WESTBOROUGH – Students and teachers rushed into Fales Elementary School last Wednesday to begin their first full school year in the new building.
The first day of school for Westborough Public Schools was Aug. 31.
Last year, Principal Maryann Stannard said, “We started the year in the original Fales building. Then, we packed up and moved over the course of a couple of days, then we had our first day [in the new Fales school ] on Nov. 15 and had the rest of the year here.”
Over the summer, the construction of the front entrance of the school was completed and ready for buses to arrive for the first day, Stannard said.
The night before the first day of school, Fales staff hosted “Open Door Day,” which is an opportunity for students and their families to explore the building prior to the start of the first day of school.
“I saw parents, grandparents and siblings. Everyone was super excited. I kept hearing ‘I can’t wait’ from the students,” Stannard said. “And, parents are thrilled about our beautiful building and are super eager to start the year.”
Goals for the year at Fales
Stannard said during one of the meetings held by Westborough Public Schools in preparation for the new year, she and other principals agreed that this year students seem to be “super excited” to kick off the school year.
Her foremost priority for the school year is making sure all of the basic safety procedures that the school follows are in place.
“Safety is always our number one goal. We make sure we have a wonderful, safe environment,” Stannard said.
Stannard added the faculty wants to focus on their green initiatives by increasing their recycling, composting and harvesting food for lunches from the garden to be built at the school.
The school is designed to be a net-zero building, containing solar panels and geothermal wells.
In addition, as using technology as a teaching tool continues to become more prominent, Stannard said the library media specialist will be implementing classes on digital literacy for teachers and students.
“I could go on and on, we have so many goals,” she said.
In the meantime, Stannard added that the first day “went smooth.”
“It was a wonderful start,” she said.
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