Simsbury Heads Back to School

Did the town seem a bit quieter on Wednesday? If it did it might be because on that sunny and cool morning, some 4,600 students went back to school.

From all reports, it was a good start to the 2011-2012 school year.

Tariffville Elementary School Principal Scott Baker said some buses were running about 15 minutes late, as Route 315 was closed due to flooding so traffic had to be diverted.

“It went pretty smoothly,” said Baker.

The school, which added 20 new students this year from as far away as Singapore and as close as Windsor, opened its doors to some 265 students total. Baker said the new students were spread out among the various grades at the K-6 school.

Mike Bennett and his family arrived at the office to drop off son Nathan a tad late, but it was understandable. The family, who lives on Riverside Road, was flooded out of their house and is staying at the Ramada Inn at Bradley International Airport.

“We held out,” said Gretchen Bennett. The family vacated late Sunday night.

The Bennetts have lived on Riverside Road for three years and this is the first time they were flooded. Mike Bennett said the water did not reach the first floor, but the basement was totally flooded. The backyard has about eight feet of water, he said. The family seemed to be taking it all in stride.

“They have a pool,” said Mike Bennett.

The first day went smoothly at the other six schools in town as well, according to administrators.

One change in the district this year is the start of the eight-period day at Simsbury High School.

“That’s the biggest change we have this year,” said principal Neil Sullivan.

The idea is the program gives students extended blocks of time for various courses once a week and adds help centers for social studies, science and world languages. Before, help centers were only available for math and English.

“We’ve build in support too,” he said.

The extended schedule also allows students the ability to take more electives.