriculum.
"In South Brunswick, they really differentiate between the curriculum and the textbook," she said. "I really like that emphasis on what the children need to learn rather than what you have available to teach them. You’re more focused on each individual child and how they learn."
She hopes that she is able to impart both academic and life lessons to her students.
"I’d like to instill in the children the idea that respect is something you earn and you give, and that respect goes hand-in-hand with responsibility, and that you take responsibility for your actions. All of that ties into having the children be proud of who they are," Ms. Libourel Hirst said.
Having spent the summer getting ready buying books for their classrooms, brushing up on the topics they’ll be teaching, getting three different libraries in order the three teachers are ready for the school year to begin. And they all have a good handle on their goals and what they expect from their first year as South Brunswick teachers.
"I would like to see the spark in every student that shows that they’re really jazzed. It’s like the light bulb over their head. I’d like to see that from every student as least once, hopefully more," Ms. Libourel Hirst said. "I’m looking forward to teaching ancient history this year. I don’t know as much about it, and I think it’s important that my students know that I don’t know everything."
Ms. Manganello is eager to help her elementary and high school library-goers become more enthusiastic about the materials to which they’re exposed.
"My goal, as a librarian, is that I want to get kids reading. I want them to really love books and I want them to love the search for information," she said.
Ms. Black can’t wait to help her students use the basics they learned last year to explore the education they’ll receive this year.
"It’s going to be exciting to use what they learned and see them apply it and make a lot of discoveries on their own," she said. "I want to make sure they feel comfortable in the classroom and make sure it’s a safe and fun learning environment so they’ll want to come to school every day."

