The eighth grade class of Arlene Buniag and Victor Cabrera at Hopwood Middle School on Tuesday, the first day of the new school year.
WSR Elementary School special education teacher Dora Jo Ada, Vice Principal Dr. Jocelyn Manibusan Tudela and Principal Dr. Lynn Mendiola monitor classes through state-of-the-art technology that includes high-end security surveillance and cameras.
ALL 20 public schools on Saipan, Tinian and Rota opened their doors Tuesday to returning and new students, including those attending Head Start/Early Head Start, early intervention and special education classes.
There were 8,896 enrolled students at all levels, but this number is projected to increase due to late enrollees and transferees in the next two weeks, according to the Public School System’s Office of Accountability, Research and Evaluation, which tracks and records enrollment numbers.
School administrators credited the smooth opening of classes to three factors: preparation throughout the summer, collaboration with parents, and technology-based registration/enrollment.
PSS also implemented a new bell schedule for middle schools, from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., and for high schools, from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. The elementary bell schedule remains at 7:30 a.m.
“We have a smooth transition during the reopening of our public schools — thank you to our strongest partners, our parents, who were there to help their children attend the first day of classes safely and orderly,” Commissioner of Education Dr. Alfred B. Ada said.
Schools on Saipan, Tinian and Rota reported attendance rates of between 95% and 100% on the first day of classes, he added.
Students of Dr. Rita Hocog Inos Junior-Senior High School pose for a photo on the first day of the new school year.
Transportation
Transporting students from various pickup and drop-off points proceeded smoothly, although there were “minor hiccups” involving first-time students getting into the wrong buses, PSS said.
An estimated 2,000 elementary, middle and high school students were transported Tuesday by PSS buses and vans.
PSS-Office of Pupil Transportation projects that the number of students availing themselves of free transportation service will increase to over 4,000 in the next few weeks.
According to PSS-OPT Director Shawn San Nicolas, students were transported on time.
Major road repair projects are ongoing on Beach Road, but parents dropped their children at the designated pickup points on time.
A total of 29 PSS buses and special education vans rolled out at exactly 6:30 a.m. to pick up students.
“It was smooth considering all the traffic that our buses have to encounter, especially on Saipan’s Beach Road,” San Nicolas said.
Infinite Campus
The “Infinite Campus,” a technology-based information system, helped ensure a smooth opening of classes, PSS said, adding that there were far fewer parents visiting schools for late enrollment this school year than in the previous school years.
The Infinite Campus was implemented in 2022 by Commissioner of Education Ada and Senior Director for Accountability, Research and Evaluation Dr. Rizalina Liwag.
It is designed to manage student information: attendance, grades, schedules, test scores, among other things.
“Everything is seamless because it is a computerized system,” Liwag said.
Hopwood Middle School Principal Victorino Borja, Vice Principal Ben Seman, and Vice Principal Karen Manuel discuss the security monitors in place for the new school year.
Tinian, Rota
On Tinian, the newly separated public high school and middle school held a joint flag ceremony for their 253 students.
Principal Liz Perzinski said on the first day of school, students elected their class officers, and signed up for the clubs and sports organizations of their choice.
On Rota, Dr. Rita H. Inos Junior-Senior High School opened the school year with 220 students.
“The students were really very excited,” interim Principal Annette Calvo said. She commended the “collaboration and preparation between the school administration and staff, working together to make sure we open the school smoothly and are ready to receive our students.”
She also credited her school’s nearly 40 teaching and non-teaching personnel for “making it happen.”
Saipan
Marianas High School, the CNMI’s largest high school, registered 1,680 students as of Tuesday.
“This is the biggest enrollment in the history of the school,” Vice Principal Melanie S. Rdiall said. Last year’s figure was 1,540.
She noted that the increase in enrollment came from private schools, referring to transferees from Grace Christian Academy, Mount Carmel School, Seventh-Day Adventist School, and Agape Christian Academy.
“It was smooth, but in the afternoon, it was a little bit of chaotic because parents were waiting for their children. Basically, it was organized chaos. We are expecting that in the coming days traffic will not be a problem anymore,” Rdiall said.
MHS has emailed parents and students to inform them of the temporary traffic flow and parking areas due to the ongoing road construction projects on Beach Road.
Hopwood Middle School, the largest middle school in the CNMI, opened smoothly and had an enrollment of 618 students, a number that is expected to increase.
“The opening went pretty smooth,” Principal Vic Borja said. “We have everyone here at the same time and everyone is looking forward to a full day of instruction.”
Vice Principal Karen Manuel said it was the first time that they implemented a full-day session since Super Typhoon Yutu destroyed Hopwood in October 2018.
“We began our classroom instruction without any delay. It was seamless and organized based on our scheduled time,” Manuel added.
“Compared to previous years, it’s a lot smoother. There may be overcrowding in our classrooms and that’s maybe because we have a full set of students on a full schedule, but we don’t see any major problems.”
The island’s largest elementary school, William S. Reyes Elementary School, welcomed 540 students on Tuesday. The number is expected to change in the coming days.
“We opened very smoothly and quietly,” Principal Dr. Lyn Mendiola said. “Although we have some parents who came to do last-minute registration, it was not as busy compared to the last or previous years.”
She praised their school registrar, Roque Pulido, for his aggressive work “in reaching out to parents.” As a result, “parents did a lot better in registering earlier or on time,” Mendiola said.
Saipan Southern High School opened its campus to 690 students.
“I thought we were going to have a scheduling difficulty, but our vice principal, counselors and staff did a good job,” SSHS Principal Vince Dela Cruz said.
He said the staff reported a week before Aug. 22 to help prepare the school schedule.
“And a lot of parents also helped fellow parents in the registration through the Infinite Campus,” he added.
Garapan Elementary School’s first bell rang at 7:30 a.m. to welcome 450 students, Principal Derwin Johnson said.
GES conducted an orientation and open house a day before the school opening, he added. “It also helped that we were able to address any potential situation during the opening of classes,” he said.
At Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School, the students were “excited and smiling,” Principal Raena Bermudes said.
“The first day of school went well for our Binadu!” she added, referring to the deer, the school mascot.
“We had the opportunity to welcome many of our students and families to the campus before the first day during our open house event held last Friday, Aug. 18,” she said. “Parents and students who attended were able to meet the whole school team, learn about our school-wide goals and expectations, as well as visit the classroom to meet teachers and learn more about the class. This helped with a smooth start for many of our students today, the first day of school. We had a lot of smiling faces and excitement as students entered their classrooms. GTC is off to a great start and our team looks forward to a wonderful school year,” she added.
San Vicente Elementary School, for its part, opened its doors to 482 students.
“It was a beautiful sight, seeing parents walking their children to school,” Principal Paulette Tomokane said. “Despite the normal heavy traffic, it was a good first day.”
