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Pasco Schools Get In First Day

Klint Lowry/SUNCOAST NEWS

Kindergartener Lily Payne and grandmotherTena Evans find Lily's name at the door of her classroom on her first day at Seven Springs Elementry School.

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By KLINT LOWRY | The Suncoast News

Published: August 19, 2008

Updated:

TRINITY - Monday was the first day of school for thousands of children all over Pasco County. It was a day to reunite with chums, size up the teachers and enjoy some of those unique cafeteria flavors you just can't get at home.

For kindergarteners, though, Monday was more than the first day of school - it was their first day of school, ever, the launch of a 13-year educational odyssey that will conclude sometime in June 2021 when they are graduating high school seniors.

Chances are for many, that day will have something in common with this one, tearful parent-child embraces.

"There's tears that first day," Seven Springs Elementary School kindergarten teacher Shannon Grove said a few days before the start of the 2008 - 09 school year.

"They're pretty attached. For some of them, it's a huge change."

Was she referring to the kids or the parents?

Both, she said with a smile.

"There are some children who've been to preschool that may know a little more about it, but a lot of these kids are new to this," Grove said.

For stay-at-home moms and their kids, the first day of kindergarten marks a sudden shift from a way of life both have known for the past five years. It's usually easy to spot those families, Grove said, at that final moment at the classroom door.

It's funny, Grove added, how quickly parents and children get over that separation anxiety, how soon before the drop-off at the door will barely rate a "See ya."

Part of Hunt's job is to usher the young students into the world of education. Along with the academic basics, the children are also pretty much blank slates who have to learn how to be in school.

"It's very busy, the first couple of days, Grove said. "We do a bunch of activities just to get the kids to know each other, just to do the simple procedures, like walking in line. Half of them have never sat in a lunchroom. They've never sat at tables in groups with other children their age.

"They have rules they have to follow. They have to understand there is work to do, that they are not just here to play; that the teacher is in charge."

It is so important, Hunt said, to make sure that this introduction is a positive experience for them. For her, part of the fun is seeing how as the weeks and months pass, how each child starts to develop their school identity.

"By the end of kindergarten you can definitely see different roles they're going to take on as they get older," she said. "You can see who's going to be the clown, who's going to be the artist, who wants to be the teacher."

Whatever the personalities, another important aspect of kindergarten is that this where the learning begins, Grove said. When you think about it, here on Day One, some of these children don't even know the alphabet. By the end of this year, they will be able to read sentences.

"All kindergarteners love to learn," she said "It's a new experience; they're excited about it."

This is Grove's fourth year at Seven Springs Elementary School. Her first students are now in third grade, and she enjoys watching from an ever-growing distance as those personalities she saw emerge continue to develop. On Monday, she met a new group of personalities, all embarking on a new world, with her as their guide.

"It's the first day of everything," she said, "it's exciting."

Klint Lowry can be reached at 727-815-1067 or klowry@suncoastnews.com.

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