Administrator Ivans expects to welcome 55 children on Wednesday
By Ruth Luse, Managing Editor
STOCKTON — Suzanne Ivans, Stockton Borough School’s chief school administrator, and her staff have been getting ready for opening day, Sept. 4.
Stockton will be the first of South County’s local schools to open this year. Lambertville Public, South Hunterdon Regional High and West Amwell Elementary schools will open on Sept. 9.
Ms. Ivans expects to welcome 55 children on Wednesday.
Before introducing new staff members, Ms. Ivan said: “I would like to acknowledge a Stockton School icon, our very own Miss Katie Losch, who has been teaching 25 years!”
At a recent summer teacher in-service, Ms. Losch was presented with a surprise “25-year cake.”
New staff members include:
—. French teacher Laura Richardson, who is returning to teaching after taking time off to raise her family. Not only is she certified in French, but she also has her world language certifications in Spanish and Italian.
— Shannen Kahler is the new music teacher. “In addition to her musical hats of teaching piano and serving as the accompanist and cantor for her church,” she is an international high-diving performer, Ms. Ivans said.
— Gema Kearns, the new special education teacher, is bilingual in Spanish and “has been busy taking coursework this summer in Project Read, a multisensory reading program,” noted Ms. Ivans.
The school-wide theme this year is “Travel,” which will encompass geographic travel and also Time Travel — both to the past and the future.
”This will tie into our activities to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Hunterdon County and as we look forward to our future 1:1 technology initiative,” said Ms. Ivans.
”We have been busy this summer with a variety of facility improvements, including the installation of classroom technology centers to support our iPad program, made possible by generous grants from our PTO and the LAEF (Lambertville Area Education Foundation),” Ms. Ivans noted.
”We hosted a summer iPad training series for Hunterdon teachers, which was very well attended, and offered us an opportunity to showcase our technology upgrades.
”Additionally, we have upgraded our math and English language arts curriculum and are currently working on measurements of student growth to be aligned with the Common Core Standards and the TEACH NJ act,” Ms. Ivans said.
”We look forward to an active school with a variety of field trips, sponsored by our PTO and an architectural building workshop sponsored by the LAEF,” said Ms. Ivans.
The Choice school program “is running strong and we are looking forward to welcoming both new and returning students and their families in the fall,” she concluded.
Stockton Borough School is located at 19 S. Main St., Stockton. The phone number is 609-397-2012. The website is: www.stocktonschool.us.