'Fabulous' First Day of School in East Granby

The first day of school in East Granby was “fabulous” according to Superintendent of Schools Christine Mahoney.

The school district did not run into many of the problems of neighboring towns because its first day was Thursday instead of earlier in the week, when power outages and flooded or damaged roads from Hurricane Irene pushed back start dates a day or two.

In addition, Irene didn’t hit East Granby as hard as other communities, as only 4 percent of the town’s CL&P customers lost power.

“[The first day] was wonderful,” Mahoney said. “The children were excited, the staff was excited. The bus runs were fine.”

Among the new additions this year in East Granby is a new principal, Cheri Burke, at the R.D. Seymour Elementary School.

According to a press release, Burke served at the elementary and middle school levels as a teacher, literacy specialist, international baccalaureate coordinator and instructional leader in West Hartford and Ellington.

“I am a teacher at heart and believe strongly that all decisions should be made in the best
interest of children to ensure a positive teaching and learning environment,” Burke wrote in a statement to parents.

Tara Nichols is a new guidance counselor at the elementary school level, and two new full-time teachers, Jim Dudack and Laureen Dubrowski, joined the staff at East Granby High School, according to Mahoney. Dudack will teach social studies, while Dubrowski will teach high school science.

Finally, Mahoney said that the school district was “very excited and is awaiting” to start Phase II of the expansion project at Seymour, which will begin sometime in October.

Phase II will consist of building four new classrooms at the school, though Mahoney said that it has not been determined what grades those new classrooms will house.

“Everyone is looking forward to working with the children and having a successful year,” Mahoney said.