PAGE FOUR Children at the Westmoreland Elementary School love to play in the grove during recess. The grove is the wooded hillside behind the school. At times it seems that there must be a better place for play than the hilly area marked by exposed roots and stones. .But being honest, the children love to play among the trees and perhaps experience the feeling of being ‘away’ from school for a short respite. Immediately after rainy weather, it is fortunate that there is a play area at a higher elevation available. When the level area of the playground adjacent to the building is wet, it is muddy. So muddy, in fact, that sometimes children have recess inside until the ground becomes dry enough to make going outside feasible. The mud collected on boots and shoes irritates parents and makes it all but impossible to : os. keep the school clean during rainy periods of spring and fall. : Suggestions have been made to blacktop an area beside the building to provide an all-weather hard surface play area. This is certainly an appropriate solution and could also provide needed space and facilities for certain outdoor instructional activities. 2 The problem seems to be that providing the necessary hard surface recreational area would take away or severely limit the baseball practice area used by many youngsters in the Westmoreland and Trucksville vicinities. Various plans are being explored that might provide the needed all-weather play area without limiting the baseball field. If you have recommendations regarding this matter, please contact the superintendent’s office. discusses improvements with Mr. Thomas the building. Iri@reparation of the school budget is a year-round process. During the summer coming year are reviewed and updated. Then the long-range plans for making needed improvements are analyzed and tentative decisions made about what is to be accomplished during the school year following the one that has not yet started. Being almost two years ahead in planning, while vigorously implementing current projects, is necessary if the financial plans are to mesh smoothly and on schedule with plans for the continuous improvement of our schools. During the fall, the preliminary plan- ning is reviewed with staff. The reactions and recommendations of curiculum groups, building faculties, subject area departments and teaching teams modify the earlier plans and bring them closer to being finalized. During December, budgetary requisitions will be completed by teachers and principals and reviewed by central administrative staff members. The requisitions for materials, equipment and supplies formulate the basis of cost, the educational plan for the following year. All of this is taking place while the staff continues to seek improvements in the ongoing educational program. During the early part of the new calendar year, the Board begins negotiations with the Dallas Education Association, and begins discussions with other groups' of school employees. The results of these procedures establish - salaries of employees and provide in- formation necessary for the formulation of ~the school district budget. In February, the first draft of the proposed budget is presented to the Board of School Directors. Meetings of the Finance Committee of the Board and the total Board with: the central ad- ministrative ‘staff follow. During these meetings every aspect of the proposed educational plan and budget are reviewed and recommendations are made. Shortly after the beginning of May, the Board will adopt the tentative budget for the coming year. The proposed budget will be available for inspection and review for a period of thirty days. Final adoption will take place in June. An informed and involved citizenery is essential to a healthy public education system. You are encouraged to make known your wishes and your support for education. Kindergarten education is concerned with helping the child meet, face and solve problems at his own l-vel. The Dallas program designed to give special guidance to children that need extra help in problem areas. The many advantages of in- than at this early age where much formal learning and attitude development occurs. The program at this level is based upon the latest knowledge of how children learn. What happens to a child just beginning his school experience may play a major role in determining his aspirations and achievement potential. It is important that the latest techniques and materials be children to become successful students. Some of the experiences characteristic of the program are in areas of motor control, eye-hand - coordination, visual memory, auditory discrimination, language comprehension and visual discrimination. Classes vary in size from groups of two to five. The challenges these children meet are designed to help give them a feeling of success in their group. Close cooperation with the classroom teacher is established and the most ef- fective methods are used to help the children adjust to social living within the school. Skill developments are not pushed or rushed. Teachers work to develop readiness for particular skills. Those skills that need further development are practiced and exercised at each meeting. These activities vary from motor skills to number-color recognition and other types of problem solving. The responsibility of the extra-help program is to assist the child to acquire the skills he needs in order to make the greatest gains possible within his maturity level. The philosophy of this kindergarten program is to respect individual dif- ferences among children in the group. TEAM TEACHING Shared responsibility and cooperative effort of teachers working closely together for a common and expressed goal. It is a way of organizing a school, utilizing a staff, and using space and equipment. Inexperienced teachers have the op- portunity to work closely with the more experienced members of the profession. Young leadership is offered opportunities for growth and progress. The federal government is forecasting the enrollment in the nation’s public elementary and secondary schools will increase by only 1.1 percent during the five-year period ending in 1975. Enrollment during the period from 1965 to 1970 increased 8.8 percent. While the national rate of enrollment increase is low, many rural suburban areas sustain regular sizable growth. It appears that the Back Mountain area will continue to ex- pand as population and enrollment drop off .in urban areas. 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