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HCSD holds informational meeting on next year's building transitions
By Andrew Amelinckx
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
HUDSON - Parents, teachers and other concerned community members were able to ask questions and gather information concerning the transitions slated for Hudson High School next term.
Starting next school year, grades seven and eight will be in the new wing of Hudson High School. Greenport Elementary will be closed and the Hudson Middle School will house grades three through six.
The Hudson City School District will also see some administrative changes.
Derek Reardon, currently the associate principal for Hudson High School, will become the principal of the new junior high.
"I'm very happy to be the ... seventh and eighth grade principal," said Reardon.
Mark Brenneman will move from being the Montgomery C. Smith associate principal - alongside Maria Suttmeier - to being the associate principal of the high school.
Suttmeier will be doing double duty as associate principal at both the middle school and junior high.
Tom Baumgartner, who is the current Greenport Elementary principal will be the principal of Montgomery C. Smith for the 2009-2010 school year.
Around 50 people were present at Hudson High Tuesday night for the informational meeting.
Reardon told them that he felt communication between the school and parents was very important.
"It's huge," he said.
He said there would be a tour of the new building in September, an open house and two parent-teacher conferences during the year.
"It's an excellent way for parents to come in and sit down with [their] kids' teachers," said Reardon. "We value the communication."
He said they would also be looking to acknowledge students' positive actions at school.
"We're looking to acknowledge that for sure in the new building," he said.
Suttmeier also spoke Tuesday.
"I'm transitioning with the students into the new building," she told the crowd. "I know them well."
She said that there were a number of services for students during the transition, including counseling services and educational support services.
Reardon also spoke about the technology available to the students in the new building.
He said there would be a number of new interactive Promethean brand whiteboards at the school.
"Almost every room will have them," he said of the large interactive displays mounted to the wall that connect to computers and projectors.
There will also be laptop carts, computer labs and video and photo editing capabilities, he said.
There were concerns of safety since the junior and senior high schools are on the same campus but Reardon said there would be many procedures in place to keep the students separated.
There will be security cameras at the two entrances to the new building.
Similarly, there have been 20 new security cameras with instant playback capabilities installed on the campus.
The junior and senior high students will remain separated from one another in the morning, during the day and after school.
Staff and security will be there to make sure, Reardon said.
The seventh and eighth graders will be entering and exiting through the new building's main entrance.
The junior and senior high schools will be sharing the same class times, from 8 a.m. to 2:36 p.m., but won't be sharing a cafeteria.
Catherine Drumm, who heads up the Food Service Office for the district, said that the new cafeterias have the same lay out for both schools and are separated by a wall.
The cafeteria will have a hot lunch meal area and a sandwich station - "like Subway" said Drumm - a salad bar, soup and chili bar and a self-service line with "grab and go" items like cheeseburgers and pizza.
"They can serve themselves," she said.
According to Drumm, free and reduced lunch students will have the same meal choices as everyone else.
"All the kids will have the other options," she said.
Hudson High School Principal Steven Spicer was present at the meeting as well, giving an overview of the changes in the high school.
He said he would miss Reardon, who had been his associate principal.
"He is an outstanding administrator," he said, adding that his replacement, Brenneman, would ably fill the hole left by him.
The high school bell schedule will be changing in order to match that of the junior high.
Other changes include a new, joint grades seven through twelve school improvement team, made up of school administrators, parents and others who will be "working on shared goals" that include improving the transition from junior to senior high, the effective use of the teaching staff, improving school communication and reviewing state assessment data.
"It's never been done before," Spicer said of the joint effort.
Like the new junior high, the high school is also seeing a lot of new technology being utilized.
The high school has 25 new Promethean boards.
"They're a flat out miracle," said Spicer. "Teachers and students love them."
There is also a new science wing and new classes in such fields as digital photography, animation and scientific investigation.
After the presentations some parents had questions, including whether construction would be finished on time.
George Keeler, the district's buildings and grounds superintendent, fielded the question, saying that they were actually ahead of schedule on the project.
Another question pertained to whether the junior and senior high schools would be sharing locker rooms. The answer from Reardon was a "no." They will be sharing the auditorium though, but, said Reardon, it was only a matter of scheduling to keep the students separated.
To reach reporter Andrew Amelinckx, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2267, or e-mail aamelinckx@registerstar.com.
HUDSON - Parents, teachers and other concerned community members were able to ask questions and gather information concerning the transitions slated for Hudson High School next term.
Starting next school year, grades seven and eight will be in the new wing of Hudson High School. Greenport Elementary will be closed and the Hudson Middle School will house grades three through six.
The Hudson City School District will also see some administrative changes.
Derek Reardon, currently the associate principal for Hudson High School, will become the principal of the new junior high.
"I'm very happy to be the ... seventh and eighth grade principal," said Reardon.
Mark Brenneman will move from being the Montgomery C. Smith associate principal - alongside Maria Suttmeier - to being the associate principal of the high school.
Suttmeier will be doing double duty as associate principal at both the middle school and junior high.
Tom Baumgartner, who is the current Greenport Elementary principal will be the principal of Montgomery C. Smith for the 2009-2010 school year.
Around 50 people were present at Hudson High Tuesday night for the informational meeting.
Reardon told them that he felt communication between the school and parents was very important.
"It's huge," he said.
He said there would be a tour of the new building in September, an open house and two parent-teacher conferences during the year.
"It's an excellent way for parents to come in and sit down with [their] kids' teachers," said Reardon. "We value the communication."
He said they would also be looking to acknowledge students' positive actions at school.
"We're looking to acknowledge that for sure in the new building," he said.
Suttmeier also spoke Tuesday.
"I'm transitioning with the students into the new building," she told the crowd. "I know them well."
She said that there were a number of services for students during the transition, including counseling services and educational support services.
Reardon also spoke about the technology available to the students in the new building.
He said there would be a number of new interactive Promethean brand whiteboards at the school.
"Almost every room will have them," he said of the large interactive displays mounted to the wall that connect to computers and projectors.
There will also be laptop carts, computer labs and video and photo editing capabilities, he said.
There were concerns of safety since the junior and senior high schools are on the same campus but Reardon said there would be many procedures in place to keep the students separated.
There will be security cameras at the two entrances to the new building.
Similarly, there have been 20 new security cameras with instant playback capabilities installed on the campus.
The junior and senior high students will remain separated from one another in the morning, during the day and after school.
Staff and security will be there to make sure, Reardon said.
The seventh and eighth graders will be entering and exiting through the new building's main entrance.
The junior and senior high schools will be sharing the same class times, from 8 a.m. to 2:36 p.m., but won't be sharing a cafeteria.
Catherine Drumm, who heads up the Food Service Office for the district, said that the new cafeterias have the same lay out for both schools and are separated by a wall.
The cafeteria will have a hot lunch meal area and a sandwich station - "like Subway" said Drumm - a salad bar, soup and chili bar and a self-service line with "grab and go" items like cheeseburgers and pizza.
"They can serve themselves," she said.
According to Drumm, free and reduced lunch students will have the same meal choices as everyone else.
"All the kids will have the other options," she said.
Hudson High School Principal Steven Spicer was present at the meeting as well, giving an overview of the changes in the high school.
He said he would miss Reardon, who had been his associate principal.
"He is an outstanding administrator," he said, adding that his replacement, Brenneman, would ably fill the hole left by him.
The high school bell schedule will be changing in order to match that of the junior high.
Other changes include a new, joint grades seven through twelve school improvement team, made up of school administrators, parents and others who will be "working on shared goals" that include improving the transition from junior to senior high, the effective use of the teaching staff, improving school communication and reviewing state assessment data.
"It's never been done before," Spicer said of the joint effort.
Like the new junior high, the high school is also seeing a lot of new technology being utilized.
The high school has 25 new Promethean boards.
"They're a flat out miracle," said Spicer. "Teachers and students love them."
There is also a new science wing and new classes in such fields as digital photography, animation and scientific investigation.
After the presentations some parents had questions, including whether construction would be finished on time.
George Keeler, the district's buildings and grounds superintendent, fielded the question, saying that they were actually ahead of schedule on the project.
Another question pertained to whether the junior and senior high schools would be sharing locker rooms. The answer from Reardon was a "no." They will be sharing the auditorium though, but, said Reardon, it was only a matter of scheduling to keep the students separated.
To reach reporter Andrew Amelinckx, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2267, or e-mail aamelinckx@registerstar.com.
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