School open houses held
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on August 26, 2016 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Luis Zarate, 7, hugs his first grade teacher, Tara Hines, as he enters her classroom for the first time Thursday night during open house at Grantham Elementary School.
Luis Zarate could hardly wait to get to open house Thursday afternoon at Grantham Elementary School, his mother said.
"He was really excited about first grade," Crystal Zarate said.
Meeting his teacher. Seeing his classroom. Locating the "cubbie" with his name on it.
Luis had been at the school last year, Mrs. Zarate explained, but only for two weeks. The family had to move to Texas, but recently returned to the area.
"He was very excited to come (to school)," she said. "He really likes his teacher."
Older sister Natalia, a fifth-grader at Grantham Middle School, had already gone through the same routine of open house the night before.
"I like it. I have two teachers," she said.
Open house and orientation events were held at elementary schools around the county Thursday evening, with middle and high school versions Wednesday. Wayne County Public Schools officially resumes Monday.
Which also means the big yellow buses will be hitting the roads, learning routes and making frequent stops. Motorists are reminded to leave early and observe safety rules, like stopping for school buses and being on the lookout for children at bus stops and crossing streets.
Chelcie Giarrusso, the mother of two girls -- her youngest is 1 -- arrived early with Iyonna, a veteran.
"I've been here since I was in kindergarten," the 8-year-old said.
Now a third-grader, she was not at a loss for words when asked what she liked about school.
"That when you go to the gym, we can run around and play jump rope and hula hoops," she said, rattling off the highlights of other classes, like music -- "bang on a drum and play piano" and art, "we get to draw."
She also has big plans for that momentous first day of school.
"I have an outfit picked out. It's a shirt with four girls on it and some pants with little squares on them," she said, before admitting, "I'm excited but not ready."
Her cousin, Nevaeh Peterson, 8, is also in third grade but in a different class.
Second-grade teacher Jan Savage has been at the school for 20-plus years, long enough to become familiar with families there.
"Like my class this year has the fourth child out of a family" that she's taught, she said. "I just love the children. You teach differently every year, every class."
Sharon Jones, the mother of four girls, accompanied her youngest, Christiana Jones, 5, to her kindergarten class.
"I think I'm nervous because everybody else is nervous so it makes me nervous," she said. "But she's ready."
On the third- and fourth-grade hall, teachers prepared to greet their new students.
Amber Craig, a fourth-grade math and science teacher at the school 12 years, had mixed feelings about this time of year -- "exciting but nervous."
"I'm starting my year with the kids. It's always different," she said. "We enjoy getting them in the routine."
She team teaches with Lori Boyette, who handles reading and social studies. She had taught the same subjects in third grade last year.
"I'll have some of the same students," Ms. Boyette said, but admitted, "Every year is different."
Across the hall was Ashley Edwards, the school's current teacher of the year, in her 11th year of teaching, her third at Grantham. She teaches math and science, team teaching with Margaret Tyndall, responsible for reading and social studies.
"We're always super excited for our kids to come through," Ms. Edwards said. "They're chomping at the bit to come in and we're just as excited."
Even teachers can get the "first day jitters," Ms. Craig said, but ultimately it boils down to one thing.
"You have to enjoy what you're teaching and you have to have a heart for it," she said.