Post date: Oct 15, 2009 2:59:48 PM
The First Day of School
I figure I have experienced 43 “First days of school” in my lifetime. For some people I guess it is just another day. For me it is much more. I measure my life in school years. The first day of school means much more to me, relative to time passing, than New Year’s Eve or my birthday.
The first “first” day I remember is walking to school in New York with my older brother and sister. We had to walk through the woods to get to the back of our school yard and into class before the ninth bell rung. (I really mean it. Some pseudo-Quasimodo was ringing a bell.) My brother Mark was given strict instructions from my mom to get his little sisters to school safely and on time. My mom still had another baby at home so Mark was in charge, a position he continues to relish to this day, even as an executive for Exxon Mobile. My sister and I weren’t the easiest to get to move anywhere; we were like herding cats through the woods. I distinctly remember Mark getting really upset with me because I needed to “kiss” the trees as we walked by. I believe he finally abandoned us when my sister Karen stepped in dog poop as the bell rang the sixth time. I have a vivid memory of her scrapping her shoe outside of my kindergarten classroom. To this day, I think if you were to ask Mark, he would admit he still can’t get his sisters to move in the direction he wants us to go.
The most frightened I have ever been on the first day of school was as a teacher. I can remember not sleeping the night before and being totally over planned. One year I decided to move my beloved kidney table by myself right as buses were coming in. I was sure I had the class set up incorrectly. It collapsed on my foot. I taught all day on a broken foot. Because it was, after all, the “First day of School”, leaving was not an option.
This 43rd first day marked my 10th year as a principal. I still get butterflies. Most principals will say they don’t truly exhale until all are home safe and sound, which considering first day dismissal, can take a while. As a principal I have survived first days without electricity and with a tropical storm. The energy it takes being a principal on the first day of school is comparable to a furnace in a large hotel. You have to be running on full speed. Everyone is counting on you, from the crying kindergartener to the frustrated bus driver. The best thing about the first day is I am not worried about making AYP or my SOL scores, I am thinking only of getting from point A to point B, safely.
This was a red banner first day on the home front as well. My husband and I have four children in four different schools on three different levels - not an easy feat. The mass exodus to the bus begins at 6:05 am when my son catches a bus to Landstown Technology Academy and ends at 7:45 when my daughter catches a ride with me for her last year at Princess Anne. In between, we have another son walking to Kellam and one starting middle school at the beautiful new Virginia Beach Middle School Art Academy. The level of excitement the night before varied from room to room. While my daughter organized her first day outfit, my sons mostly stayed in denial summer had officially ended. I inhaled one of most favorite scents, that of school supplies. I love glue sticks and marble notebooks!
The first night of the first day ended with physical exhaustion on my part, especially, my feet. My children were telling stories of their school adventures. I was considering an early night for bed, when out of the corner of my eye I saw the stacks of paperwork. It is going to be awhile before my body and brain get to rest, and tomorrow we will do it all over again. Another year, another successful first day. I wonder what the year will bring?
Krista Barton-Arnold
Principal, Princess Anne Elementary