New technology and a broader range of course offerings are on tap for this year's incoming batch of Wareham School District students, when they walk through the school doors on Aug. 31.

Elementary Schools

The John W. Decas Elementary School serves kindergarten, and grades one and two. The Minot Forest Elementary School serves preschool, and grades three and four.  Decas Principal Donna Noonan and Minot Forest Principal Joan Seamans said they will be piloting two different math programs, to see which one works better, overall, for their students. The two programs are enVision and Eureka; and while they both align to the state’s standards for academics, they use different methods of teaching the same concepts.

Eureka uses concrete, real-world examples to teach, while enVision uses a combination of interactive and visual learning tools, such as videos.

Seamans said the school will also be instituting a transitional support room for students who are having difficulty in the classroom.

“[The students] can go to this room, and finish whatever work they are having difficulty with, and teachers may teach without interruption,” Seamans said. “It’s going to be individual, and based on the needs of the student. It could be for a [class] period, it could be longer.”

There will also be changes to the structure of Minot Forest’s faculty. Seamans said she added three new assistant principal positions, each with their own set of duties, in order to focus on the year’s goal of discipline.

“The preschool team chair position is now an assistant principal, with a focus on [special education] and discipline,” Seamans said. “The instructional leadership position is now an assistant principal with a focus on academics. The traditional assistant principal is now the first line, as far as discipline, on working with children and their families.”

Seamans also said in an email there will be 503 students this coming school year, after the preschoolers turn 3 and enroll. She said this number could also increase, if new families move into town, but that several families left Wareham this year.

Both Decas and Minot will also continue with their reading program, called REACH, which stands for Reading Enriches All Children, and use PowerTeacher, a organizational program for teachers Noonan said ties in with the size of the school increasing. She said the school wants “high levels of student engagement, and to really diminish any distracting factors.”

“Children, by their very natures, can become very distracted,” Noonan said. “What we are helping them to do is figure out ways to function within a school community where there are upwards of 20 people together.”

Noonan also said she has an ongoing invitation to any parents who want to meet with her, before school starts, so that she “may understand and get to know their child better."

Noonan said in a later email the enrollment this year is 678 students, which is "fairly consistent with last year." Kindergarten enrollment is currently at 210 students, with an average of 21 students per class. Grades one and two also have between 20 and 22 students per class, but the school is still enrolling for all grades.

Middle School

Middle School Principal Dan Minkle said he “loves new school years,” and this year is no different for him. He said the biggest change in the school are the new elective course offerings for students, based on a survey done with the staff over the course of the last school year. The course offerings include the history of fashion design, botany, a culinary class, the history of Wareham, and even a class on the videogame, “Minecraft.”

“We want to [show] kids that there is one more thing to feel good about coming to school for,” Minkle said. “We have to adhere to the [state standards], but what we are trying to do is entice kids and teachers to get excited about it. We can showcase talent and skill, outside the core curriculum.”

There will also be a course led by gym teacher Nicole Stahmer that focuses on relaxing students, in order to balance out their academic workloads. The course, called Brain Gym, teaches “techniques of helping kids to think and relax and problem-solve, regardless of the problem.”

“A lot of it is being physically ready to think things through,” Minkle said. “They need to be shown that this is how to reduce your stress.”

Minkle also said school has expanded the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Humanities, and Mathematics (STEAM) program into the eighth grade. The program, which is entering its second year at the school, was only offered to seventh-graders last year, and seeks to teach students typical classroom subjects outside the typical classroom environment. The students in the first year of the program planted a cranberry bog towards the end of last school year, from which Minkle expects a crop of berries soon.

“We are not going to take crates out, but we can expect to see some fruit,” Minkle laughed.

Minkle also said total school enrollment is at 800 students. He said the school is up by 15 students, due to new enrollments towards the end of last school year in June.

High School

High School Principal Scott Palladino said the High School’s main focus this year is on technology in the classrooms, and that students “will have more technology than ever before.”

“I would think we are very close to one-on-one for computers to kids,” Palladino said. “A lot of Chromebooks on carts are being added to the departments. A lot more technology will be integrated into the lessons.”

Palladino also said students may expect several new electives, including Bootstrap algebra, which teaches students using video games, and a mechanical drawing course that uses computer aided design software.

“The technology – it excites everyone,” Palladino said. “Technology can be a catalyst.”

The school will also have a working bank window in its cafeteria, for the DECA program to use as real-world training in banking.

Palladino said there are going to be around 580 students at the school this year, a 25-student increase from last year, which he said is due to "more kids sticking around, and ... even some school choice kids."

For all schools, there will be a change to the bus transportation policy. The School Committee voted at its June 17 meeting that no student living within one mile of the school will be bused to the school, except when the sidewalks and walkways become impassable. Superintendent Kimberly Shaver-Hood said there will be one bus stop for Decas, one stop for Minot, and a combined stop for the Middle and High Schools.

"All other students living more than one mile will have transportation provided," Shaver-Hood said at the meeting.