Miller Elementary Preparing to Go Paperless

Nanuet students started school last week and the school year is starting off smoothly, according to Elementary Assistant Principal Anne Chen.

The principals of Miller and Highview schools addressed more than 60 parents at the first Elementary PTA meeting last night.

PTA President Maureen Nicolich announced that the PTA “gifted outdoor equipment to both schools for the kids to use during recess.

Miller Elementary Principal Betsy Smith gave a back-to-school update first, emphasizing the school’s

“I want to make sure that (parents) are getting all the information that (they) need through the website. There’s less and less paper that’s going to be going home,” said Smith. “We are preparing next year for our plan to redo the entire building technology-wise and one of the plans is to go as paperless as possible. We are working toward that. It’s so much faster too.”

The status report of the first week of school is very positive.

“Everyone is off to a great start in the building. We hit the ground running,” said Smith, adding that last week was spent introducing students to one another and the staff and this week, they dive right into the curriculum. “We work with families and the home, but it is a vigorous program, even in kindergarten. We’re trying to pace it and gradually get them in.”

Starting now until December, Miller students will go through a series of standardized assessments.

“This gives us more information (about the children) and we can really tailor the instruction to the child.”

Coming up for Miller Elementary:

This Wednesday, the principals will also go to each Kindergarten class to let the students get comfortable with Chen and Smith and to avoid negative stereotypes students usually associate with Principals. “We try to teach them that principals are problem solvers and if they need something, they know they can come to us and we can help solve any problems they have or take a worry away.”

The "Meet the Teacher" evening for kindergarten parents will be Thursday, Sept. 13 and for first and second grade parents will be on Thursday, Sept. 20. Read more about the “Meet the Teacher” nights on the school website.

There will be a newcomer breakfast on Friday morning. “We have about 15 or 16 children that are new to the building. We greet the children. We bring them down and have a little breakfast with the principals. We welcome them and sit them down and just chat,” said Smith.

Check back with Patch later today for an update from Highview Elementary Principal Barbara Auriemma, who talked about laptops, computerized state testing and the Highview Playground.