September 19, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 17 The school year opened in Midland Park with Godwin and Highland schools each having its own full-time principal after several years of sharing the top administrator. Highland’s Principal, Danielle Bache, and Matthew Murphy, who took office as the new principal of Godwin School in August, will work collaboratively and many of the two schools’ programs and policies will overlap. The new administrative structure, however, will allow Bache to focus her attention on the third to sixth grade students at Highland School, while Murphy concentrates on kindergarten through grade two. The district adopted the Go Math Program from Houghton Mifflin for the kindergarten through sixth graders. The students will work from the new consumable textbook and have access to the online compo- Two principals welcome students at elementary schools nents. The two schools will also continue the Character Education Theme, Bucket Fillers, and title it My Bucket Isn’t Full Yet! New activities and projects will focus around this theme to reinforce the ideals of kindness and respect. An elementary school-wide convocation on Sept. 7 kicked off the theme. Parents joined in, and everyone held hands to signify that “We Are Better Together,” Bache said. A new Social Studies teacher was added to the sixth grade roster, therefore having students travel to five teachers throughout the day. Mary Simmons is rounding out the sixth grade team and focusing on Cultures Around World. The fourth and fifth grade students will be traveling this year for two periods a day, with every teacher partnering with another as a team to teach either reading/ language arts or math to two classes. This allows each teacher to become the content specialist in a specific subject area therefore benefitting the students. The district’s music program is being enhanced with the addition of Ms. Loreto Angulo-Pizarro, who has joined the faculty as the new full-time music teacher. Increasing this position back to full time allows the school to bring back the sixth grade musical as a full class endeavor. The sixth graders will no longer perform at the Spring Concert but will perform in the sixth grade musical on June 6, 2013. Magnets depicting the new Midland Park logo are on sale. The 6-inch round design focuses on the side of borough hall that features the windmill and the flag. The graphic, drawn up pro bono by local graphic designer John Sondey, was recently made into a rubber magnet that can be affixed to any metal surface, suitable for affixing to any car or truck. Sondey has also drawn up an updated rendering of the town map, which is available free of charge to residents. It includes all the borough streets, many of which were missing from previous versions. The magnets may be purchased for $5 at the municipal building, 280 Godwin Ave.; at the Baseball Card Store, 45 Prospect Street; and at Bill’s Stylish Home, 23 Central Ave., in the Wortendyke section of town. Magnets depicting town logo on sale