Valley Road Kindergarteners Meet Their New Teacher

A press release from the Clark School District:

Kindergarten Students and their parents at the Valley Road School in Clark had the opportunity to meet their new replacement teacher, Ms. Meghan Zampella, at an evening Meet and Greet event earlier this week.

Superintendent of Schools Kenneth Knops and Director of Curriculum Ed Grande facilitated the evening, where a packed room of both Kindergartners and their parents were afforded to meet their incoming leave replacement teacher.

Knops began the evening by explaining in detail the interview process to the parents in attendance, which included the District receiving 125 applications for the leave replacement position and administration interviewing a total of 24 of these applicants.  He then introduced Ms. Zampella to all those in attendance, highlighting her academic record, certifications, student teaching experiences, and hobbies and interests.  Ms. Zampella is a 2010 graduate of Rutgers University, where she received her Masters of Education Degree in Elementary Education, attaining a perfect cumulative grade point average of 4.0. While at Rutgers University, was inducted into Kappa Delta Pi, the International Honor Society for Education. A lover of literature, Ms. Zampella is a vociferous reader and author of her own children’s book, “Penny Andrews and Her Amazing Adventures.”  Ms. Zampella is also a weekly volunteer at the St. Hubert’s Animal Shelter in Branchburg.

After Knops’s introduction, Ms. Zampella  moderated a lively Power Point Presentation she created for all in attendance, highlighting her background, educational philosophy, past educational experiences, hobbies and interests, and contact information.  She then disseminated an interest survey to all parents in attendance to fill out as a means of sharing unique information about their child with their teacher.  A brief question and answer session then took place, followed by Ms. Zampella chatting individually with the Kindergartners and their families. 

In commenting on the Meet and Greet, Superintendent Kenneth Knops remarked, “The evening was a wonderful success, with our incoming Kindergartners and their parents having the opportunity to meet their leave replacement teacher.  Two years ago we started a program called Move-Up Day where students in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade district wide meet their next year’s teachers and classmates on the final day of the school year.  Whenever a new teacher comes aboard, we want to provide our students and their parents with the opportunity to meet their teacher prior to the start of the school year.  I’m much appreciative of our parents for their support of our schools and instructional program, it was a delight to see a packed room in the middle of summer.  The Kindergartners, although shy as might be expected, seemed to enjoy the evening and learning about their new teacher   We are extremely fortunate to have such an educationally oriented community comprised of parents who support the endeavors and programs of our school district.”