WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP – The first sounds reverberating through the hallway in one corner of Chestnut Ridge Middle School brought an ominous tone to the opening day of the 2015-16 school year in the Washington Township School District. Drama teacher Rob Scardino blasted the "Imperial Death March" to welcome the CRMS students to their homerooms, although the dark, Star Wars...
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP - The first sounds reverberating through the hallway in one corner of Chestnut Ridge Middle School brought an ominous tone to the opening day of the 2015-16 school year in the Washington Township School District. Drama teacher Rob Scardino blasted the "Imperial Death March" to welcome the CRMS students to their homerooms, although the dark, Star Wars anthem merely created smiles and laughs from most who walked past.
"Having a little fun," Scardino said as Darth Vader's favorite tune wrapped up its final chorus. "We've got the Jaws theme coming on now."
The school year opened for more than 7,600 students in the District's 11 school buildings on Sept. 3, with students meeting their teachers and getting acclimated to their schedules.
Also getting acclimated was brand-new Superintendent of Schools Joe Bollendorf, who spent his morning welcoming students to Washington Township High School, Whitman Elementary School -- where they are celebrating the school's 50th anniversary -- and Bells Elementary School. Bollendorf assumed the superintendent's post on Sept. 1 after spending 18 years in district administration, the past six as executive principal at the high school.
"As I made my way around the district, it was my great fortune to have the opportunity to personally experience the energy and optimism of a new school year from a completely new vantage point," Bollendorf said in a letter to parents at the end of the day. "I enjoyed greeting our students at all levels, meeting parents, watching teachers interact with their students and simply taking in the vitality of the day. It is a new start for all of us."