Elementary students meet teachers, tour schools at district open houses
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on August 21, 2015 1:46 PM
"My name is Kayden Joseph Schriver. I'm going to be part of the Little Eagles," the precocious 5-year-old seated outside Rosewood Elementary School announced proudly Thursday afternoon.
Waiting anxiously for the doors to be unlocked for open house, he was accompanied by his aunt, Marie Shahan, her 10-year-old daughter, Kady, visiting from Pennsylvania, and his great-grandmother, Vera Pope.
"It's exciting," Ms. Pope said. "He's looking forward to it. He's smart."
That was an understatement.
Kayden had clearly come prepared for the first glimpse of his kindergarten classroom.
"I could not wait for this," he said, arriving more than 30 minutes early to the school and busily taking in the new surroundings.
"I saw a lizard climbing up here," he said, pointing to the brick wall at the school's entrance. "It was small and skinny."
When it came time to head to the classroom and meet his teacher, his priorities became apparent.
"I'm really ready for songs and stories," he said. "And the library. I'm going to look through every bookshelf and see if I can find any anaconda books."
No sooner than his teacher, Sarah Willoughby, introduced herself to the family, Kayden's first question was, "What's the librarian's name?"
Before leaving the school, he stopped in the library, where he regaled Media Coordinator Lori Jones with his interest in sloths and snakes and was told he would soon be able to check out books.
In the meantime, she asked, "Have you ever been to the public library?"
"I don't drive," Kayden replied.
Open houses were held at elementary schools around the county Thursday night, in preparation for the students' return to classes on Monday.
Julie Ham held 10-week-old daughter Judith, sleeping quietly while her 5-year-old brother, Isaac Ham, explored his new classroom.
"I'm excited and he's excited," Mrs. Ham said. "But I'm a little nervous."
"I'm sure I will have fun because there's a lot of cool stuff here," Isaac said, after finding his seat in Mrs. Willoughby's room.
Lisa Swenson brought her grandchildren, Markese Moore, a fourth-grader, and Skye Moore, a seventh-grader at Rosewood Middle.
Since she will be driving them to school each day, she had her own criteria -- "how friendly the teachers are, the staff are, how welcoming," she said. "When we came over, we wanted to see how open they were to newcomers outside of district. We also look at sports -- they have a wonderful youth program."
Filling out paperwork, their mother, Natasha Moore, said her children were ready for school to resume.
"I'm excited. They're excited," she said. "They have done just about everything they can do through the summer."
Dia Salazar and Mya Owens, now eighth-graders at Rosewood Middle School, had come to their former school with younger siblings.
"It feels weird," they said of being at their alma mater.
In addition to finding classrooms and meeting teachers, the occasion was an opportunity to sign up for other programs, like Scouting.
Brandon Talton, a third-grader, and a Cub Scout, and his older brother, Daniel, 12, a seventh-grader at Rosewood Middle School, were waiting for their father at the sign-up table for Pack 258.
"I like to see who's in his class because sometimes you have to separate the talkative ones," said their mother, Tammy Talton.
Eight-year-old Brandon admitted he could fall into that category.
Scout Leader Susan Lewis, whose son, Daniel Lewis, is a fourth-grader, said she still had some shopping to do for school supplies, since a list at the store didn't contain everything that the school required.
"They'll be prepared by Monday. (Daniel's) prepared for summer to last longer," she said with a laugh. "He asked me earlier, 'Why can't we have a year of summer and a year of school?'"
Third-grader Anna Uzzell, accompanied by her parents, Dina and Craig Uzzell, both educators, made a beeline for the class list posted at the school entrance. She quickly returned, blonde curls bouncing and a smile on her face.
She had found a friend's name on the list.
She was especially excited to attend open house this year, her parents said.
"Because I know my teacher and she's very, very nice, and very caring," Anna explained.
Principal Charles Smith, starting his fourth year, praised his staff for getting ready for the occasion.
"Teachers have been working really hard getting their rooms together," he said. "We're just looking forward to a great year."