As summer wanes, parents, children, and educators are preparing for the new school year. Weehawken has three public schools: Theodore Roosevelt School, Daniel Webster School, and Weehawken High School. All three will open this Wednesday, Sept. 7, and they’ll have some new amenities for the kids.
“We have 70 new computers for Roosevelt and Webster,” said Superintendent of Schools Kevin McLellan last week. “We will have a course in finance for 10th graders. Students will learn how to create a budget, write checks, and manage debt. We upgraded the difficulty of first and second grade tests administered in spring. We upgraded the writing and critical components. We also reviewed Rosetta Stone for grades three through six. Students are learning the French language through Rosetta Stone. We opened it up so students could log on during summer to continue their instruction.”
“Getting ready for homework is going to be like another job.” – Jocelyne Cummisky
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“Weehawken had great results from AP last year,” McLellan said. “We scored 13 percent higher than the state [average]. I am very pleased to see those results.”
Last week, local kids talked about what they were looking forward to about school starting again.
Ready or not!
Jocelyne Cummisky and her son Bailey Cummisky are new to Weehawken. Although they both are looking forward to school, Jocelyne said her family will have to make adjustments now that it’s about to start.
“Getting ready for homework is going to be like another job,” Jocelyne said.
Her son Bailey said, “I’m dreading going to bed early.”
Not everyone is worried about the upcoming school year. Carmelina Lista, the French teacher at Weehawken high School, said, “As sad as it is that summer vacation is coming to an end, I am very excited and enthusiastic about meeting my new students. I look forward to getting back into the swing of things and having a fun and enriching new school year.”
Moses D. Alvarez, the father of an elementary school student in Weehawken, is optimistic.
“What I look forward to most is a fresh new start, a new grade, a new teacher, and stimulating projects,” he said. “Having done this before, I find each oncoming year a new challenge.”
Moses’ daughter Sacha Alvarez put it in perspective.
“I’m just looking forward to doing a good job in school,” said Sacha, “and meeting new friends.”