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In Buena Regional 8/28/04 Classes in the Buena Regional School District start on Sept. 7. Here's what principals say parents and students can expect this year: Donini ElementarySchool goals include raising reading and math scores, increasing parental involvement and advancing the integration of technology into instruction. Character education will be emphasized and a new social studies program will be implemented. The theme for Donini throughout the year will be "Reading is Special Everyday." The RISE committee, comprised of parents and teachers, plans to organize special reading events throughout the year. Collings Lakes ElementaryTeachers are busy preparing their classrooms with materials to promote this year's schoolwide theme -- a patriotic one with a focus on red, white and blue. It not only coincides with the fall presidential election, but also serves as a salute to troops in Iraq. Teachers will participate in the second year of a Customized Professional Development Grant designed by the Educational Technology Training Center and Richard Stockton College, which is designed to assist educators with teaching and technology skills. A new social studies program will be implemented in grades K-5. Also, Collings Lakes Elementary has submitted an application to be considered by the state as a Governor's School of Excellence. Edgarton Memorial ElementaryGoals for this year include achieving Pupil Performance objectives and the full-year implementation of Edgarton's new Gifted and Talented program. Milanesi ElementaryThe school is in its second year of implementing the Success for All -- Math Wings Program, which aims to increase the math achievement levels of students. The program provides research-based curriculum materials, professional development services in strategies for instruction and assessment, and methods for building active family involvement. Due to the school's markedly improved test scores on the NJ ASK 4 test, an application has been submitted to the state to be named a Governor's School of Excellence. Also, a new social studies series is being implemented in grades K-5. Cleary Middle SchoolCleary has a new principal, Kenneth Nelson, an Egg Harbor Township resident who served as vice principal for the past four years and was a social studies teacher at the high school for more than two decades. Danielle F. Sneathen has been named vice principal. The Buena resident has been an educator for the past 10 years, teaching social studies at the Delsea Regional, Vineland 9-10 and Buena Regional high schools. Cleary celebrates its 76th anniversary this year. Teachers will begin to fully utilize the computerized grading system, Power School, and parents and guardians should have access to students' grades by the end of the second marking period. A donation from the PTO will allow Cleary to begin participating in Channel 10's Weather Net Program. Students also will have the opportunity to participate in girls and boys cross country, a new addition to the school's athletic program, which already includes field hockey, wrestling and basketball. Students will no longer have the cycle course "Applied Science." Every effort was made to maintain the course, officials said, but the teacher who previously taught it has retired and budget constraints prevented a replacement from being hired. Two other staff members also weren't replaced due to a lack of funding, thus forcing increased class sizes in some cases, officials said. Buena Regional High SchoolA third year of Graphic Design has been added to the technology curriculum for the coming year. A new freshmen orientation program -- called Student Transitions Achieve Reassurance & Success -- was implemented during the summer, allowing incoming freshmen to get an intensive, one-day look at the school.
BUENA REGIONAL: After-School options could be expanded 8/23/04 BUENA VISTA -- The Buena Regional School District could offer a diverse menu of after-school activities next year for its elementary and middle school students. The programs under consideration could begin as soon as February and serve about 200 students with offerings that range from physical exercises to art projects. Board of Education members recently gave district officials the go-ahead to apply for a $700,000 grant that would bring after-school programming to J.P. Cleary Middle School. In the meantime, the board is weighing the possibility of entering into a joint partnership with one of two organizations that could offer after-school activities at one of the elementary schools. The board is considering joining forces with the Cumberland Cape Atlantic YMCA or with Atlantic Rural Development Coalition, a community-based agency that until recently had a contract to operate the township-owned Martin Luther King Center in Newtonville. Both groups have expressed an interest in hosting after-school programs for elementary students in the district. Depending on the school board's final decision, one of the groups could then apply for grant money offered by New Jersey After 3, a new state initiative that allows nonprofits to partner with schools to expand after-hours programs for students. What the school board will decide remains unclear. "It's tough to tell," Superintendent Diane DeGiacomo said. "My first concern is always the kids, and making sure the kids are protected in some way. Some kids do go home to empty houses, and it's particularly valuable at the middle school level." Although school board members have agreed to pursue grant money for a middle school program, a meeting to discuss the pros and cons of hosting an elementary after-school program revealed they have plenty of unanswered questions. Their concerns include possible wear and tear on facilities, custodial costs, students' interest levels and transportation. But an easy solution may lie in a federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant the district is pursuing. That $700,000 grant would fund not only the after-school program at Cleary but could cover any extra costs incurred from the proposed elementary program. Also, the district could distribute a survey to parents at the beginning of the school year to gauge the interest level. Another advantage is that having programs at both levels might increase the district's chances of success in its application for state aid. The YMCA has submitted a project abstract outlining a K-3 after-school program for students throughout the district. The program envisions offering students academic support, physical exercise, a nutritious snack, community service projects, and artistic and cultural activities, said Lisa Scheetz, director of operations for the nonprofit YMCA. Activities could reinforce school lessons, giving students a better understanding of what they learned in the classroom, Scheetz said. Parental involvement would be encouraged through family-oriented activities such as decorating pumpkins and designing family trees, she said. The YMCA has experience offering such programs. Currently, 60 students from Vineland public schools and local Catholic schools are bused to the YMCA's main branch in Vineland to participate in before- and after-school programs run there. Originally, the YMCA proposed an elementary-aged program based at Collings Lakes Elementary School, but that has since changed to Milanesi School, which would offer more room for such activities, DeGiacomo said. The school already is home to an after-school latch-key program serving about 30 pupils. Meanwhile, the ARDC board is pondering whether to pursue running an after-school program at Collings Lakes Elementary, said Executive Director Robert Hadley on Sunday. "We're thinking about it, but we're not really sure," he said. Such a program would be offered in conjunction with the Boys & Girls Club, said Hadley. The ARDC program would augment activities currently offered at the Martin Luther King Center, where the organization assisted a township employee who oversaw movie nights, field trips and an after-school drill team, Hadley said.
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Address: Buena Vista Township
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