Glenville School Buzzing with Activity as First Day Approaches

was buzzing Wednesday afternoon with teachers, parents and students in anticipation for the first day of school, now slated for next Wednesday, September 7.

Earlier in the day, the four Kindergarten teachers at Glenville held a meet and greet from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Most of the 66 students attended with a parent.

"Excited" was one word the four teachers used to describe the students, who are reaching a "milestone."

Throughout the school, the other grades were holding "open houses" enabling their future students to venture in and say hello. Students and parents stopped by to size-up their new digs for the upcoming school year.

The teachers were suppose to start on Monday, but a visit from Hurricane Irene over the weekend closed schools to staff. Despite the unexpected day off, Principal Marc D'Amico said he received a number of responses from teachers inquiring whether they could come in
anyway.

D'Amico said that, originally, professional development was planned for Monday, which will be now be integrated into the week since "we are cognizant that it is important for teachers to feel prepared to welcome students," said D'Amico.

On Tuesday the staff participated in a full faculty meeting which included review of the teacher handbook, safety and security procedures and district policies.

Next, the staff analyzed test scores with the 4th/5th grade team looking at CMTs; the 2nd/3rd grade team examining DRPs and aligning writing units; and the K/1st grade team worked with the school's literacy specialist.

The staff enjoyed a lunch provided by the PTA, which also gave them the opportunity to focus on collaboration within the individual grades as well as across all grade levels.

Later in the afternoon an analysis of the CMT scores was presented to the staff focusing on the successes embedded within the data such as vertical scale growth. D'Amico then presented the school's improvement plan.

The teachers then prepared for Wednesday and by all measures they appeared ready. Activities for the Kindergarten meet and greet included reading stories such as Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Caps for Sale; a scavenger hunt, mathematical sorting activities and simply an opportunity to bring in school supplies.

The Glenville Kindergarten team includes Joanne Riley (28 years at Glenville); Donna Conway (12 years at Glenville); Deborah Haight (10 years at Glenville) and Sandra Menhart (3 years at Glenville).  The women all agreed that the meet and greet gets nerves out of the way quickly resulting in hardly any tears on the first day; although the tears are then usually from the parents.

Conway said she still gets butterflies in anticipation of the first day of school and that her sensory memory kicks in. "Fall, pencils and saddles shoes" instantly takes her to the start of school. 

Down the hall, a brand new teacher to Greenwich Public Schools share the first day with her third grade students: Jill Wyson, who is in her sixth year of teaching, comes to us from the Newton, Mass. district.

Wyson is as excited (if not more so) than her soon-to-be students. She has found the staff welcoming and can't wait for the 19 students to walk through her door.

Wyson says her favorite thing to teach is writing, as she can really see the personality of her students emerge. She prides herself on drawing out even the most reluctant writer.

Irene may have resulted in some flooding, loss of power and a delay in the start of school, but she didn’t dampen the spirit of the teachers nor the feeling of energy in the children as they came into their new classrooms.

Some of the older students may have even thanked her for giving them a few more days to complete their summer packets. Similar to Conway, the new school year evokes thoughts of crisp weather, empty notebooks, freshly sharpened pencils and brand new backpacks.

Memories old and memories new; Irene couldn't blow those away.