School has wide reach
At Starpoint, amid all the newness, an 80th birthday looms
LOCKPORT — Betty Werth might be about to turn 80, but she still goes back to school every September.
In fact, she looks forward to it.
Werth began her 50th school year Wednesday as a cafeteria worker in the Starpoint district.
She’ll celebrate her birthday Sept. 14, and has three good reasons to keep coming to work at Starpoint Middle School.
“I enjoy the children . . .,” she said, “it’s only for 3z hours a day during the school year and I only live five minutes away.”
A Niagara Falls native, Werth graduated from LaSalle Senior High School in 1947. She said her main job in Starpoint is to help pupils and make sure they don’t get out of hand “pushing and shoving each other.”
Those who went back to the classroom Wednesday in nine of 10 public school districts across Niagara County are as hopeful as Werth that things will go smoothly during the 2008-09 school year. Niagara Falls students start the school year today.
While the cafeteria work for Werth will be largely familiar, there will be change for many who are back in school this week.
More than 80 Lewiston-Porter High School students got their first taste of a military experience Wednesday, as they went through orientation for the U. S. Air Force Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps.
The ROTC program is the first to be included in the curriculum of a Niagara County high school. Retired Air Force Lt. Col. William H. Arrington III is the program director. He is being assisted by retired Air Force Master Sgt. Theresa A. Demers.
Arrington introduced the students to the program, told them what was expected and handed out their textbooks. Today, students will have their first aerospace science class.
“They will take their first leadership education class on Friday,” Arrington said.
Drills will start soon, and the students will get their military uniforms in about a month.
Meanwhile, the school uniform trend is spreading in Niagara Falls. Geraldine J. Mann Elementary School’s 450 pupils have the choice starting today to wear uniforms this school year, following a precedent set in the district by Henry J. Kalfas Magnet and Niagara Elementary schools.
LaSalle Preparatory School Principal Richard Carella said he hopes to begin a voluntary uniform program for his pupils in January after the winter break.
While the Falls adds uniforms, Lockport High School has subtracted homeroom.
Lockport High students got right to work Wednesday as class started immediately at 7:40 a. m. devoid of the five-minute homeroom period that has prefaced the school day in years past.
Principal Frank Movalli, who eliminated homeroom to reduce tardiness, said, “Everything went well. The kids got off to a running start. They were all on time, but this was just the first day of school.”
He said announcements made during the old homeroom period were made in a four-minute period — 8:18 to 8:22 a. m. — so students receive any necessary information about the school and its operations.
Movalli’s students also got a glimpse of the school’s seven physical education teachers being trained to use the school’s new rock climbing wall, which will be part of the school’s physical education program this year.
The 25-foot-high wall, next to the school’s tennis courts, was purchased this year with federal grant money.
Lockport students aren’t the only ones who will get more exercise. In the North Tonawanda district, all students should receive a full 120-minutes of physical education classes every six days, as required under state law. Last year, district students only received 90 minutes of physical education during that time frame in violation of the state mandate.
Athletic Director Gregory Witman said the administration spent much of the summer tweaking the schedule to make sure students get their full allotment. He said more than 80 percent of district students will be in compliance this month and hopefully all students will be on board within the next month.
Witman said district officials were going to have students do five minutes of calisthenics by their classroom desks four days a week, led by a physical education teacher via classroom television. Now he doesn’t believe that will be necessary.
“I’m optimistic that we can get everyone in the gym for physical education for 120 minutes instead of doing classroom calisthenics,” he said. “If we have to do it, we will. But hopefully that won’t be necessary for any classes.”
Three North Tonawanda pupils at Ohio Elementary said they were glad to be back to school. The only thing they did not look forward to was a lot of homework.
The story was the same at Starpoint Middle School, where pupils were happy to see old friends, including Werth, who stands ready for the new year.
“I go year by year,” the veteran cafeteria worker said, “and see what happens.”
