By:Sara Peters
JAMESBURG — Faculty members agreed the day was a success, and marveled at how well students behaved on their first day of school Thursday.
“We don’t seem to have any criers this year,” said John F. Kennedy School Principal Shirley Bzdewka. “Of course, there are probably some parents sitting in their cars, crying, right now.”
Parents snapped photos of their children lined up outside. Teachers consulted each other about teaching techniques, and gaped at how much the children had grown. Vice Principal Marion Lamberti, new to the school this year, helped one student tie his shoe.
At 8:30 a.m. the doors opened, showing shining floors, and brand new banners decorating the halls. The entire school staff helped escort the students to their classes quickly, to avoid tearful good-byes between parents and children.
“The key is to distract them until their teachers can get them occupied,” said Ms. Bzdewka.
Many students expressed excitement at returning to school.
“I couldn’t wait to come back,” said sixth-grader Chris Tecchio. “In June you can’t wait to get out, and you spend lots of time at your friends’ houses. But by the end of the summer, you go over and say ‘so what do you want to do?’, but then it’s like ‘We already did that!’”
Chris also said he was excited about all of the extra activities the sixth graders enjoy during their last year at JFK School. “I’m looking forward to the dances, the field trip, and the lock-out, where we sleep over in the school,” he said.
Second-grader Zoe Rasiewicz was also happy to return. “I’m looking forward to meeting the new librarian,” she said. Zoe’s one complaint was that her sleep schedule is irregular, ever since she slept over her friend’s house last week and stayed up too late.
By 9 a.m., the students were settled back in. Kindergartners in Ms. Jennifer Koslowski’s class were seated quietly on the floor, learning a new rhyme about the days of the week. It was set to the tune of the theme song for the “Addam’s Family” television show. Backpacks with the words “Pokémon,” “Powerpuff Girls”, and “Crocodile Hunter” sewn onto them, hung neatly in their cubbyholes, accompanied by Elmer’s Glue, crayons and scissors.
Students and faculty became more relieved as the day went on. “Getting here is the hardest part,” said Ms. Bzdewka. “After that, it gets easier.”
Nonetheless, students still have a way to go.
Though she said she was having fun, kindergartner Marissa McConnell fretted, “I didn’t know what the first letter in ‘lion’ was.”
