Conemaugh Township Area Primary School

1910 Penn Avenue, Jerome, PA 15937 - (814) 479-4084

Welcome to the Conemaugh Township Area Primary School, located in Jerome, PA. The Primary School is a state-of-the-art educational facility for children in kindergarten and first grade. Our excellent experienced staff of classroom teachers and support personnel creates a learning environment second to none!

Developmentally appropriate practice is the overriding philosophy at the Primary School. We believe that all children learn differently. The staff at the Primary School takes great pride in focusing on the child as an individual. Our combined efforts result in every child maximizing their ability and achieving to the highest degree possible in a competent, positive, and caring educational environment.

By implementing the strategies of developmentally appropriate practice on a daily basis, the needs of each child is addressed through a variety of on-going activities. Learning Centers provide a variety of creative and innovative activities on a daily basis that revolve around our hands-on integrated curriculum. These activities are geared to the age and level of ability of each individual student. On-going assessment measures progress on a continuing basis.

Reading / Language Arts is the focus of the morning instruction. It is here that you can observe the early emergent reader and writer in kindergarten and watch them blossom to independent readers and writers by second grade. This Language Arts block of instruction begins each morning after opening exercises and continues until lunch time. Following a 30 minute recess held on our newly renovated playground, students engage in Everyday Math, District adopted curriculum for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. This hands-on progressive approach to the teaching of practical mathematics is proving to be an exciting method of instruction for students, parents, and staff! This curriculum is also closely aligned with the PA State Education Standards.

Special area classes – Art, Physical Education, Music, and Library – are held throughout the afternoon. Students incorporate what they have learned in these co-curricular areas with an annual musical production for students, parents, and community.

Kindergarten students present an annual Christmas Concert in December during the school day. Family and friends are cordially invited to this festive holiday event. The long and proud tradition of music festivals continues in first and second grade with the performance of the yearly Christmas Concert. This holiday event is held in the Conemaugh Township Area High School Auditorium during an evening in December. Here again we welcome and encourage family and friends to attend.

It is our firm belief that students learn more when teachers and parents work together. This has been accomplished through a very active and innovative PTA working relationship. The PTA is an excellent way to become meaningfully involved in the school. Monthly meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the Conemaugh Township Area Intermediate School. We strongly encourage all parents/guardians to attend PTA meetings and activities. The PTA has been instrumental in helping teachers incorporate into the afternoon schedule an array of assemblies, classroom speakers, and field trips – all intended to enrich the educational programming at the Primary School.

Instructional Aides provide support for both teachers and students throughout the day at the Primary School. Reading Specialists and Learning Support Staff are here to support and instruct at-risk students, administer assessments, implement Individual Education Plans (IEP’s), as well as maintain the PA Standards throughout the school curriculum. Science and Social Studies are integrated into the curriculum to both enhance reading skills and to build a connection between the subject areas.

After school activities such as intramural basketball, midget league football, Pee Wee Cheerleading, scouting, and service projects are ongoing and supported by many parents, staff members, and community volunteers.

The Conemaugh Township Area School District’s excellent PSSA test scores document the high level of achievement of our students. Our commitment to continuous staff development for all staff members also demonstrates the dedication of our staff to constantly update their teaching skills.

With each new school year comes new challenges and initiatives. The 2005-06 school year provides us with specific student-focused goals.

• First and foremost, our main focus continues to be to provide our students with the highest possible educational instruction in reading and mathematics. In the area of math, our primary objective is to continue the implementation process of Everyday Math. Through daily instruction of 90 minutes, we will continue to provide a comprehensive and progressive math curriculum. Our ongoing commitment to parental involvement is apparent through workshops which are conducted after school as well as through Parent Links that are sent home on a regular basis.
• Our second goal for 2005-06 involves strengthening the bond between the local state certified childcare facilities and the Primary School. Our staff has conducted workshops for the local preschools and child care facilities to share ideas, strategies, and curriculum. This increased communication will ensure that students entering Conemaugh Township will have had a common introduction to printing letters, numbers, and numerous other beginning concepts. We commend these facilities for their enthusiastic support of this initiative.
• Our third goal is to further strengthen parent involvement at the Primary School. As part of that goal, we concentrate on improving communication between the home and the school. In order to achieve this vital goal, we wrote and received a Parental Involvement Title I Grant which will target first grade. The focus will be Language Arts with the emphasis on reading. Parents will have the opportunity to attend workshops on avenues to further assist their students on reading fluency, comprehension, and articulation. The final event will be a student-parent-staff “Reading Cookout” after school. Throughout the grant process, parents will be provided with strategies to help their child reinforce what is being taught in school at home.

Other avenues of communication continue to be the web site, the monthly newsletter, e-mail, and the telephone. Parents are encouraged to contact the school at anytime to express a concern or suggestion. Staff members are encouraged to return all telephone calls within 24 hours. Teachers are available for conferencing each day between 8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Please do not hesitate to schedule an appointment if you wish to meet with your child’s teacher.

You can clearly see why the Conemaugh Township Area Primary School is the pride of the community and the home of our future!

Nicole Dull, Primary School Principal