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South Brunswick students return to classrooms

by Sean Ruppert, Staff Writer
   The big yellow buses dropped hordes of kids by the front entrance at Greenbrook School last week, while others were personally delivered by their parents.
   On Sept. 4, the halls were filled with excitement as students as young as 5 years old, noisily made their way through the building and to their new classrooms for the start of the day. It was the first day of the 2008-09 school year, and the faculty was happy to get back in action after the summer vacation.
   ”We are so ready for the kids to come back,” Principal Patricia Holliday said. “In some ways it feels like they never left. The start of a school year is always so wonderful because you get new challenges with new grades. Everyone gets to make a fresh start.”
   Ms. Holliday said Greenbrook has about 475 students this year, with about 70 kindergarten students. She said the school has about 60 new families that have never had a child enrolled at Greenbrook, with new students entering at every grade level.
   Ms. Holliday said one of the main focuses of the first day is to get the children accustomed to the school and make them feel comfortable.
   ”The biggest challenge is the shy ones, and the ones that are very emotional,” she said. “In the past we have had both kids and parents who have gotten emotional on the first day. Today (Thursday) was pretty quiet, though.”
   She said much of the first day is dedicated to orientations, to both the classroom and the school routines, like lunch in the cafeteria.
   For those parents who were feeling a little overwhelmed themselves, or were just looking to introduce themselves to the Greenbrook community, the school’s PTO held its annual Tears to Cheers event for the parents who dropped their kids off. The PTO provided snacks and coffee for the parents, and provided them with information on school events and PTO membership, as well as a chance to meet others with kids at the school.
   ”We found that a lot of the parents needed support,” PTO President Heidi Rone said.
   Ms. Rone has triplets that are entering the fifth grade.
   ”Coming in I was completely lost, but it was easy enough to learn about the school when I met some people and got some contact names,” she said.
   One parent who attended was Lindsay Hobsom, who had just dropped her daughter, Joanne, off for her first day of kindergarten.
   ”I was kind of worried about the first day,” Ms. Hobsom said. “But I am glad she is going to a local school that is so warm and friendly.”
   Ms. Hobsom said her daughter was excited to start school, and seemed a bit mesmerized when she first entered the building.
   Deven and Sonal Patel were also new parents to Greenbrook, dropping off their 5-year-old triplets to kindergarten. Their kids, Viresh, Vivek and Vinita, were all placed in different classes.
   ”They are excited, it is different for them from preschool,” Mr. Patel said. “This is their first time being separated, so they are happy and confused all at the same time.”
   Christopher and Nikki Jones were also new to Greenbrook, having moved their family to New Jersey from Memphis, Tenn., in the summer. They dropped their son, Jordan, off for first grade.
   ”It’s exciting for him. A new town and a new school. Everything is new,” Ms. Jones said. “We have been very impressed with how organized everything is. The day hasn’t been chaotic at all.”