Published in the September 9, 2015 edition
THIRD GRADERS, from left, Lily White, Kayla Santo, Nicole Sorrentino, Ariana Atsales, Julia Corrente, Isabella Shrewsbury, Bridget Murray, Erin Higdon and Keighley Neumeyer were thrilled to be back at Huckleberry Hill School on the first day of school on Sept. 1. (Dan Tomasello Photo)
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — With local students officially back in class, the number of Lynnfield students hitting the books this year has increased.
All four Lynnfield schools formally opened their doors for the 2015-2016 school year for students in grades 1-12 on Tuesday, Sept. 1. Preschool and kindergarten students returned to school on Wednesday, Sept. 2. Superintendent of Schools Jane Tremblay said all four of the town’s schools opened smoothly.
“The buildings are ready, the students are ready and the faculty is ready,” said Tremblay at last week’s School Committee meeting. “We could not be in any better shape for the 2015-2016 school year.”
According to enrollment figures released by the school department, there are 2,181 students enrolled in the town’s four schools.
The enrollment figures revealed Lynnfield Middle School has the highest enrollment of the town’s four schools with 697 students enrolled in grades 5-8. Lynnfield High School has the second highest enrollment with 645 students enrolled in class.
The data released by school officials revealed there are 436 students enrolled at Summer Street School. Huckleberry Hill School has 403 students enrolled in class this year.
Tremblay said the school system has welcomed 77 new students this year. She said there are 22 new students at Huckleberry Hill School, 21 at Summer Street School, 20 at LMS and 14 at LHS.
“That is a lot of new students we had move in,” said Tremblay. “We usually get a pocket but we had a lot of students move in across the district.”
In addition to the 14 new students enrolled at LHS, Tremblay said five foreign language students are enrolled at the high school as part of the Educatius International program.
Tremblay said three of the students are boys and two are girls. She said the students are from Italy, Germany and Spain. She said two students will be studying at the high school for a semester while three will be enrolled at the high school for the entire year.
LMS honors Sonny
The middle school’s fifth graders did something very sweet on the first day of school that did not involve the annual PTO sponsored ice cream social.
A large number of fifth graders wore orange attire in memory of 10-year-old Benjamin “Sonny” Tropeano, who passed away unexpectedly in July. During the ice cream social, the LMS cafeteria was transformed into a sea of orange.
Middle School Assistant Principal Richele Shankland informed the Villager the fifth graders undertook the kind-hearted gesture to honor their friend and classmate.
A positive day
Tremblay said she spent the first day of school visiting all four schools along with Police Chief David Breen and school resource officer Patrick Curran.
“The three of us were all over town today greeting students, talking with parents and talking with the faculty,” said Tremblay. “It was just a great feel good day.”
Overall, Tremblay said she was pleased with the school system’s smooth opening.
“The feeling in the district right now is so positive,” said Tremblay. “It was rewarding to be in every single building and see students in grade 12 all the way down to first grade literally be so happy to be at school. The teachers are energized and are excited about the year ahead.”
Tremblay also thanked school custodians and the Department of Public Works for making sure all four schools were in great shape before the first day.
“The custodians and DPW did a really nice job getting us up and running,” said Tremblay.
SRO question
In response to a question from School Committee member Salvatore Cammarata, Tremblay said Curran will be sharing his schedule with school administrators each week. She noted Curran’s schedule will fluctuate but she said Curran “generally knows his schedule a week out.”
“(Curran) is going to be spending a lot of time at the high school and a lot of time at the middle school,” said Tremblay. “He will probably be spending the better part of a full day at both elementary schools on off weeks.”
