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New Year Means New Look At Several Area Schools By Linda Tishler Levinson
It’s a new school year, and for students in north central Connecticut that brings newly renovated, new technology and new programs. Perhaps the biggest change is in Enfield, where students in grades 9 to 12 will be welcomed to the newly renovated Enfield High School, which will serve all of the town’s high school students. Enrico Fermi High School closed at the end of the 2015-16 school year. “We’ve completed the renovations of Enfield High,” Enfield Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Schumann said. “People are really psyched,” he said, adding students and families have been touring the school, and the athletic teams have been practicing. Also among the more significant changes is the addition of full-day
Picnic Sept. 10 - See Page 20!
kindergarten in all of Ellington’s elementary schools. East Windsor Renovations have been completed at Broad Brook Elementary School in East Windsor, providing additional classroom space, Superintendent of Schools Teresa Kane said. The school system obtained an Alliance Capital Grant, she said, which funded upgrades to the older section of the school. These include a more secure entrance and upgrades to lockers, the kitchen and bathrooms. Kane said they are starting the year with 90 percent positive results on the student and parent surveys, particularly in safety and educational quality. The schools completed their five-year strategic plan one year early, she said. In October, they will begin writing a new one. Ellington In addition to the changes for kindergartners, other Ellington students will have changes in where they attend school — or for some greater continuity is the change, according to
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‘Fair’ Warning
September brings The Eastern States Exposition (featuring the Swifty Swine Racing Pigs pictured) Four Town Fair, Ellington Fireman’s Carnival to name some area favorites. Find out more in our ‘FALL FEST’ section, pages 4-9.
Superintendent of Schools Scott Nicol. As part of a two-year transition process, fifth-graders will remain in their elementary schools rather than going to Windermere School. Next year, all students in kindergarten through grade six will remain be at the elementary schools, he said. He also said the schools will be continuing to hold student-led parentteacher conferences. The elementary and middle schools
have added “maker spaces,” where creative problem-solving can be done. The high school is offering two new English electives, the Modern American Experience and the American Dream, as well as a new AP computer science course, Computer Science Principles, which explores how science and technology affect the world. Students in grades 7 to 9 will have 1-
Please see SCHOOLS /page 8
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