Cranbury students head back to the classroom

By: Casha Caponegro
   The doors of the yellow school bus opened and a stream of wide-eyed eager youngsters, loaded down with backpacks and lunch bags, poured out.
   Parents accompanied children both by car and on foot, wishing them a good day and telling them to behave themselves.
   Younger children enviously watched their older siblings enter the red, brick building, jealous that they have to wait a few more years before they too can join in on the fun.
   All of this activity can only mean one thing, the start of the school year in Cranbury has arrived.
   On Tuesday morning the Cranbury School opened its doors to greet students who were both anxious to begin the school year and, at the same time, sorry to see that summer had come to a close.
   "I wish summer was still here," said Charlie Leson, an eighth-grader who spent his summer touring Italy. "We went all over Italy, from Milan through Tuscany and south Italy. It was very nice and warm. The beaches were very rocky."
   Also vacationing in Europe this summer were Birgitt and McKenzie Boschitsch, whose mother, Anita, accompanied them to school.
   "The girls visited their grandparents in Paris," said Ms. Boschitsch. "Then they saw their great-grandparents in Vienna. They got to hike in Switzerland and also saw some of Germany."
   The girls received a notice at the end of last year with their report cards, explaining what supplies they were required to bring on the first day.
   Birgitt, who is entering fifth grade, had "the usual stuff" in her backpack: binders, notebooks and pencils. Second-grader McKenzie, who also had the typical school supplies in her bag, was required to bring in a show-and-tell item to share with her class.
   "She brought in pictures of her vacation," said Ms. Boschitsch, pulling out of McKenzie’s backpack a picture of the girls in the Swiss Alps.
   McKenzie also brought with her a Scrooge McDuck book written in German, that she got in Europe.
   "I brought it in case we get to read," said McKenzie.
   The first day of school is a day when children get to show off their new fall clothes, sneakers and backpacks. Many kids pulled backpacks on wheels behind them, apparently the current trend in school bags.
   Sporting high-tech Gap backpacks with attachable lunch bags were Kellen and Kristopher Kenny, accompanied by their mother, Kim.
   Kellen who will be entering second grade, has been looking forward to his return to school.
   "He’s excited," Ms. Kenny said. "He’s been counting down the days."
   "It gets boring in the summer," said Kellen, who brought in fudge and taffy to share with his class for show-and-tell.
   Kristopher, however, is not as enthusiastic about his first day of kindergarten.
   "He’s excited for recess that’s about it," his mother said.
   Both boys had school supplies in their backpacks, along with pizza Lunchables and Cheez-it crackers for lunch. Kristopher also brought two books with him.
   "One is about baseball and the other is about a guy who is all locked up," said Kristopher, pointing to his book, "The Great Houdini."
   Both boys vacationed this summer at Stone Harbor in Cape May County.
   Also busy this summer were Angie and Norehan Abbis, who were driven to school by their mother, Sheren.
   "We planted a lot of trees, about 14 of them," said Norehan, a fifth-grader. "Yesterday we put up two screen doors at our house."
   "I found a beehive in a tree," said Angie, who is entering fourth grade. The girls also visited New York City during their vacation.
   As the last group of children exited their bus and made their way into the school, it became clear that the time to begin the school day had approached.
   Parents hugged their children and wished them good luck as they watched them go inside, eager and ready to embark upon another year of education and fun at the Cranbury School.