Back to School in Rumson, Fair Haven

Rumson and Fair Haven students are headed back to school on Thursday; and in each district there will be a host of changes awaiting them.

In Fair Haven

• At , school starts at 8:23 a.m., entering time, and students may arrive as early as 8:15 a.m., but no earlier. Thursday and Friday will be single session days, ending at 12:45 p.m. At Sickles, the single session days end at 12:35 p.m., 10 minutes earlier.

• Drivers are reminded to obey the speed limits and to not use Third Street. During school arrival and dismissal times it is to only be used by students riding bikes and walking to and from school.

• At the pre-kindergarten through third grade students will be welcomed by a . He may be familiar to them, because of the 11 years he spent in the district as principal of Knollwood, but being temporary principal at Sickles is new to Famulary and the students.

Sources say that Famluary has a surprise or two in store for the kids.

• Starting out the school year at Knollwood is , the eighth grade Spanish teacher who has resigned due to relocation, but will teach until sometime in October.

• For background on some other .

• Students and parents will also be introduced to a new report card and grading system for which Superintendent Kathleen Cronin has said parents have given much feedback. and stay tuned for an update.

• Eighth graders will also have a new learning tool this school year — the iPad. Courtesy of the Fair Haven Education Foundation, each will be given one, after signing a pages-long agreement. Some have opted to use their own. .

• will be seen in the halls and offices of both schools as its “innovative programs” supervisor. The district has anti-bullying programs coordinators in both schools: Rachel Bronstein at Sickles and Carolyn Greenhall at Knollwood.

Carolan is the district-wide supervisor for anti-bullying and other programs, such as gifted and talented initiatives.

In Rumson

• Single session days are in effect for both Thursday and Friday, dismissing at 1 p.m.

• Parents are asked to park in the visitor spots in the schools’ parking lots and to avoid using staff spots. Also, according to the schools’ Web site, checking bus routes and stops are subject to change during the school year. At drop-offs, first graders and kindergarten students must be picked up by a parent.

• Simplified Culinary Services, of Point Pleasant, has been contracted as the new food service vendor in the district. The food service provider was hired in June and came highly recommended from the high school, where the service has provided what has been touted as a healthier menu of food for more than 15 years.

• There is one who will not be there this school year. Her contract was not renewed. A contingent of residents rallied against the termination, but the decision stood. Some residents called for a spirit of cooperation. That proved to be the .

• The , schools officials recently reported, is working well. The district reported a low incidence of bullying. According to the superintendent, there were 47 reports in the district last year, but only 10 were deemed to be actual incidents of bullying after investigations were complete.

Eight of the 10 incidents occurred at and two at . "It is definitely something that took a lot of time but we have come to see that if we invest in it, the program does improve the school climate," Caulfield-Sloan said in a board meeting.

• A new board member to replace Colleen Hodge, who resigned, will be announced at the Sept. 27 meeting.