Dr. Suzanne Scallion
It is hard to believe that the end of July is here and we will be opening school in a month. The midpoint of summer break is important as many younger students have begun to forget some of the things they learned this past school year. This phenomenon called the ‘summer slump’ is well known to teachers who find they need to do some ‘reteaching’ for the first few weeks in the fall. But, there are important things that parents can do at home to minimize this.
Most of all, maintain a daily ritual of reading. The message is powerful when you dedicate the time to either read or listen to your child read to you. In addition (no pun intended), there are many ways to practice math facts. Practice with: counting money; telling time; memorizing math facts; and practicing estimation and working with fractions. These are easy things to do at home. Food is a great tool for practicing fractions! Example: How to divide one 8-slice pizza for 3 people? I have noticed various practice workbooks in most bookstores in addition to puzzles, mazes, fine motor activities and more. All of these are fine if they are appropriate to your child’s abilities. Coloring, board games and card games can also enhance early learning. Most of all monitor the electronic screens. While there are many good shows and activities, less is definitely better. Your pediatrician can give you specific guidelines.
While we had final news regarding the state budget, we have no big changes to report in our status to date. The numbers are pretty close to where we left off in June. We remain committed to class sizes around 24 in grades 4 through 12 with a goal of 20 in Kindergarten through Grade 3. As our enrollment has been on a slight decline over the past few years, we are able to absorb the cuts while we maintain these commitments.
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Stefan Czaporowski as the returning Principal at Westfield Vocational Technical High School. His assistant will be Mr. Kevin Daley, former assistant at North Middle School. Stefan brings great energy and a deep commitment to Vocational Education along with a new perspective from experience in another district. All said, he is thrilled to be home and we are happy to have him back at the helm.
On behalf of the entire staff, we wish you a safe and healthy remainder to the summer. We are very busy with trainings and plans for an exciting, challenging 2012-13 school year.
Best wishes,
Dr. Suzanne Scallion, Superintendent
