Sixth-grade athletes will be limited next year to intramural activities, and fees for individual conference sports will be doubled in a cost-cutting plan presented Tuesday to the Nippersink District 2 School Board. In the past, all three grades competed in the Lakes Region and Fox Valley Conferences. Intramural sports programs will be available for seventh- and eight-graders who do not play in either conference. The proposal was presented by NMS Associate Principal Kevin Shelton, who led a committee of coaches, teachers, administrators, and parents in an effort to trim $50,000 from next year’s middle-school sports budget.

Fees for each conference sport will be raised from $40 to $80 per athlete, and intramural sports fees will be $40, Shelton said. In order to offer intramural programs, a minimum number of athletes would have to sign up, according to the plan. Furthermore, playing time for athletes in the Lakes Region Conference would be at coaches’ discretion. This is a change from the former philosophy of the conference, which strove to provide equal-playing time for its athletes.

D2, RBCH Students to Attend School on Veteran’s Day

In other school-board news, District 2 students will attend school on Veterans’ Day next year. The Nippersink District 2 School Board voted Tuesday night to waive the November 11 federal Veteran’s Day holiday in favor of patriotic classroom activities. The board is considering giving students the day off on November 26, the day before Thanksgiving, instead. High-school students will also attend school on Veterans’ Day next year.

“Social Studies teachers are really excited” about the opportunity to provide instruction about the Veterans’ Day holiday, said Nippersink Middle School Principal Julie Retzlaff. Richmond Grade School Principal Judi Jones said that several local Veterans, after being approached about the idea, volunteered for activities in the schools on that day. At last month’s meeting, board member Tom Wisinski suggested the waiver, noting that classroom activities would have more educational impact than a day off from school would have.

Next month, the board will vote on its proposed 2003-2004 school calendar, which attempts closer alignment with that of the high school. If the proposed schedule is approved, classes for District 2 students would start on August 26 and end on June 4. Classes at the high school will start a week earlier, on August 19, according to the RBCH Web site (http:www.rbch.com ). The District 2 calendar “is as close as we’re possibly going to get” to that of the high school, said Spring Grove Elementary Principal John Druszczak. According to the proposed calendar, schools would close from December 22 through January 2 for winter break and from March 29 to April 2 for spring break---the same dates for winter and spring breaks at the high school.

“We’re trying to be responsive to all groups,” noted District Supt. George Zimmer.

Middle School Class Schedule to Change

The class schedule at Nippersink Middle School will also change next year under a plan presented Tuesday night by NMS Principle Retzlaff.

Under the new plan, core classes will be grouped into modified blocks, as will exploratory classes in art, music, technology, and health. According to Retzlaff, grouping core classes, such as Reading and Language Arts, encourages multidisciplinary activities. Grouping exploratory classes will maximize the use of materials, provide more class time for students, and provide greater opportunity to align eighth-grade classes with those at the high school, she said.

Class-block times will vary by grade. However, all students will have a simultaneous study hall, renamed “Encore Class,” at ninth period. During this period students will participate in such activities as Student Council, Peer Helpers, and Drama Club, and athletes will be allowed to leave early for sporting events without missing core class time. According to Retzlaff, scheduling a simultaneous study hall allows teachers of multiple grades to be available to all of their students at the same time. It also allows teachers to provide an organized study hall.

Per Retzlaff’s proposal, a committee was also formed to revamp the school’s existing Advisory content. Advisory will take place during lunch period for each grade. Hopes are to decrease the student-teacher ratio and to promote team-building, the proposal said.

The schedule for band members will also change somewhat, Retzlaff said. Band will take place during lunch period, and all band members will eat during the first lunch segment. Band members will still be pulled out of class, and they will have at least four days of lessons or practice, she said. The schedule for chorus members has not yet been determined.

The schedule changes at the middle school were prompted when the board voted in March to eliminate instruction in Spanish at all of its schools.

Retiring Marcia Orsolini to be ‘Severely Missed’

The board also accepted the resignation of third-grade teacher Marsha Orlsolini, who has taught in the district for 28 years. During her career in the district, Orsolini has won several awards for teaching, has coached winning volleyball and cheerleading teams, and has mentored many new teachers. Orsolini’s resignation will go into effect at the end of the school year.

“Our family had the pleasure of having all of our three girls go through Marcia Orsolini’s class,” said Wisinski. “I know she’ll be severely missed.”

The board also approved maternity leaves for RGS fourth-grade teachers Desiree Richards and Michele Fralick. A substitute will cover for Richards during the first quarter of next year, while Fralick will be on leave for the entire year. Tina Neglia-Schulz, an aide at Nippersink Middle School, was granted leave for the remaining of the year due to family illness.

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Upcoming school-board meetings

The Nippersink School District 2 School Board Communication Council will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, April 28, at the NMS library. The purpose of the meeting is to provide district residents an opportunity to air questions or concerns with board members about district issues. There is no set agenda for Monday’s meeting; committee members Jim Hasken and Mike Gullifor said they want the first meeting to set the tone and structure for future meetings.

However, at last Tuesday’s board meeting, District Supt. George Zimmer suggested that the Communication Council agenda include a discussion of next year’s fee structure. Under a proposal Zimmer outlined for the board Tuesday, school-lunch fees would increase next year from $1.80 to $2.00; and yearly fees would be set at $55 for kindergartners, $50 for students in grades 1-5, and $65 for students in grades 6-8. Technology and science fees would be set at $15 and $10, respectively. The topic will be an item for consideration at next month’s board meeting.

In an effort to jump-start the process by which community members, teachers, and administrators work together to recommend anticipated cuts in the district’s 2004-2005 budget, the District 2 Finance Committee will meet before the regularly scheduled board meeting, at 6 p.m.Tuesday, May 27, at the NMS library. The board has projected that it will have to make reductions of at least $600,000 in the district’s 2004-2005 budget.

Volunteers needed for D2 focus group

The District 2 Learning Principles Committee is looking for volunteers to participate in a focus group about how the district educates its students. The focus group meeting is set for 7 p.m. Thursday, May 1, at the NMS library.

The committee is outlining principles of learning to correspond with the district’s mission and vision statement. It is looking for parents’ input on “what learning should look like in our schools.” The focus group format will consist of a question related to participants’ knowledge of learning and how parents see their children as learners.

Contact Judi Jones at Richmond Grade School or Mike Smith at Spring Grove Elementary School with questions.