COLTS NECK – The Colts Neck K-8 School District has a sense of change as the 2015-16 school year begins.
The first major change took place in June with the promotion of MaryJane Garibay from her position as the district’s director of curriculum to her new post as superintendent of schools.
Garibay had served as the director of curriculum since July 2013.
The new superintendent said she will post videos on the district’s website to keep the community up to date about what is happening in its schools.
“I want to put a face to the name in order to relate to the parents and students more,” she said. “There is an excitement, a buzz about getting things started again. … I want to make everybody excited as I am.”
The district has three schools: the Conover Road Primary School, the Conover Road Elementary School and the Cedar Drive Middle School. The district’s enrollment stood at 950 pupils in 2014-15 and was reported to be 948 pupils for the 2015- 16 school year as of Aug. 26.
Administrators will introduce a One to One Technology Initiative for grades five through eight. Pupils will be issued a Chromebook computer to use on a daily basis.
“We are really excited to be able to introduce this type of learning to our students,” Garibay said.
The Board of Education recently accepted a $29,335 gift from the PTO for Chromebook computers and expenses related to that technology. Administrators said $17,759 of the donation will go to Conover Road Elementary School and $11,576 will go to Cedar Drive Middle School.
Garibay said there are significant changes to the science program for grades six through eight. For one marking period, each student will have a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) course through project Lead the Way.
According to the Project Lead the Way website, “Project Lead The Way is the nation’s leading provider of science, technology, engineering and math programs. Through world-class K-12 curriculum, high-quality teacher professional development, and outstanding partnerships, Project Lead The Way is helping students develop the skills needed to succeed in the global economy.”
Sixth-graders will have one marking period of Design and Modeling; seventhgraders will have one marking period of Automation and Robotics; and eighthgraders will have one marking period of Medical Detectives.
In Design and Modeling, students will create virtual images of designs for structures such as playgrounds and furniture.
In Automation and Robotics, students will learn about mechanical systems, energy transfer, machine automation and computer control systems.
In Medical Detectives, students will learn how to analyze genetic testing to diagnose diseases and study DNA evidence.
Garibay said administrators are implementing a new curriculum for grades three through five to “enhance the learning experience of our gifted students.”
The College of William and Mary, within its School of Gifted Education, developed the curriculum for math, English and language arts.
The district has integrated its email and operating system to Google and staff members will meet on Sept. 3 to learn the new system from Educational Technology Services.
“It’s like a pep rally. Everybody gets excited and we make sure that everybody is acclimated to the online learning environment,” Garibay said of the upcoming meeting. “It is a really exciting time in the district.”
— Peter Elacqua