Tara Strang, Malabar’s new assistant principal, talks with a group of children – including some fourth-graders – before the start of Thursday evening’s orientation program. The principal is new (sort of) and the assistant principal is brand new, but incoming fourth-graders and their parents learned Thursday evening that Malabar Intermediate School’s priorities have not changed.
Principal Tom Hager, Malabar’s assistant principal the last seven years, moved into the top spot this summer after longtime principal Andrea Moyer was named the district’s director of school improvement.
“Parents, families please know that it is a tremendous honor for all of us at Malabar to serve you, to be trusted with the education and safety of your children,” Hager said during the school’s annual fourth-grade orientation program.
Teachers and assistant principal Tara Strang were introduced during the opening session in the auditorium and the soon-to-be fourth-graders learned the school cheer—WE ARE MALABAR! Before families were released to visit classrooms, Hager emphasized the school’s priorities and expectations and told students the entire staff at Malabar will be there to help them.
“We will provide a conducive and safe learning environment where all students can be ready to learn,” he said. “We expect students to be respectful to teachers and their peers.”
Hager stressed the importance of academics, saying gains achieved annually have made Malabar “the flagship of Mansfield City Schools for years.”
“We will not tolerate bullying wherever it occurs. Zero tolerance!,” Hager said. “In regard to the dress code, if your child wears designer jeans with holes in them, they must wear something under the jeans. We don’t want to see any skin.”
Children who
bring cellphones to school must surrender them when they arrive. Phones will be
stored in envelopes until school is dismissed. They cannot be kept in lockers.
Hager urged parents
to visit a table in the lobby where they could register their children for
service, as needed, in the Care Connect health clinic at Malabar, a partnership
between the school and Third Street Family Health Services. Funded by a four-year
$600,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Education the clinic will have a
nurse practitioner on site two days a week and two community health care
workers to assist families in their homes.
Shorts are permitted, as long as they aren’t too short. No spaghetti-strap tops.
Hager
introduced state Rep. Mark Romanchuk, who wrote a letter to ODE in support of
the clinic.
“I love the energy in here,” Romanchuk said of the crowd in the auditorium. “I think the Care Connect clinic will be huge for everyone.”
The first
day of classes for Malabar fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders will be Aug. 26.