With the arrival of September, the Syosset and Jericho school districts have launched another school year, one that nine months from now will be remembered for the graduation of the Class of 2000.

Jericho students got a jump start on the new year, heading back before the Labor Day Holiday, on Thursday, September 2. The early start was implemented to give teachers extra time to complete their increasingly rigorous curriculum requirements. Syosset's scholars returned after the holiday on Monday, September 7.

The most visible difference from last year for returning Jericho students is the ongoing construction taking place in the secondary schools. Workers most recently completed excavation work around the middle school wing, and will soon begin foundation work there. Workers will take turns completing phases between the high school and middle school until the construction is finished.

Site work, including the rerouting of roads, the addition of new parking lots, and the installation of new septic systems and chain-link security fences, has already concluded.

The Jericho district assured that safety measures are all in place to protect students from the potential hazards that are synonymous with construction.

This year, Jericho and Syosset schools have commenced exciting new programs that promise to enrich the educational experiences for students of all ages.

All students in Syosset's elementary and middle schools will participate in a new enrichment program designed to improve children's critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Teachers who are instructors in the program attended a week-long conference at the University of Connecticut last summer to explore ways to approach the enrichment program.

Jericho's elementary students, meanwhile, will be introduced to a fourth and fifth-grade foreign language curriculum. Each quarter, for one period a week, students will learn basic French, Spanish, Italian and Latin, so that by sixth grade, they will select one of these to study in secondary school.

Syosset introduced this same concept to its elementary schools last year. In Syosset, children now begin foreign language study as early as second grade. The program will continue this year.

Third-grade students in Jericho will undergo a new musical program on electronic keyboarding. This program was expanded to all three primary schools after a successful pilot program last year at Seaman Elementary School. Future plans may include phasing the music program into grades three through five.

Middle schoolers also will have some new and unique leaning opportunities. In Syosset, students at South Woods and H.B. Thompson are being offered new courses in mathematics, environmental science, wellness and computers. A new computer technology staff developer has been hired to help teachers integrate computer technology into the curriculum.

In Jericho, students in the sixth grade can take a new and improved advisory program called W.I.S.E. S.T.A.R.T., which allows kids to explore issues currently affecting their lives, such as wellness, interpersonal skills, self-esteem, education, conflict resolution, peer mediation, tolerance, adolescence, respect, responsibility and trust. These issues are confronted in small, intimate group settings.

Several exploratory electives are also being offered to all middle-school students in Jericho. Electronic Kingdom, an animated cartooning course, will utilize computer and video technology. The course Student, the Law and School will examine legal issues and court decisions pertaining to school and education. Topics in that class will include search and seizure and censorship. There will also be an Art Studio course for eighth graders.

High school students in Syosset can now take such courses as Public Building Architecture, Advanced Acting, Recording for Musicians, Criminalistics, AP Statistics, Visual Basic Computer Programming, Business Ownership and Marketing Research, and Advanced Theater Dance Workshop.

In Jericho, the most significant new offering to high-schoolers is an expanded support program which will now assist students struggling in global studies and math. With tougher standards being imposed this year by New York State's Regents Board, there will more more students who will be at risk of failing to meet graduation guidelines.

Originally, the support program was created for the science curriculum, but it was so successful that is it now being applied to other subjects. "The kids are enthusiastic and they see that it's helping them," said Jeffrey Feinberg, social studies curriculum associate.

Both school districts come into this year garnering national respect for their academic programs. This year's additions only can build upon these solid reputations.

Syosset Superintendent Carole G. Hankin said, "The strong support of our community, board of education and PTA enables us to begin this school year with an outstanding educational program for students at all grade levels...As we implement new programs and courses, we are always improving upon and augmenting our already excellent program."