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Nerves, excitement mark school’s start
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| Photo by Lee Juillerat Mills Elementary School teacher Susan Bollinger gathers her first graders on a mat before reading them sections from the book, “Howard B. Wigglebotto Learns to Listen.” |
By MEGAN DOYLE
H&N Staff Writer
First-grader Chloe Bristow clung to her older sister as her class lined up outside Mills Elementary School Tuesday morning, and she didn’t let go until she entered Susan Bollinger’s classroom.
She wasn’t alone.
Other young students also hung on to family members until class was ready to begin. A few shed tears. Then “I love yous” were whispered with reminders of “I’ll be back to pick you up,” and the first day of school was off to a good start.
“I love the first day of school,” Bollinger said, adding that it sets the tone for the rest of the school year.
About 10,000 students in the Klamath Falls and Klamath County school districts headed back to school Tuesday. Some, especially kindergarten and first-graders, appeared nervous. Others were excited and glad to see friends again.
Excitement and jitters
It’s not that Bristow wasn’t excited for school, said Bristow’s sister, Kristian Kerekes, a sophomore at Klamath Union High School this year.
“She was the first one up and already getting ready,” Kerekes said.
Bristow even packed her backpack the night before, and her sister even gave her some advice.
“I told her to be nice to everyone and it wouldn’t be too hard,” Kerekes said.
Charlotte Luewellyn’s daughter Ariana also headed to her first day of first grade at Mills Elementary School. Ariana was awake at 5 a.m. picking out her clothes, Luewellyn said.
It was tough as a mom to drop her off for her first day of school, she added.
The first few days are routinely hard on first graders, too, Bollinger said.
“We sometimes get a little tired after a lunch,” she said.
Bollinger’s first graders learned a song they will sing every day before reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. They listened to their teacher read “Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen,” talked about bathroom etiquette, colored with crayons and went to morning recess.
Checking things out
“Things are pretty exciting on the first day of school,” said Cec Amuchastegui, superintendent of Klamath Falls City Schools.
She spent the day visiting schools to see how students and staff transitioned from summer break and to see the excitement.
“I felt it in the staff and the teachers,” Amuchastegui said.
Some upper-level students will start later this week after underclassmen at the junior high and high schools are given an opportunity to acclimate to their new environment, she said.
The mood throughout all the Klamath County School District also was optimistic and up beat, said Greg Thede, Klamath County School District superintendent.
“I think we had a great first day of school,” he said.
The only incidents were a couple of 10- to 15-minute power outages in Chiloquin and Gilchrist, he said. He wasn’t sure of the cause, but expects the rest of the week to continue as smoothly as the first day.
She wasn’t alone.
Other young students also hung on to family members until class was ready to begin. A few shed tears. Then “I love yous” were whispered with reminders of “I’ll be back to pick you up,” and the first day of school was off to a good start.
“I love the first day of school,” Bollinger said, adding that it sets the tone for the rest of the school year.
About 10,000 students in the Klamath Falls and Klamath County school districts headed back to school Tuesday. Some, especially kindergarten and first-graders, appeared nervous. Others were excited and glad to see friends again.
Excitement and jitters
It’s not that Bristow wasn’t excited for school, said Bristow’s sister, Kristian Kerekes, a sophomore at Klamath Union High School this year.
“She was the first one up and already getting ready,” Kerekes said.
Bristow even packed her backpack the night before, and her sister even gave her some advice.
“I told her to be nice to everyone and it wouldn’t be too hard,” Kerekes said.
Charlotte Luewellyn’s daughter Ariana also headed to her first day of first grade at Mills Elementary School. Ariana was awake at 5 a.m. picking out her clothes, Luewellyn said.
It was tough as a mom to drop her off for her first day of school, she added.
The first few days are routinely hard on first graders, too, Bollinger said.
“We sometimes get a little tired after a lunch,” she said.
Bollinger’s first graders learned a song they will sing every day before reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. They listened to their teacher read “Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen,” talked about bathroom etiquette, colored with crayons and went to morning recess.
Checking things out
“Things are pretty exciting on the first day of school,” said Cec Amuchastegui, superintendent of Klamath Falls City Schools.
She spent the day visiting schools to see how students and staff transitioned from summer break and to see the excitement.
“I felt it in the staff and the teachers,” Amuchastegui said.
Some upper-level students will start later this week after underclassmen at the junior high and high schools are given an opportunity to acclimate to their new environment, she said.
The mood throughout all the Klamath County School District also was optimistic and up beat, said Greg Thede, Klamath County School District superintendent.
“I think we had a great first day of school,” he said.
The only incidents were a couple of 10- to 15-minute power outages in Chiloquin and Gilchrist, he said. He wasn’t sure of the cause, but expects the rest of the week to continue as smoothly as the first day.
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