Cheryl Wheeler Librarian

Meadowbrook Farms and Frenchtown Prepare for the New School Year

Principal Ron Areglado - "Dr. A" - at Meadowbrook Farms Elementary is ready to welcome students back to another year. "We are going to make this a positive year for families and staff and continue to build a relationship with the community, " he said.

The only big change from last year is that students will not switch classes as much. Last year second graders changed classes for nearly every subject. This year they will go back to only switching for science and social studies. "The multiple switching of classes is not necessary for the structure this year," said Areglado.

Reading instruction will continue with flexible groupings, guided reading, and the reading-to-learn approach.

Meadowbrook has a few new Mimio-boards to use in their classrooms this year. Mimio-boards are a type of smart board. There is a technology team made up of staff and parents to try to further technology the school. "We are trying to refine our technology instruction," Areglado said.

New teachers at Meadowbrook include: Sharon Ferrara (Special Education), Ellen Garcia (Grade 2), Nathan Potter (Grade 2), Monica Jennings (Grade 3), Beth Gorter (Librarian), Patricia Winters (Reading Teacher), Michael Florio (Physical Education), and Janet Breidenbach (Music).

Frenchtown Elementary principal Cheryl Vaughn is also preparing for the start of school. She said she'll be focusing on the new teacher-evaluation system of online assessments. This is a district-wide initiative to provide data to improve instruction and student learning. "We will meet on a six-week basis to assess student learning and to allocate resources appropriately," Vaughn said.

Vaughn will also have second-grade teacher Maryann Crudale shadowing her this year. "Maryann Crudale is an aspiring principal who will be working with me through the Principal Residency Network," Vaughn said.

As for the construction in the front of Frenchtown where sidewalk are being put in, Vaughn is not sure if it will have an impact on the ability to get to the school easily the first few days of school. "I am unsure of the impact because of the approaching weather. Things may not be on schedule.

Open House New York 2010 – part one

Open House New York is an annual event which provides access to buildings in the five boroughs, which are not usually open to the public.  It is a public celebration of architecture, history, and design in New York City.  There are tours and special talks given by notable architects, planners, and designers all over NYC.  It’s usually held during the first or second weekend in October, so mark your calendars for next year!   Check out their website:  www.ohny.org for specific information and the listings for this year.  Many of  the buildings are closed to the general public during the year and the best sites require reservations, so one must act quickly when the “listing guide” becomes available on-line a week before the Open House. I was quick enough to get a reservation for Saturday morning to tour the proposed Moynihan Station project on 8th Avenue between 31st & 33rd Streets.  We had a very interesting behind-the-scenes tour of the historic Farley Post Office Building. The gigantic building is 95% empty since the post office moved their sorting operations a couple of blocks south in 2007.  The post office occupies only retail windows and the postmaster general’s offices in the front of the building, behind those magnificent columns on 8th Avenue.  The rest of the almost seven acres of property is empty! The tour was conducted by Mehul Patel who is the vice president of the Moynihan Development Corporation.  He said that the expansion project will relieve congestion for all the people who use NJ Transit, the Long Island Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad, Amtrak and the NYC subway.  Penn Station is currently one of the busiest rail stations in the world serving 600,000 passengers every day! There is enough written about the tragedy of tearing down the original magnificent pink-granite Penn Station building after only 56 of service in 1963, so I won’t bore readers with the details.  Read about it on Wikipedia.

The librarian

Wheeler and Warren families, Descendants of George Wheeler, Concord, Mass., 1638, through Deacon Thomas Wheeler, Concord, 1696, and of John Warren, Boston, Mass., 1630, through Ebnezer Warren, Leicester, Mass., 1744

Librarian

Ants, their structure, development and behavior

You've gotta have heart, achieving purpose beyond profit in the social sector