New Classrooms Provide A New Start For Some At The Middle School

By Tanjua Damon

“I love it. I went from the Holiday Inn to the Ritz Carleton,” Valerie Pachniuk, sixth grader teacher at Newtown Middle School, said about the new classrooms that just opened at the school.

It was like the first day of school again for students in clusters 7-E and 6-E at the middle school this past week as the students moved to their newly constructed classrooms after spending a month in the Library Media Center. The middle school is home to more than 1,200 students this year and two new clusters had to be created.

Cluster 6-E moved into their classrooms last Wednesday. The two teachers, Ms Pachniuk and new teacher Janet McCabe, are glad to be in their rooms and are pleased with the outcome.

“[They are] beautiful,” Ms McCabe said. “[We’re] happy to be in them.”

Sixth grade students are glad to have their own space, even though the smell of fresh paint lingers in the air. The classrooms are located in space formally occupied by the Board of Education offices.

“I like it,” Jennifer Tichon said. “It kind of smells a little bit though.”

Cluster 7-E, under the direction of Nancy Martin and Jonathan Bauer, spent the weekend organizing their classroom for the students who entered for the first time on Monday.

“I like it. It’s different. It’s better than a lot of the classrooms I’ve been in,” student Kyla Miles said. “It’s peaceful and quiet.”

Brian Pennarola was glad that the students in the cluster have more space and a place to call home.

“I like the classrooms especially more than the library because it was cramped,” Brian said. “I was in the dungeon last year so I’m used to the isolation. It’s quiet. It’s going to be easier. It’s going to be a good experience.”

Newtown Middle School Principal Diane Sherlock is proud of her staff and students for their patience and getting down to business even though they did not have a place of their own when school started.

“To begin with, we are so excited to have four new classes because we’re so overcrowded it really allows us to spread out,” Mrs Sherlock said. “I need to give tribute to the four teachers as well as the students. They have functioned normally since school started. They really deserve kudos. No time was wasted.”

The clusters will be taught in a two team-teacher setup, unlike the rest of the school where four teachers are in one cluster. The two teachers each teach two subjects – English/social studies and math/science.

“It’s bright and the classroom space is large,” Mrs Sherlock said. “It will be a wonderful place for students to learn.”

By the end of the day both students and teachers were thrilled to have their own classrooms and were enjoying the new space. Seventh graders were also feeling more confident about the two teacher cluster.

“It was strange because you go from being totally crammed to being all spread out. It felt good to be in a real classroom,” Amanda Krause said. “It’s different [with] the two teachers. It’s easier because there are less people. At first I thought it would be worse, but it’s actually better.”

Nathaniel Basch-Gould has found himself for a second year in an isolated area, but he does not mind being a separated from the rest of the school.

“I don’t mind it. I was kind of hoping for a normal situation, but this is good,” Nathaniel said. “It’s different because the library seemed more spacious. It’s somewhat the same because we are all together and it’s not two separate classrooms.”

Amy Rosentel thinks the atmosphere is more like a family and more adaptable because it is a smaller group than a regular cluster size.

“I like it. It’s like a big family,” she said. “Last year in sixth grade you would say someone’s name that was not in your class, but they were in your cluster. We know everyone’s names. It’s our own little spot.” The teachers are also enjoying their new found space and are glad that the moving process did not affect the students.

“It was really nice. It gave us a good sense of belonging. It was really nice to have a home and not be homeless any longer,” Mrs Martin said. “To see the kids in different subjects, you see the kids in a whole package. You see the qualitative as well as the quantitative.”

Mr Bauer agreed that having a classroom helps the students stay on track.

“The kids responded completely different in their own space,” he said. “It was a good day.”