School preparations begin in Lynn

LYNN – It’s time to dust off the backpacks, sharpen your pencils and set an early-morning alarm. Back-to-school week is around the corner, and local teachers, faculty and staff are busy preparing for the first day.Faculty and staff at Lynn Classical High School are already busy attending meetings, finalizing student schedules and setting up classrooms in preparation for the upcoming school year, said Principal Gene Constantino.”The administrative team, the guidance department and the department heads started (Monday),” he said. “We’re working on writing a school improvement plan – a document that lays out exactly what kinds of things we’re going to be working on throughout the year.”We’re getting staff schedules finalized, scheduling hundreds of new students and balancing classes that need to be balanced,” he said.Department heads are also working on mapping out curriculum, he said.”They do a lot of work this week,” he said. “They’re pretty busy.”They’re also getting all the little things sorted out, such as scheduling conflicts, assigning lunch periods and making sure that class sizes are proportionate.Some teachers have already started coming in to set up their classrooms, but Constantino expects to see many more by the end of the week. New teachers are also working on getting set up this week.Classical will have 14 new teachers to accommodate the consistently growing number of students that the school sees each year.”Enrollment is over 1,600 this year,” Constantino said. “Three years ago we were probably at around 1,200 and then we grew to have 1,400, now we have 1,600.””Most of the teachers will be coming in and setting up their classrooms during the week,” he said, “but because of the number of staff that we have in the building, a lot of teachers will be moving from classroom to classroom.””Teachers are like kids,” Constantino said. “They are getting anxious too.”Classical and English freshmen will start next Wednesday, Sept. 9, and grades 10, 11 and 12 will begin on Thursday, Sept. 10.Freshmen will have the option to attend an orientation at each school this Wednesday to get better acclimated with their new school. Classical will hold its orientation from 8:30 a.m. to noon and the English orientation will be from 7:45 a.m. to noon.Classical will offer the opportunity to meet administrators, coaches, teachers, counselors and student ambassadors.Incoming English freshmen will meet and speak with future teachers and upperclassmen, have a tour of the building, participate in a “bulldog” scavenger hunt and eat lunch in the cafeteria for the first time.Lynn Tech freshmen will also begin on Sept. 9, grade 10 on Sept. 10 and all others on Sept. 11, aside from the Fresh Start program, which begins on the 14th.Lynn elementary schools will go back to school on Sept. 9, and kindergarten and pre-K will return on the 14th.Saugus Public Schools will return Tuesday, Sept. 8. Kindergarten begins Sept. 9 and pre-K Sept. 15.Others will be going back to school before the holiday weekend, including Swampscott, Nahant and Marblehead, which begin Wednesday.Peabody Public Schools got a head-start and began Monday. The first day of kindergarten will be on Thursday.Day and evening classes at North Shore Community College will start on Sept. 8.”Vacation is over,” Constantino said. “It goes by quickly.”