The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 6

KENT SUSSEX www.delawareonline.com THURSDAY, AUG. 24, 2000 THE NEWS JOURNAL BS First pupil day: Polytech Appoqulnimlnk K-9 10-12 Sept. 5 Sept. 6 Brandywine 1-12 Sept. 5 Sept.

6 All grades Aug. 25 Red Clay K-9 Sept. 5 10-12 Sept. 6 Seaford All grades Sept. 5 Smyrna All grades Aug.

30 Sussex Tech All grades Aug. 30 Woodbridge All grades Sept. 5 Caesar Rodney All grades Aug. 28 Cape Henlopen All grades Sept. 6 Capital All grades Aug.

30 V'L' Sfcxf vr- x' Christina K-9 10-12 Aug. 30 Aug. 31 Colonial K-9 10-12 Aug. 30 Aug. 31 Special to The News JournalCARLA VARISCO Four new classrooms are being added at the rear of Milford High School.

While school buildings In the state are getting spruced up, teachers are preparing to bring students up to the state's new standards. Charter schools Campus Community All grades Aug. 28 Charter School of Wilmington 9 Aug. 29 10 Aug. 31 East Side Charter All grades Sept.

5 Marion T. Academy All grades Sept. 5 Positive Outcomes All grades Sept. 5 Sussex Academy of Arts All grades Sept. 5 Thomas Edison Charter All grades Sept.

5 Delmar All grades Aug. 30 Indian River All grades Sept. 5 Lake Forest All grades Aug. 29 Laurel All grades Aug. 30 Milford All grades Sept.

5 NCCoVo-Tech All grades Aug. 28 rector of operations. Marchio said people shouldn't be fooled into thinking that summertime is an opportunity for school officials to kick back and relax. "It is definitely the busiest time of year for us," he said. "I'm anxious for it to end." Sussex Bureau reporter Chip Guy contributed to this story.

Reach Kate Bailey at 324-2386 or kballey delawareonllne.com The district also is gearing up to build a $13.2 million middle school after voters approved a tax increase in February Construction also is a priority in the Milford School District, which has four projects in the works. Renovations and systems upgrades are under way at Milford High School, and the project "appears to be on schedule," said John Marinucci, the district's di Schools: Last-minute preparations FROM PAGE B1 Starting next school year, students who don't pass the state's standardized tests on these subjects in grades three, five and eight could be required to attend summer school or be held back a grade. Tenth-graders' performance on the test will determine what kind of diploma they will receive at graduation. Teachers also will be held accountable for how well their students perform on the tests. Many teachers spent part of the summer preparing for the changes in curriculum and teaching techniques needed to help children meet the new standards.

Colonial School District has been giving training classes for teachers since school closed in June. "And we'll be running the classes right up to the day school opens," said Linda Poole, director of learning for the Colonial School District. "We've had hundreds of teachers spend hours this summer, and this is obviously their own time." Poole said teachers must know and understand state standards before they can begin to implement them in the classroom. Catherine Fitzmaurice, a second-grade teacher at Rehoboth Elementary School, spent two days this summer at a training program about teaching students to write. Third-graders across the state did poorly on the writing portion of the state test given in the spring.

Sixty -three percent of the students failed to meet writing standards. That was up from 51 percent the year before. "Everyone's worried about it," Fitzmaurice said. "It's not something people are just ignoring." For the first time, Fitzmaurice will have students keep a poetry journal in which they'll write about poems they've read and pen some poetry of their own. "Writing is my main big deal this year," she said.

Hester Kingsbury, a Brandy-wine High School math teacher, said she will be incorporating more writing into her classes this year. That's part of a statewide push toward writing in all subjects. Kingsbury also faces the challenge of trying to get her sophomore basic math students up to TFTRrrrfXT i am 1 i LJ r.c A1 411 1 IWIIMOITA I IfTtifiTrTtll lift illll.lfiWilli!! mm WW FujifilmFtoePixMX-4700 Zoom Digital Camera 2.3 million pixels (2400x1 800 I speed for the state test in the spring. Students taking basic math, as opposed to those on a college-preparatory track, had the most trouble with the math test given in the spring. Math scores were lowest for eighth- and 10th-graders.

Kingsbury wasn't surprised. "They have a lot of difficulty with just basic calculations," she said. Some don't know their multiplication tables, she said. That should change as students are taught to meet the new standards from their first year in school. Older students have been exposed to the new state standards only for the past few years.

"It takes a little while to implement a broad policy like this," Kingsbury said. Caesar Rodney School District will implement a new math curriculum this fall to better help students meet state standards. "A lot of our instructional ini-tiatives are really centered around student accountability that is going to unfold for real in 2002," Superintendent David E. Robinson said. The district also is expanding its all-day kindergarten program and placing a stronger emphasis on reading skills at the elementary level.

Curriculum revisions await students in the Smyrna School District, Superintendent Deborah D. Wicks said. "We have a new math curriculum kindergarten through eighth grade and we're really excited about that," Wicks said. 3x optical'3 7x digital zoom Built-in flash iviii mvli; lf ii'in 2W0mmZoom QijfeS Built-in Rash vFArJn wRed-Eye Reduction vw Fully automatic- I Including autofocus auto film handlin9 mMivi- cr oW'r i I Includes 16MB I 7 if SmartMedia card 1 '799(H) 1 F.MIH.M Resolution fyjjl Pixel Kiel Nikon CoolPix 800 fT Digital Camera CD 2.11 Megapixel "I 1 a 2x Zoom Lens I I 1 1.8" Color LCD WL 1J IncludesSMB 6 (Igtp fireglass Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom 80 Quartz Date 38-eOmm zoom Nikon Man-in Rebate Your Final Cost Photo Developing for Your PC! Scanner accepts up to 4x6 prints Vs -j fl "1 i 'if 1, In 24-blt color up to 1200dpi! Built in flash with nid-eye reduction 1 Autofocus Champagne finish and quartz date 14995 i i Printer outputs Polaroid Images on Fujifilm MX-1200 Digital Camera 1.3 million pixels (1280 960) 2x digital zoom Spectra Film In only 30 secondsl Senate: Supporters vow to keep bill alive tT Poarnirl OLYMPUS Both For Only Wa. fc QQ99 99 49 Olympus D490 Zoom Digital Camera A Canon ElphLT 260 AJk Advanced Photo System opticaia digital zoom Special Purchase! Fujifilm Quicksnap SineUse with Flash Fujicolor Print Film 100-24exp.

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"Our goal was to save lives," Maier said. "I think they should have had hearings and acted on it But it's not dead. We'll bring it back in January with a new administration that may have a new take on the issue." Senate Minority Leader Steve Amick, R-Newark West, said Sharp made the right call in letting the issue die for this legislative session. While the Senate will have to come back in the fall to consider judicial appointments, Amick said limiting the agenda is smart. "It's hard enough to have one June 30 a year," he said.

"I know I have about a half-dozen issues I'd like to bring up if I could. But we don't have the time or the staff when we come down for a special session, which means some of these important and controversial issues wouldn't get the attention they should receive." House lawmakers grappled with the issue from April until mid-June before they arrived at compromise legislation and sent it to the Senate. Sharp chose not to act when the Senate got the bill because he did not think it was appropriate to debate it while lawmakers were focusing on the state's budget package. Reach Patrick Jackson at 678-4274 or pjacksondelawareonline.com Nikon N60 wQuantaray 2ci80mm Lens One flour Rilz Big Print Crystal I i Canon ES8100 8mm Camcorder Large 2.5" flip-out color LCD 3D Matrix Metering Built in Flash IkOr I 22x optical500x digital zoom Film Developing Image stabilization InHnrinQ Pannn Tj Vst Your Frequent hiUi Card A Gt: 1-Year Limited Warranty Double FREE Big Prints 01 2 Deluxe Cuncorder Outfit! ana New Film Outfit Includes: Video Tripod. Gadget Bag, 1 2 Video Tapes, and Lens Cleaning Kit A $100 Value! Album or Enlargcmtn Film Piw using Special Purchase! Quantaray Autofocus Lenses Ricoh 38-105 Autofocus Zoom 70-300mi Wiuvmm 13.8-5.1) Ultra Range Zoom Compact 38-105 Zoom Built-in flash Red-eye reduction Autofocus Debate: Candidates discuss environment in Panasomc PV-L550 VHS-C Palmcorder1 18x Hi-Definition zoom iAAflS 1 2.5" Color LCD VWV Digital Image Stabilizer Built-in Auto Light 1 1 FREE I yC( Deluxe Camcorder Oulfil jj Outfit Includes: Video I 'VJ1 Tripod, Gadget Bag.

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Gov. Ruth Ann Minner." Reach Jennifer Portman at 324-2795 or jportmandelawareonline.com 1 FROM PAGE B1 "They are," Burris said. "They are just doing it quietly That's what we are against." Lee also took Burris to task on what he said was Burris' new support of cluster development as a way to control growth and preserve open spaces. Burris responded, "I have hfen talking about that for many, many months." There were other contrasts, such as their approaches to state governance, funding of volunteer fire departments and stan 1 1-Year Limited Warranty Present cason at anyftiu Camen when droppitig oil im, 35mm C-41 pracessmg. Does not include Crystal or Frequent Foio benefits.

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