Across the Middletown school district, improvements and upgrades planned to add to the student experience. #MiddletownRI
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Matt Sheley at (401) 842-6543 or msheley@middletownri.com
BUILDING BLOCKS FOR STRONG SCHOOL YEAR IN PLACE
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (SEPTEMBER 1, 2022) – Educational leaders across Middletown are excited about the upcoming school year.
Across the district, administrators, teachers and staff are preparing for the first day, which is officially Sept. 7.
Take Middletown High. Principal Jeff Heath announced a number of new initiatives and efforts to bring staff and students even closer together.
From partnerships with area organizations to using social media more to keep the community better informed about what’s happening at the Valley Road high school, Heath said there was a lot to be excited about.
“We're extremely excited to welcome the students back into the building and to continue building on new and engaging experiences that will help students to find meaning in their daily learning,” Heath said.
The same was true around the corner at Forest Avenue Elementary School, Principal Lisa Birkett said.
She said the school’s Parent Teacher Group has really stepped up with a strong roster of events already planned at least once a month — and more on the way. Birkett said it was nice to plan for the start of the school year without the specter of COVID-19 weighing over everything.
“We are really looking forward to returning to ‘normal; with morning recess at arrival and in school events,” Birkett said.
Back at Middletown High, Heath said the Valley Road school has worked hard over the summer to cement partnerships with the business and nonprofit community to help expand student horizons. Among those include the International Yacht Restoration School, the Potter League, Pipeline Computing Solutions, Olympic Physical Therapy, Lifespan HealthCare, The Newport County YMCA, University of Rhode Island, New England Tech, Rhode Island College, J&J Materials, McMillan Yachts, Mayflower Wind and more.
In the classroom, Heath said teachers were excited about rolling out a 100 percent brand new English curriculum including books, resources and more for grades 9-12.
In conjunction with the school’s beefed up social media presence, Heath said the high school has a new website dedicated to the Islanders athletic program that can be found here! Another dedicated to the senior projects at the school can be found here!
Heath said the high school is also attempting to secure a "Spirit Rock" that will be placed outside of the high school for community members to paint messages of support, encouragement and school culture.
There’s also plans to increase the after-school/night school culture-building and community events such as movie nights, reviving Mr. Middletown and breathing new life into the MHS Talent Show.
Furthermore, Heath said the school was working to increasing the number of field trip opportunities, particularly to local colleges and universities to collaborate with post-secondary students in a variety of areas.
Document Link: https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/5527/NYCU-School-Year
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