Students, Parents Meet their Teachers a Day Early

One day before the official start of school, parents and students streamed in and out of Head O'Meadow School to meet teachers and find their classrooms.

Outside in the parking lot, clusters of families stood sharing details about summer vacation and discussing opinions on teacher assignments. Inside, they found a new face waiting to greet them as they walked through the front doors.

Parents surrounded new Principal Barbara Gasparine, the former Sandy Hook assistant principal who took over the over the reins at Head O'Meadow School over the summer. When one group of parents waiting to talk to her had dispersed, Gasparine took the initiative to meet new ones.

"Hi, I'm Barbara," she said, extending her hand, to greet a parent who stood in the foyer.

The school gathering was as much for the parents as it was for the children, many of whom were adjusting to the end of vacation and start of classes. As the school bustled with activity, parents could be heard asking their children, "Do you know where the classroom is?" or "Where do we go now?"

Second-grader Sophia Child and her family were among those who went into the light-filled library off the main entrance to meet the new library media specialist, Bev Bjorklund, who formerly held the same position at Sandy Hook School.

Sophia said she will miss going on the rides at Hershey Park where her family vacationed during the summer, but she is happy many of her friends are in the same second grade class this year.

For some students, identifying their teacher was much easier than others.

"I'm excited because I have one of my favorite teachers.  She's really nice and funny," 4^th grader Jake Meyer said of his teacher, Deborah Keith, who also taught him 2nd grade.

Dawne Kornhaas was familiar with her daughter Erin's 1st grade teacher Carol Howard, because her son had her many years ago. Howard enlisted Erin's help in welcoming five students who had not attended kindergarten at Head O' Meadow last year, and so were new to the school.

Second-grade teacher Sara Washicko brought Colin Heller out of his shell by inviting him to answer the questions she had written on the SMART board in her classroom.

In answer to the question, "What are you looking forward to learning this year?" he duplicated another student's answer and wrote "art," but then on the white board on the other side of the classroom he answered the question, "What was the best book you read this summer?"  with "Harry Potter," which elicited a "Ooooh" from his new teacher.

Other students had listed picture books and other young reader favorites.

As their mothers sold school spirit clothing at the parent-teacher association table in the lobby, 3rd graders Annabel Terry, Jane Shearin, and Emma Pollard played.  They had hoped to be in the same class this year, but are not.  They said they each enjoyed summer vacation, but now look forward to 3rd grade.

"We're going to learn about dinosaurs, which I think is kind of weird," Jane said.

Steven Vournazos had a "really fun" summer, traveling to Paris and Greece.  He said he will miss staying in the hotels and hopes to share some of his vacation pictures with his 3rd grade class.

Another third-grader Thomas Daigle said he looks forward to seeing friends at school, and not having to go grocery shopping with his mother.

Lynn Taylor, who has taught at Head O'Meadow since 2001, said fourth-grade is a bittersweet time for many students who may get anxious about the upcoming year.

"This is their last year here, and for the most part they've had a positive experience," Taylor said. "This day helps children and parents ease their anxiety about a new school year."