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Conte Middle School in North Adams will be closed Wednesday, Dec. 3, & Thursday, December 4, as the investigation into a mercury spill continues.
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 (2).jpg) North Adams kicks off the holiday season with its annual treelighting on Thursday, Dec. 4, at 5:30 p.m.
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School begins at Williamstown ElementaryBy Tammy Daniels - August 30, 2007
 | | Classes began at Williamstown Elementary on Thursday. |
WILLIAMSTOWN - Children filled the playground at Williamstown Elementary on Thursday afternoon as Grades 1 through 6 neared the end their first day of school. Prekindergarten and kindergarten start on Thursday, Sept. 6.
After a drop in pupils over the years, the school is seeing a small but welcome spike in incoming kindergartners. Fifty-six children have already enrolled, with another two expected, said School Superintendent Rose Ellis. The school has added another kindergarten class and hired a teacher to keep the class sizes to about 14 or 15 pupils. An estimated 450 children will be enrolled this year.
The school will continue its popular Sunrise Language Program that offers instruction in Spanish and Chinese. The Mandarin Chinese course, piloted last year, continues to draw a large number of pupils, she said.
The courses are held several times a week before classes begin at the kindergarten-through-sixth-grade school.
The school is focusing on both literacy and numeracy through professional development and programs. Its community reading initiative, now in its second year, is being expanded from kindergarten to third grade to include fourth grade. A reading coach will be working with staff two days a week as well.
Faculty is also looking at how best to determine how a child is doing and how to help them learn.
"We're moving from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning," said Ellis.
That means doing summative, or periodical, assessments as opposed to relying solely on standardized testing, such as Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System testing. The state test scores are released months after the exams are taken, giving an incomplete picture of how well the child is learning in real time.
"These are user-friendly assessments that help chart [a child's] progress," said Ellis. "It's easier to intervene if there's a problem."
The "green" school is also working with the town's CO2 Lowering Committee to reduce bus emissions. The school, Dufour Bus Co., Mount Greylock Regional High School and Williams College want to raise awareness about the harmful effects of idling buses and other vehicles. Signs will be put up to remind drivers that vehicles cannot idle more than five minutes (with certain exceptions), according to state law.
A registered dietitian has been hired as a consultant on nutrition as part of the school's Wellness Program, said Ellis. The funding comes through a grant from the Williamstown Elementary School Endowment. The dietitian, who is also a parent, and a local pediatrician will work with the school on nutrition and on exercise, which the children get through physical education twice a week.
Helping the kids with better nutrition won't necessarily mean tofu burgers in the cafeteria.
"We know kids will eat potato chips and apples," said Ellis. "We want to look for balance in what they eat and help them make good choices."
What the school won't be doing is sharing its lunch program with Mount Greylock Regional High School. That option had been raised by Mount Greylock earlier this year as a possible cost-saving solution but further research found it wouldn't be worthwhile at this point.
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