Time will tell on these new programs and ideas . Love the football program idea and bike program. A Drivers Ed Program would of been a plus .
However, 200.00 is alot of money, which could end up leaving some students out .
I also think parents need to talk to there kids concerning the PULL OVER tactic .. and honor code? This school has always been about honor and shows how little they know about PVRS.
I know Templeton is watching , so whats your take Dave?
NORTHFIELD — A new school year brings not only new faces, but a host of new program changes for Pioneer Valley Regional School.
Scheduling changes, new classes, new middle school athletic programs and a life skills program for special needs students are among the adjustments.
“We’re working hard to create opportunities that will benefit our students,” Pioneer Principal Jean Bacon said.
A simple schedule For starters, seventh-grade students will experiment with a simpler schedule.
“We started hearing from teachers over the summer, ‘This really isn’t working for us,’” Bacon said of the old schedule.
Bacon said she encouraged faculty to be “creative forces” in developing a new schedule.
The new schedule features electives like physical education, band and chorus in the first and last blocks of each day, and large teaching blocks in between. Bacon said it allows for more time spent teaching and opens opportunities for common planning time with eighth-grade teachers.
An honor code Class officers, student council members and Assistant Principal Jennifer Albert Perry are working to draft an honor code to guide student behavior.
Bacon said Pioneer hasn’t had an honor code in the past, though the student handbook has a section on academic honesty. The honor code would focus more on how students and staff should treat one another.
“We want to make it a project of the students to articulate what our values are,” Bacon said. “We really want to articulate what is acceptable behavior and what is not acceptable behavior.”
Bacon said the administration is seeking additional staff and student input as the school year begins.
Curriculum changes Entering the 2016-2017 school year, students will have the opportunity to take journalism and advanced placement physics.
The physics course is offered as part of a partnership with Boston University. The course is online, taught by Boston University faculty, with an in-house class period. Bacon said the 12 students currently enrolled in the course will complete independent labs under the supervision of Pioneer science teacher Carol Sacco.
“We hope that one day soon we can offer our own AP curriculum,” Bacon said.
Students enrolled in a new journalism elective taught by English teacher Matthew Despres will work on composing a student newspaper.
Athletic advances Both a bicycle program and football program will offer new opportunities for middle schoolers.
Pioneer will be receiving 30 new bicycles from the Specialized Foundation. According to the foundation’s website, the nonprofit organization supports research that investigates how aerobic exercise — specifically, cycling — can become an integral part of a comprehensive treatment program for children suffering from attention deficit problems.
Through the foundation’s Riding for Focus grant program, eight middle schools across the country were selected in June to receive up to 30 youth bikes and helmets, a starter maintenance kit, program curriculum and a partnership with a local retailer to help service the bikes. Pioneer was selected from an original pool of about 200 schools, according to the foundation’s website (www.specialized.com/us/en/advocacy).
The program will be spearheaded by school psychologist Alyssa Blum and guidance counselors Peggy Fallon and Matt Soycher.
Athletic Director Gina Johnson is implementing a middle school football program, the roster for which currently includes 22 students.
Johnson believes having a middle school football program will encourage outside students to come to Pioneer and will improve the school’s existing varsity program by giving students experience earlier than the ninth grade.
“By that time, it’s really tough for a kid to come into a really tough sport,” Johnson said.
With help from varsity football coach Paul Worth, all helmets were donated to Pioneer, a $2,700 value, Johnson said. Parents of the students were asked to cover the cost of shoulder pads, jerseys and pants, which amounted to $200 per athlete. The school district will cover the remaining cost of transportation to games and game officials.
Johnson said Richard Burgh, former coach of the Greenfield Bulldogs and a former middle school baseball coach for Pioneer, will coach.
Johnson currently has four games arranged for the fall, believing a smaller schedule will serve the players well as a way to “get their feet wet.”
Learning life skills Under the supervision of inclusion specialist Claire Brennan, Pioneer is also implementing a life skills program for the benefit of its special needs students.
“We had a couple of students who we had to send elsewhere because we just don’t have the facilities here,” Brennan said. She proposed adding a life skills program near the end of last school year.
Students in the program will learn how to make a bed and make their own meals. It will also provide them with opportunities to gain work experience, do laundry, deliver supplies to teachers, assist custodians and oversee collecting and depositing vending machine money.
Currently, Brennan is operating the program out of her office, room 118, where there will soon be a kitchenette and twin bed. Cooking will be done upstairs in the culinary classroom.
Brennan said she suspects 11 students will be involved.
Within three years, Brennan hopes to have a physical space specifically for the program, complete with a stove, refrigerator, washer, dryer and sink.
She also hopes it may lead students from other districts to “choice” themselves into Pioneer.
