North New Summit School’s new assistant principal says he’s excited about the start of the new school year.
“We’ve got some excellent faculty, excellent staff here. We’ve got a good student body,” said Keith Davis, who also will teach anatomy/physiology and chemistry. “We’re looking forward to a great year here.”
Davis, who is entering his third year at North New Summit, said the enrollment typically grows by 15 to 20 students each year, and although it’s still early, it appears that will be the case again. He estimated that it has 135 students now.
The school has enough faculty to handle the projected growth and keep classes small with a focus on each student’s needs, he said.
“We are a school that is there for the individual learner, so we intentionally try to keep class sizes low,” he said. “And historically, our goal is to keep that class size somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 to 14 students. So with the current faculty level that we have now, we will meet that projection.”
Two new teachers will be working in the junior high and high schools: Freda McIntosh, who will teach science, history and math, and Bridgett Brown, who will teach Spanish, language arts and physical education. Jerrika Landers also joins the staff as secretary and receptionist.
Davis said the school has bought some new computers and revamped some existing ones.
“We’re continually trying to upgrade the computers and get the classrooms more technologically equipped to keep pace with technology,” he said.
Students will learn about growing and tending to flowers, vegetables and other items by using the planters that were added in front of the school in May. Classes will be assigned planters to care for, and they feature Mississippi crops.
The school will continue to offer clubs for students with particular interests, such as art or culinary studies. They participate in the clubs during the day as part of their classwork.
New this year will be a school newsletter, with items written by faculty and students.
“We’ll distribute it in the community, and it’ll go home to our parents,” Davis said. “It’ll talk about things that are happening here on campus — events that we’re engaging in — as well as things that we’re going to be doing outside the school.”
Students also will participate in community activities such as Toys for Tots and collecting food for the Leflore County Humane Society’s animal shelter.
The idea, Davis said, is to “support and give back to the community and teach the children that it’s important to give back and not just receive all the time.”
Basketball will be offered at New Summit for the third year, and the archery team, which has done well in past competitions, also will return. For other fitness enthusiasts, new equipment has been added around the walking track.
New Summit also added a cheerleading squad last year and hopes to offer it again, Davis said.
Student orientation will be held from 8 to 11:30 a.m. Aug. 8, and the first full day of classes will be Aug. 9. An open house will be held Sept. 8.
•Contact David Monroe at 581-7236 or dmonroe@gwcommonwealth.com.
