by Gale Szajna
The decade ended with the retirement of Ms.Gellar and Mr. Poedubicky becoming our new principal (soon to be Dr.Poedubicky as you can see).
The State of New Jersey required our school system to institute a desegregation plan. The Desegregation Committee of the Board of Education came up with a plan that included Lalor as one of it's "targeted" schools. In February they asked Lalor to nominate someone to represent us. Diane Proulx was selected, elected and volunteered. There were three parent PTA representatives on this committee. The initial plan was to pair certain schools together for fifteen field trips per year for multicultural experiences. The multicultural experiences were not a problem but fifteen days out of an already "educationally packed" school year was. After long meetings,subcommittees, vats of hot coffee, and "blood,sweat and tears" Lalor was paired with Robinson School for five trips per year. Toward the end of Diane Proulx's second term as president of Lalor PTA she was elected to the Hamilton Board of Education for a three year term (92-95). After a one year hiatus she was elected to another three year term ( 96-99) and was selected to be the Board of Education President for the 97/98 year.
One of our young alumni said," The highlight of his time at Lalor was winning the PTA Spelling Bee in fourth and fifth grade". A brother and sister remember the fifth grade graduation trip, Medieval Times, that the PTA sponsored. He"particularly liked the knights and the jousting". Another alumni's favorite teacher was Mrs.Kirby. She found it," fun and easy" to learn from her. In second grade she loved the book about penguins Mrs. Van Doren compiled for the class and she quickly retrieved it when asked about her memories of Lalor School. Another alumni remembers being taken by surprize when she walked into music class and they burst into a chorus of "Happy Birthday".
In the mid 90's the Hamilton Township Board of Education asked the State of New Jersey to evaluate our school system. One of the States recommendations was to close Lalor School because of the inefficiency of the building. Our Board did not consider that recommendation so we survived once again!!!
The 1998/1999 school year brought us a new principal, Mrs. Sharon Young. ( We are very pleased to have her) One of her concerns has been safety. This includes communication on the school grounds, the safety of the children on the playground, the vehicles dropping off and picking up the students, and unidentified persons in our building. She has taken steps to address all of these issues to ensure the complete safety and well being of all our students. She has established a connection for our students with our sending middle school and high school by having volunteer interaction with our students. We have had Net Day and our school is now "wired" and our staff is attending computer workshops. These are just a few of the many good things that are taking place at our school since the arrival of Mrs. Young.
Our current staff is: Kindergarten- Ms.Goliszewski and Mrs.Waller; First Grade- Mrs.Graziano (as of 1/2001 accompanied by student teacher, Mrs.Voos)and Mrs.Marchetti; Second Grade- Ms.Leary and Mrs.VanDoren; Third Grade- Mrs.Kyritsis and Ms.Ferri; Fourth Grade-Mrs.Kirby and Mrs.Sanger; Fifth Grade- Mrs.Abramovich; Special Education- Mrs.Gruschow, Mrs.Oliver, and Mrs.Dickson; Resource Room- Mrs.Tancredi and Mrs.Realmonte; Basic Skills- Mrs.Kowalick; Speech- Mrs.Bubb; Secretary-Mrs.Lord; Nurse-Mrs.Potash; Guidance-Mrs.Bartkowski; Art- Mrs.Noble; Gifted/Talented-Mrs.Poedubicky; ESL-Mrs.Mavrodin; Music-Mrs.Tompkins and Mr.Tobias; Physical Education- Mr.Fisk and Mrs.Bigos; Librarian-Mrs.Bellando; Occupational Therapist- Ms. Battino; Custodians- (Head) Mr.Abdeldayem, Mr.Joseph and Mr.Hoenisch; Cafeteria- Ms.Poole; Educational Assistants- Mrs.Bottari,Mrs.Rosati, Mrs.Womack,Mrs.Seaman, Ms.Jones, Mrs.Povio and Mrs.Leszczuk; and a R.O.B.I.N., Mrs.Sooso.
Mrs.Young was our Principal at the turn of the century. This is her third year at Lalor School. Our school has now grown to an enrollment of 260 students and surprise, the safety of the students and the vehicles around the school are still a concern!!! We are still making memories and in two short years our school will be celebrating its 75th Anniversary... In the 2000's....
CURRENT Principal Dr.James Fazzone and ~ STAFF
