Date: Fri 23-Aug-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

schools-Page-Sandy-Hook

Full Text:

with photo : New Sandy Hook Principal Looks Forward To Opening Day

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

When Donna Page (Paj-aay) arrived at Sandy Hook School for the first time

earlier this summer she was baffled by the giant green footprints leading into

the school.

"I didn't know what they were at first," explained the school's new principal

with a laugh. "Finally somebody told me about the Jolly Green Giant Fair."

Mrs Page has been in and out of Sandy Hook School all summer, but she

officially got down to business last Thursday and her desk was already piled

with papers by that afternoon.

"I'm very excited about my new job. I guess I'm impatient to meet the

children. That's when I'll really come alive when the children step off the

bus," she said smiling.

Mrs Page, a resident of Orange, was hired last spring to fill the vacancy left

by the departure of Ron Vitarelli. So far, she said she has been made to feel

right at home. In the early going she will rely on staff members, especially

lead teacher George Stockwell, to help with the transition.

"The staff has really welcomed me. They've made me feel like a part of the

school community from the start," she said. "Obviously, the people here really

care about one another and share a commitment to the school and the children."

Sandy Hook's new leader has met several staff members over the summer and has

been especially impressed with their conscientious approach to public

education. Mrs Page said she'll wait until the start of school before

scheduling a staff meeting so that she and her faculty can share each other's

history, expectations, visions for the future and ideas for what education

should be.

The new Sandy Hook School principal comes to Newtown from the D.C. Moore

School in East Haven. Mrs Page said like at D.C. Moore, Sandy Hook School

parents, students and staff can expect an administrator who loves children and

loves working with children. She said she asks of her students what she asks

of herself: to always try their best.

Superintendent of Schools John R. Reed called his new principal "a teacher of

teachers" and said she was hired because of her ability to continue Sandy Hook

School's fine reputation.

Mrs Page's background is in language arts instruction, so she plans to focus

on looking at ways to integrate language arts across the curriculum. She'll

also stress reading and the relevance of problem-solving skills.

"As adults, we don't usually attack problem-solving from a science or math

perspective. We deal with problems from many different perspectives," she

explained.

The principal, who said she hopes to continue the strong tradition of arts at

Sandy Hook School, is also interested in technology. As she points out, this

may be the last generation of students to use textbooks as a main source of

information.

"We need to prepare students to be able to cope with change," she said.

As for the mastery tests, Mrs Page said she takes them very seriously.

"It's an accountability you can't ignore, but it's only one snapshot of a

child's development," she noted.

Mrs Page, a doctoral student at the University of Connecticut, will continue

to live in Orange and make the daily 30-minute commute to Sandy Hook.