$11K Grant to Brings Netbooks to Middle School

Education Foundation's grant will go toward purchase to enhance student writing.

The Chatham Education Foundation (CEF) awarded an $11,000 grant to Chatham Middle School to fund the purchase of 16 Netbooks. The Netbook computers will be used by students throughout the school to promote and enhance writing across the curriculum. Principal Robert Accardi applied for the grant, along with eighth-grade English teachers Lisa McTague and Carmela Zack. Colleen Markley, the president of CEF, said the organization is "pleased to have provided these grants, which will benefit students throughout Chatham."  The grant was made possible, Markley said, by the generosity of residents and businesses of the Chathams. Because of their support, she said, "the Foundation has been able to continue its efforts of supporting innovative and …

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Slow, Smooth Transition for Middle School Head

Jill Gihorski and Robert Accardi have been working closely together throughout summer and plan to continue doing so through the fall.

In some schools, two principals might be one too many. At Chatham Middle School (CMS), however, outgoing principal Robert Accardi and incoming principal Jill Gihorski happily coexist in the principal's office. "It's made it a lot better for me," Accardi said. "When I was contemplating leaving, not knowing who was going to take my place, it was a little bothersome. So this is great news for us, and wonderful news for the school." Gihorski's first official day as principal is Jan. 2, 2013, but throughout the summer and fall she plans to spend as much time as possible at CMS, getting to know the faculty and students and seeing Accardi work up close and personal—literally. "I just pull my chair right next to his," Gihorski joked when asked if …

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VIDEO: Outgoing Principal Takes a Plunge

Though if you listen closely, you can hear him asking for it.

This year, the annual Fun in the Sun event at Chatham Middle School had a new attraction: A dunk machine, which several staff members, including Principal Robert Accardi, took turns in. Students and teachers took it in turns trying to dunk staff members. Accardi was dunked twice, once by a student and once by a teacher, Allyson Minarik—though if you listen carefully, you can hear him tell the students to "let Mrs. Minarik throw a couple," and when she asks if he is sure, he says yes. It's only after she dunks him that Accardi points out Minarik is non-tenured.

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Athletic Director, CMS Principal Resignations Official

The board also approved contracts with various staff members.

The Board of Education of the School District of the Chathams unanimously approved a resignation from Alexis Korsak, the athletic director at Chatham High School, without discussion Monday. According to the agenda, Korsak's resignation is effective June 30. As first reported by Patch last week, the Board of Education advertised for the vacancy, but Board President Thomas Belding declined to comment further. The board did not discuss her resignation on Monday, and Belding declined to comment, except to say the district would conduct a wide search for her replacement. At the board meeting on Monday, April 16, Board Member John Nonnenmacher referred to "issues" with Korsak that he attributed to "growing pains." Korsak was approved as the …

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Middle School Principal to Retire in December

Robert Accardi to end two decades in the Chathams.

Robert Accardi, the principal of Chatham Middle School, has submitted a letter to the Board of Education announcing his retirement at the end of the calendar year. Accardi said his official retirement date will be Jan. 1, 2013, in "hope that the timeliness of this notice will make possible a thorough and rigorous principal search" and an "orderly transition." Accardi has been an employee of the School District of the Chathams for 20 years. In his letter to the board, he said his time in the district "has been professionally and personally rewarding for me." Tom Belding, the sitting president of the board, said the district "will conduct an appropriately broad search" for Accardi's replacement. "Exactly where we will advertise has yet to be…

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Back to School 2011

Dress Code Eliminates Short Shorts, Dresses

A committee of staff, parents and students revised the dress code for Chatham Middle School for the upcoming school year.

When Chatham Middle School students step onto campus on Sept. 6, things will look a little different. Principal Robert Accardi said that after numerous concerns reported from parents and teachers in the last academic year, the school decided to revise its dress code. "We haven't had a revision in a good many years," Accardi said, "[but] last year we noticed a real change in some of the clothing that had become popular with the kids." The new fashions for the tween and young teens who attend the school "were very revealing," Accardi said. "Very short dresses, very short shorts, and tops that were revealing more skin than we thought was appropriate for a school environment." At first Accardi said that the school was permissive of the style …

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2:19 pm on Tuesday, April 17, 2012

BIIIIIGGG BOBBY ACCARD   more ›

Outfitting Your Middle Schooler

Textbooks, supplies and a new dress code for incoming sixth graders at Chatham Middle School.

Whether you are sending your child to Chatham Middle School for the first time or the last time, there are always a few things that every parent – and student – needs to know. "This year we are all going to start off with a brand new master schedule," said Principal Robert Accardi. The new schedule rotates classes on different days, with a different class dropped each day, allowing the remaining classes to have longer time periods. "This increase in instructional time has been wildly welcomed by the teachers, because that seven minutes makes a huge difference in engaging students," Accardi said. Under the new schedule, the morning classes rotate with each other and the afternoon classes rotate with each other, so teachers and students meet…

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