John Marcus says he'll always be a Cottage Street Cougar. Except this year, he'll connect to the school through a computer. Marcus became the Sharon schools' director of technology on July 1 after eight years as Cottage principal. He was a principal for 13 years, previously serving in Stoughton. "I just felt it was the right time to explore things that I'm also passionate about aside from principaling," Marcus says. "I also want to spread my wings and work with middle and high school age kids in a new way. "I feel like I have a passion for making technology more about people and less about …

When Glenn Brand became Sharon's assistant school superintendent on July 1, he didn't assume new Superintendent Timothy Farmer's prior job completely. Farmer was assistant superintendent for curriculum and administration. Brand is the assistant superintendent for administration and finance. Don't call Brand the Sharon schools' business manager, though. That's Susan Owen's title. Brand says he and Farmer are "still fine-tuning our division of roles." That said, Brand said he anticipates participating in fiscal planning discussions "in order to drive our buildings forward." "We're in a time …

Sharon's school opener for grades 1 to 12 was "relatively calm" Wednesday, three days after Tropical Storm Irene, Superintendent Timothy Farmer told the school committee Wednesday night. Sunday's storm created "significant issues that could've impeded our opening," he said. Some students found themselves at temporary alternate bus stops created at streets partially closed by Irene-related debris, Farmer said. School officials informed parents through through the district's AlertNow emergency message system, he said. Supervisor of Transportation Fran Derry "is amazing with regard to what she …

Driving east from Sharon would put new Sharon School Superintendent Timothy Farmer in Stoughton. Driving east in his Maine hometown, he'd be in the Atlantic Ocean. Farmer on Wednesday marks his first first day of school leading a district. Students in grades 1 to 12 start class, with Kindergarten starting Thursday. Ask Farmer about his hometown of Lubec, Maine, and one gets a geography lesson. About two hours northeast of Bar Harbor, Lubec is "the easternmost part of the United States. You can't go any further east without jumping into the Atlantic Ocean," he says. "And there's a small bridge…

With Sharon starting school Wednesday, here are the school calendar and the school lunch menus, courtesy of the Sharon public schools. Catch up with Sharon Patch's previous 2011 Back to School stories: Meet new Sharon High School Assistant Principal William Klements. Discover what's new at Sharon High. Former Canton High infielder joins Cottage administrative team. New Cottage Principal's first day will be his birthday.   Meet new East Assistant Principal Donna Brown. East is home for new Principal Elizabeth Murphy. The Sharon school bus routes are here. Learn about new foreign language and …

Helping Sharon Middle School parents increase their school involvement interests new Assistant Principal Jackie Mann. Mann can relate to them. The Sharon resident's son is an SMS seventh-grader this year, and her two older children have been Sharon students, "so I know this whole concept of 'I want my parents around, but not really in my school,'" she says. "I think it's hard for parents. I think as their kids are pushing them away, there are other ways they can become involved and supportive. They're a big part of our community," Mann says. Sharon starts school Wednesday. Mann takes over for…

Sharon Middle School students' second day of classes this year will feature a school-wide lesson. The school's advisory groups, from every grade, will unite to "work on what respect looks like" and to do "community building," Assistant Principal Jackie Mann says. Thursday's program is part of the curriculum work the school is doing using its advisory and peer leader programs, Mann says. The school is responsing to work by the district's anti-bullying task force, she says. The middle school also hopes to have an oversight committee on culture and respect that will help plan a series of events …

Sharon Middle School students only need to find the auditorium when they arrive Wednesday for their first day. "Because we get you here, we'll talk to you for a few minutes here, we'll introduce you to your homeroom teachers, your advisory teachers right here, and take you with your group and walk you to your homeroom with your bags and all your stuff," Principal Kevin O'Rourke told students and parents in that auditorium during a building tour Thursday. "You don't have to find anything else." Construction of the new wing of the $50.5 million renovation and addition project will continue for …

Sharon's three elementary schools will focus more on combating bullying this year. The Heights Elementary, East Elementary and Cottage Street schools will teach the same 10 lessons on this topic over the year, Kindergarten through grade five, Heights Principal Lisa Lamore says. The first three lessons are based on community building. The second three on problem solving, and the third three on identifying bullying behaviors. A buddy lesson will be taught at the end. A group of representatives of each school convened by East Principal Elizabeth Murphy this summer looked at "what lessons we …

Here are the Sharon school bus routes, courtesy of the Sharon public schools.

New East Elementary School Principal Elizabeth Murphy had a smooth transition into her new job this summer. Spending her entire 28 years in education at East -- most recently as assistant principal -- has its advantages. "It's very strange. Because as I was driving to work the other day, I remember that was 28 years ago. And now I'm driving to school to the same bulding where I'm now the principal," says Murphy, who began as a first-grade teacher in 1983. "It's very surreal. Because being a classroom teacher, then to a curriculum coordinator to an assistant principal to a principal ... "This …

East Elementary School visitors looking for Assistant Principal Donna Brown should check the cafeteria and the playground. "I want to be very visible during lunches and recess, so that the kids get to know me, I get to know the kids and helping out with problem solving and those kinds of things in the non-academic setting of the building," Brown says. "I think what goes on in the classrooms is incredible. I want to help out in those transitions in the non-academic times so that the educational process gets carried through." Sharon's first day of school is Wednesday, Aug. 31. Brown came here …

Kevin Madden's first day of school as Cottage Street principal likely will take the cake -- if not at school, then at home. Cottage's new leader turns 35 next Wednesday, Aug. 31, the first day of Sharon's new school year. "That will be my birthday party: starting school on my birthday," Madden says. The new academic year brings Madden closer to his hometown, Walpole, "very close to the Sharon border, right where the Big Y is," after four years as principal of Seekonk's George R. Martin Elementary School. Madden says leaving Seekonk didn't interest him until the Cottage post opened. John …

The Cottage Street School's administrative team picked up a veteran infielder this summer. New Assistant Principal Andrew Zides played for Canton High School; the Canton American Legion Post 24 baseball team, where his teammates included Sharon High School assistant coach Kee Arguimbau, as well as Adam Blaustein, the son of Sharon School Committee member Mitch Blaustein; and at Division I Quinnipiac University with Ari Kafka, the son of state Rep. Louis Kafka (D-Stoughton). The 30-year-old Easton resident also interned for both the Baseball Hall of Fame and for the Pawtucket Red Sox. And he …

Sharon High School students will have a new incentive to come to school on time when classes start next week. Unexcused tardiness five times in the same quarter will put the student on a one-week “social suspension” from extracurricular activities, including sports, for one week, Principal Jose Libano says. Eight unexcused tardys in the same quarter will prompt a social suspension for the balance of that quarter, the policy says. The new policy is among the biggest changes awaiting Sharon High students when classes start on Aug. 31. Last year, school officials handled the issue mostly through…

If the fates are kind, Sharon High School's first day of class won't be a comedy of errors for new Assistant Principal William Klements. That said, Klements is a fan of Shakespeare's plays -- particularly of the bard's comedies. "He understands people, in my opinion, better than anyone that's ever written," Klements says of Shakespeare, for whom his appreciation developed in college. "I'm a fan of the comedies because they're not taught as much in schools. Kids will read 'MacBeth.' And kids will read 'Romeo and Juliet.' And if you're not careful, in Shakespeare, everybody dies and it's all …