Three new schools, one new building, many new initiatives greet students as year begins

Public schools

PS 7

PS 7 is going green.
Over the summer, new motion-censored lighting was installed in every classroom to save energy.
The school will also undergo roof renovations to fix leaks in about a month, according to Principal Frank Patterson.
The school’s registration increased by about 10 percent this year, Mr. Patterson said.

PS 24

To amp up the school’s social studies offerings, administrators at PS 24 have implemented a new partnership with the New York Historical Society. Fourth graders will study the Lenape Indians and fifth graders will focus on immigration.
The school will also open a new science lab to students in kindergarten through fifth this year. This year for the first time, every classroom will have a SMARTBoard, state-of-the-art computers and document cameras, according to Principal Donna Connelly.
PS 24 teachers recently attended a variety of professional development sessions to help them implement New York’s new Common Core State Standards, aimed at ensuring that lessons are relevant and to increase college and career readiness.

Multiple
Intelligence School, PS/MS 37

Students at PS/MS 37 will have a new place to play this year.
Designed by a student committee, the school’s new playground features a play field with a track, basketball courts, play equipment, chess tables and bleachers.
Councilman Oliver Koppell and Out2Play, a non-profit that helps schools covert asphalt yards into customized play areas, funded the project.

Bronx New School, PS 51

PS 51 is opening in a new building, Saint Martin of Tours School, located at 695 E. 182nd St., because officials founds its old location, at 3200 Jerome Ave., contained unacceptably high levels of the toxic chemical trichloroethylene, or TCE.
The new building has a gym with a stage and a separate cafeteria and will occupy the top three floors of the four-story building.

Robert J. Christen School, PS 81

PS 81 is amping up its arts program.