Back To School Goes Off Without A Hitch

It didn't look like a perfect day. With a little bit of a chill in the air, and the sun having yet to burn away the morning fog, it was nondescript, maybe a little dreary. But very quickly, as the buses rolled onto the campuses of Suffield's four public schools, everything turned out well and the fall 2011 school year began with a flourish.

Unlike many towns in the State, Suffield suffered little damage from Hurricane Irene, and few power outages to cast a pall over the return of students to their classrooms. Even the water main construction directly across the street from Suffield Middle School posed little trouble for traffic entering the school.

"It went excellently, like clockwork," said Middle School Principal John Warrington, "in fact there was less of a traffic jam than we had anticipated."

Warrington acknowledged the cooperation of the parents using the parking lot to drop off kids and said that he was extremely pleased with the way everything kicked off.

He is excited this year as an engineering lab is being debuted for a group of 8th grade students. A virtual classroom program, in its third year, is also a source of pride for the principal.

Karen Carpenter, principal at McAlister Intermediate School, also reported a flawless opening.

"We do a first day assembly around the flag pole, where we welcome new students and their families," she said.

Admitting to being a little bit nervous about the construction near the entrance to the school, she said all went exceedingly well at the opening of the school as well.

McCalister has 554 students enrolled this year, and Carpenter said she and her staff, "believe in these kids and will do all they can in helping them succeed."

With a change in leadership at the superintendent level, Carpenter looked forward to a spirit of collaboration and a student-centered focus on learning as well as the opportunity for the staff to build their capacity as teachers through professional development.

The first day of school seem to always work out, Carpenter said.

"In all the years I've been a principal, I don't remember even once when it rained."

Given all the potential obstacles, the first day of school in Suffield appears to have been a complete success.