1995 Town Report - Proctor School

Northborough, MAssachusetts
Proctor School Report
December, 1995

Patricia Dingwall, Principal

During the 1994-95 school year, Proctor students spent a rewarding, exciting and interesting year integrating with faculty and students at Algonquin High School. On Tuesday, August 29th, 1995 students walked through the doors of a brand new Proctor School. What had been a construction site for over a year was transformed into an inviting and stimulating educational environment for the Proctor community.

The new Proctor School was expanded in addition to being fully renovated. Four new classrooms were added and were built to resemble the existing space, complete with storage facilities, new electrical wiring and heating vents. Lockers for the students' personal belongings were built in the hallways allowing for maximum use of classroom space.

The design of the building incorporated a separate cafeteria and gymnasium. This has allowed for more flexibility of scheduling and provides space for creative movement as well as the teaching of traditional skills for recreational and sporting activities. A stage, recently installed in the cafeteria will enable our students to share the joys of drama, music and movement with an audience of parents, teachers, peers and invited guests.

Furniture arrived late in November for our brand new Library/Media Center. Books have been ordered and we anticipate the opening of a fully automated facility, for reading enjoyment and for research purposes, early in the new year. The Library Committee, established last year and now chaired by our Librarian, Mrs. Anzaldi, remains an integral part of the school as it reviews requests and anticipates the requirements of this establishment consistent with our curriculum guidelines and educational philosophy. It is our intention to have the center open throughout the day for students, teachers, staff and parents to enjoy. A selection of professional books have been purchased for both parents and teachers and we hope to add videos, magazines, compact discs etc., as the years progress.

One of the district's Guiding Principles states that:Technology provides important tools for enriching the learning process.

Our Technology Committee is in the process of creating a computer lab where students, parents and teachers will have access to information from across the state and around the world. Students will be able to communicate with colleagues in all areas of the globe as they research the latest developments in science, find out about the most recent techniques in medicine and check the weather forecast in Northborough, South Island New Zealand or in the Amazon Rain Forest. Multi-media presentations will shortly become the norm for our students as we move towards the next century.

A purpose-built Art Room and Music Room were also added. Teachers at each grade level were given time in their schedules to plan curriculum initiatives together. Art, Music and Gym are no longer being treated as separate subject areas but are being integrated across the curriculum whenever possible. Selected Literature is being read by the classroom teacher, acted out during Music or Gym class, drawn or painted during the Art period and written about or responded to during classroom discussion time. We strongly believe that:
Parposeful interaction is a vital ingredient to student tearning.

Due to a redistricting initiative in town, the Proctor enrollment increased by over eighty students this year and currently stands at three hundred and thirty-nine students. We have fourteen full-time classroom teachers and as many as twenty support staff on any given day. The Proctor School Advisory Council is conscious of its new members and of their new environment. Therefore, in addition to considering the budget and school improvement plan, the council is focusing on ways to build the culture of a new school and to establish traditions while not losing sight of what has gone before. A handbook committee has recently been established and will begin work in the new year to write a comprehensive booklet which will answer for parents many of the concerns around the day to day running of this educational facility.

Parent volunteers are encouraged to work in classrooms with students, help with special projects, chaperone field trips and interact with students and teachers throughout the school. The Parent Teacher Organization remains active and continues to raise funds to enhance the learning environment for all students. Most recently teachers were each given a sum of money to purchase items for their classrooms, books were donated to the new Library and money was allocated for the new Playground which is currently in the final stages of design.
All students are held to high expectations and standards.
Foundations being laid this year will serve the school for many years to come, therefore, everyone connected with the school, students, parents, faculty and staff members and the school administration are working together to create the best possible of all learning environments for the students who will pass through our doors and for those adults who will continue to leam while working at the Proctor School.