Powder Mill School principal Kim Sasso shows a Granville family a map of Powder Mill School before they tour the building. (Photo by Greg Fitzpatrick)
SOUTHWICK – The Granville students and parents attended another event on Monday night to help their transition into the Southwick schools for the 2017-18 school year.
Both Powder Mill School and Woodland School hosted open houses where Granville families would be able to meet the staff, current students, and view the entire school building.
At Powder Mill School, which is for grades three through six, Principal Kim Saso greeted the families and handed them a map of the school. Saso then followed up with a scavenger hunt that allowed the families to find different rooms throughout the school.
Saso wants the parents and students to become comfortable with their future building before they start classes next fall.
“This is a change for them, coming from a much smaller school,” said Saso.
After being greeted by Saso, the Granville families were able to stop by a student-run concession table where popcorn and water was given out.
Kai Albano, currently a sixth grader at Powder Mill, was running the concession table and offering a friendly welcome to the visitors.
Albano’s mother, Abby, is a part of the PTO (Parent-Teacher Organization) at Powder Mill. Abby found it important to have Powder Mill students present at the open house.
“There’s a face here, someone that can give them a more personal perspective than the grown-ups,” said Abby Albano.”
One of several Granville parents that were touring Powder Mill was Tiffany Bixby, who has children that will be going to the school in the fall.
“I can see that they’re excited,” said Bixby. “I think this was a great idea.”
The teachers are also looking forward to meeting their new students.
“I think everybody is really interested in getting people acclimated,” said Patty Cullen, who is a teacher at Powder Mill School.
At Woodland School, there were also a number of activities and information that was available for the incoming kindergarten through second grade students from Granville.
According to Woodland Principal Amy Fouracre, snacks were provided as well as staff being present to answer any questions for families.
Granville Village School counselor Genie Rigby and Woodland School counselor Michelle Pelletier share a laugh at Woodland School on Monday night. (Photo by Greg Fitzpatrick)
A number of teachers at Woodland and Powder Mill are also teaching at Granville Village School. Fouracre said that the Art, Music, and Technology teachers at Woodland, also teach at Granville Village School. It is a potential opportunity for Granville students to become more comfortable with some familiar faces.
“It won’t just be that they saw them (the teachers) two years ago, it’ll be like, “you worked with me last week,”” said Fouracre. “I think that will definitely help ease the transition.”
Genie Rigby, who is a school counselor at Granville Village School, has been in communication with the Woodland School counselor, Michelle Pelletier, to help her become more familiar with the Granville students.
“We’ve done a lot of work together and I’m sure that she’ll give us all the information we need to understand the community of Granville and the specific needs of her students,” said Pelletier.
Another Granville parent, Jaime Gogol, said that her daughter, Peyton, quickly became comfortable with her new school.
“She came in like she owned the place,” Gogol laughed.
The transition activities for the Granville families continue when the event, Peer Exchanges, takes place on March 28-29 at both Powder Mill and Woodland School.
