ww om eq The Dallas Post Parents, By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff -- KINGSTON TOWNSHIP - It's been home to students for 60 years, but many Dallas school district residents have never heard of it. "The Westmoreland Elementary School, the district's last neigh- borhood school, began life in the mid-1930’s as the old Kingston Township High School, becoming an elementary building when the present district was formed. * Plans for its future will be dis- cussed May 15 at 6 p.m., when the. school board's property com- mittee meets with five architects May ‘15 to discuss the district's development plan, which some parents fear could include even- tually closing Westmoreland. ~~ According to principal Sam Barbose, the building houses 475 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, with three classrooms per grade. Two eight-year-old modular buildings on the play- ground are used for a computer laband a classroom. But a building doesn't neces- sarily’ make a school, according to parents and some of the school’s 19 teachers. It's the chemistry, they say. “You can put up all the new facilities you want, but you can't create the goodwill and caring of the students and teachers for one another,” said PTO newsletter editor Nancy Daney. “Parents and teachers work closely together to help the students.” + In many senses Westmoreland is like a large family, she added. : Students are there for six years, allowing teachers, principal Sam Barbose, nonprofessional staff — even the crossing guards — to get to know them very well. teachers hope fo Keep Wes imoreland open “We have a family atmosphere here that would be hard to find in a larger school.” Beverly Hetro PTO secretary “By the time a child is in the middle offirst grade, all the teach- ers know him, his parents and his brothers and sisters,” Daney said. She doesn’t mind her children attending classes in an older building, which has fewer mod- ern amenities than the newer schools. It’s a small price to pay for being part of a close-knit community, she said. “They even kept track of my last pregnancy,” laughed Chris Tucker. “I know my children are in good hands here.” “Spirit's a good way to describe Westmoreland,” said hospitality and bake sale chairman Karen Williams. “My little girl is very proud that she's going to the same school as her daddy and grandpa. I've only been here two years, but it feels like family.” PTO treasurer Karen Kyle be- lieves a smaller school provides a better atmosphere for learning and discipline. Students who act up can't get lost in the crowd here, she said. Visitors won't find grafitti on the walls or playground, broken windows or an impersonal atmos- phere. : Hallways are lined with cheery displays of students’ work, which they often compliment one an- other on. A prominently posted monarch butterfly reserve graces the front lawn. Kids proudly wear their gray POST HOTO/GRACE R. DOVE WESTMORELAND PROUD — Third-grader Marty Murray and fourth-graders Alyse Taddei and Raelynn Walter show off the special shirts that promote Westmoreland School spirit. and blue Westmoreland sweat- shirts. “Children this young would be lost in a larger school,” said PTO secretary Beverly Hetro. “I know — I went to one and don’t remember many of my classmates. Our teachers didn’t know us as per- sons.” PTO president Sue Baiamonte spends so much time in the build- ing that the children say hello to her in the halls. “We have a family atmosphere here that would be hard to find in a larger school,” she said. PTO members volunteer count- less hours each year to provide enrichment programs, field trips, computer programs and other extras which the district other- wise couldn't afford for the stu- dents. They collect Campbell's soup labels and UPC (bar codes) from Kodak, L&F and Hershey's prod- ucts to exchange for educational items such as computer programs. A monthly newsletter keeps parents informed on PTO activi- ties, special class projects and other interesting tidbits of daily happenings in classes provided by willing teachers. PTO members even painted a cheery mural in the cafeteria. Their hard work is their contri- bution to their children’s educa- tion, the four R’s — reading, writ- ing, ‘rithmetic and responsibility. “I love this school.” : Leslie Baltimore PTO field trip chairman “We work hard together to prepare the children to move on to the next grade, the next level,” Daney said, complimenting prin; cipal Sam Barbose for his excel- lent guidance. Mary Grace Jones, a 95-year veteran teacher who is now teach ing her first students’ children; described the school as having “fantastic spirit.” “We're so comfortable together because we've been together as. a faculty for so long,” she said. “Many of my colleagues feel the same way. I guess we feel a bit spoiled. We'll lose this feeling ina larger building.” oR Chapter I teacher Rita Mundy describes Westmoreland as '“a community unto itself— students, parents, teachers, the principal and friends in the neighborhood.” “I'm studying for my doctorate at Temple University, and all the research I've read says the most successful schools are like ours,” she said. “It's foolish to lose what everyone else in the country wants.” 650 PTO vice-president Maggie VanKuyk said she would be “dis- heartened” if the district closed the building. “Visitors are wel- come here any time,” she said! “You can ask the teachers any- thing at all, or just stop in and sy hello.” Field trip chairman Leslie Bal- timore easily summed up her fel- low members’ feelings. “I love this school,” she said. Contested local political races These local races are contested in the May 16 municipal primary. FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS(1 seat) Region | (Harveys Lake, Lake Township, Noxen) (2 seats) * Edwin R. Kern, III * Elizabeth Sichler Lois Kopcho Corrections An article about Lake-Lehman school board candidates last week contained incorrect information. * In Region I, composed of Harveys Lake, Lake and Noxen townships, Edwin Kern, Elizabeth Sichler and Lois Kopcha are running for two seats. * In Region II, composed of Ross Township, Lake Silkworth and Election Day lunch at Trucksville UM church An Election Day lunch will be served by the United Methodist Women of the Trucksville United Methodist Church on May 16, from noon until 4 p.m. in the Education Building, Church Road, Trucksville." The menu will include pork Bar-B-Q, hot dogs, homemade beef" (and vegetarian) vegetable soup, homemade rice pudding, coffee, tes and soda. There will be a bake sale table, with Welsh cookies for sale at $2. 25° Dallas, PA Wednesday, May 10, 1995: «3 - * Timothy Dymond (R) . Michael J. Prokopchak (R) © Martin W. Murray (D) Region Il (Ross and the middle and southwestern districts of Lehman Township) (1 seat) Rosemary Howard Dr. Martin McMahon * Thomas E. Williams HARVEYS LAKE BOROUGH COUNCIL (3 seats) « * Martin Noon (D) . Elizabeth J. West (D) . Isla Spock (D) * * Joseph Miscavage (R) - Thomas J. Callahan (R) . Ruth Eaton (R) Chfistopher Hinton (R) Region lll (Jackson Township and Lehman Township's northwest district) (1 two-year seat and 1 four- year seat) * Karen M. Whipple Michael Warner LAKE-LEHMAN SCHOOL David R. Kaufman DISTRICT: All candidates have filed on both parties’ tickets. * Incumbents - | More local news and ads | The Dallas Post Suits... more than suitable Not only do we get your suit really clean, we'll reshape it, remove spots and stains, and make sure the linings are wrinkle-free, lapels softly rolled an pressed to perfection. There is a “difference in the best care...and we can prove it! even's st Town & Country Cleaners 675-0468 Monday - Friday 6:30 AM. - 7 P.M. 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