Harborside Middle School

Mr. G. Beinstein, Principal (Right)

Mr. S. Marchetti, Assistant Principal (Left)

Principal's Welcome Message

Welcome to the 2009-10 school year. The rooms have been cleaned and the floors waxed, the schedules have been created and the students assigned to teams, the supplies have been delivered and unpacked, and the staff has been hired. All that is missing are the children. While the summer months may be productive, it is much too quiet!

I want to take this opportunity to inform you of a few changes at Harborside this year. HMS students and staff will have a seven period day. For the vast majority of the students, there will be five academic classes and two humanities offerings, as well as a longer, more civilized, 30 minute lunch period. In addition, there are new courses in the humanities area, with technology education being added. Spanish has moved from a humanities elective, to a full-fledged core class, opening opportunities in a world language for a greater number of students.

Many of you may have noticed, or read about, the work being done in the front of the building. This work is being completed in two phases. The initial phase, the addition of parking spaces carved from the island by the front entrance, will be completed by the start of the school year. This work will provide much needed parking to the building. (We had been 22 spaces short for staff, forcing them to park in far away lots, and leaving no room for parent volunteers and visitors). The second part of the project is the creation of a bus loop, separate from the driveway entrance that parents and staff use. I expect (hope) that this work will be done within the first few weeks of school allowing us to have a safe and orderly pick-up, and drop-off routine. Until this work is done, parents may continue to use both the front, and the rear of the building for student drop off.

I also want to use this forum to introduce the new staff members at Harborside Middle School, of which there are quite a few this year. In Grade 6, Wendy Civitello will be teaching math on the 6 Blue Team while Louise Goldbeck also becomes a member of the 6 Blue Team as a Language Arts teacher. Debra Nielson joins Harborside as a Social Studies teacher on the 6 White Team. In Grade 8, Maria Baris will be teaching Language Arts while Megan Flaherty will be teaching Social Studies, both of whom will be on the 8 White Team. Our new Spanish teachers will be Abigail Straub in Grade 6 and Maria DeSarbo, who will join the 8 Blue Team. The Technology Education teachers for the building are Alexander Sheldon and Thomas Dillon. Lastly, Nick Cagginello joins our Humanities Team as a Physical Education Teacher. Please join me in welcoming them to Harborside.

I am looking forward to getting to know you, and your children, in the coming months.

All the best,

Gordon Beinstein,
Principal

• The outcome of all learning is the powerful use and application of knowledge in a variety of contexts.

• Accomplishments are defined by clearly communicated and appropriate standards that guide the work, achievement and plans for future growth.

• To reflect upon and improve performance, learners need regular and timely feedback on progress as it relates to standards.

• When the right learning conditions exist, all learners are capable of excellence. - Learners need to understand the value of what they are learning and how it relates to past and future learning.
- Learning is an active and reflective process in which learners are engaged in higher order thinking.
- Learners’ diverse needs are met through appropriate instructional strategies and materials.
- Motivation is essential to inspire learning.
- A supportive environment is necessary for learning.

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