South School's transition goes smoothly
Published on September 30th, 1998
STONEHAM, MA - The start of a new school year always entails a little bit of adjustment. That is particularly true this year for South School students who have had to adjust to a whole new neighborhood.
With the impending demolition and rebuilding of the South School building on Summer Street, its student body, faculty and staff have moved to temporary quarters at Stoneham High School for the duration.
That move, according to South School Principal Dr. Paula Sline, has proved to be a great success thus far.
"It has gone superbly well...better than we ever expected," said Sline.
A section of the High School building, which housed until just recently four high school classrooms, a computer room and offices, is now accommodating all of South School. Sline called the make-shift space much brighter and nicer on the whole than the former quarters. One highlight of the new space is that each student now has access to a locker. Sline said that this is very popular with the students.
With this year's cut in school funded busing, traffic outside of all Stoneham schools has increased and the high school is no exception. The differences in start and end times for the two Schools sharing a campus, according to Stoneham High School Principal Tom Ryan, has staved off some of the vehicular congestion on campus.
Sline agreed, stating "Franklin Street, of course, is no picnic," but that in general, everything has gone remarkably well.
"We have a wonderful cadre of parent volunteers," praised Sline who is grateful to the parents who have volunteered their time in assuming the duties of hallway monitors and helping with the additional traffic inside the building.
These volunteers, she said, have allowed the teachers to focus on classroom work.
Ryan reported that the only other significant adjustment has been the search for alternate routes to classrooms for some High School students, since a familiar corridor has now been taken over by the younger students.
"The logistics have been well thought out," stated Ryan.
With both elementary and High School students sharing common spaces, such as the cafeteria and gymnasium, congestion has been alleviated with careful planning of schedules. Each school has its own time frame for use of those areas and this, said Sline, has worked out well.
"For the first time, we really have a gym," she added.
Up to this point, South School gym classes were held in a room Sline estimated to be six times smaller than the High School gymnasium.
Other unexpected benefits have concerned the physical layout of the elementary school space and the interaction with High School students.
According to Sline, supervision inside of South's quarters has been relatively easy since all students are on one floor. In addition, the lack of a public address system has not turned out to be the problem that it was once anticipated to be due to the proximity of the classrooms.
Interaction between students of the two schools has also been a pleasant surprise. According to Sline, High School students have helped out in the playground at recess as well in the South School offices.
Ryan stated that as time goes by, more opportunities will arise for such collaboration, particularly with the High School Childhood Education and Community Service programs.
High School art teacher, Ted Schwalb, will be having his art students design an entry way into South School's quarters.
"This will show that we're an elementary school...It will set us apart," said Sline of the thoughtful project.
Jill Albiani, parent of a South School third-grader, is pleased with the new quarters.
"I think it's great. The classrooms are bigger than in the old building...The kids are just happy that they have some room," she said .
An issue being considered by the School Committee, but which is merely in the conversation stage at this point, according to Sline, is investigation into finding two additional classrooms at the High School for South School use.
This would allow current third graders to stay put for another year, before the new South School is completed. In recent years, South School has sent its fourth and fifth graders to Robin Hood School due to space constraints of the old South School building.
Under this proposal, current third graders will experience less physical move. School Superintendent Joseph Connelly is researching the ramifications of the proposal.
Sline credited the High School administration for being wonderful to work with in making the South School's move such a success.
In addition, she stated, "The parents are delighted because kids are delighted...they're really enjoying it."
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