Melville School's Ice Cream Social Brings Community Together

PORTSMOUTH, RI—The big thing about first grade, according to Ruth Tyerwitek, 6, is "we can do art."

Ruth likes to draw and paint. Her specialty?

"Pizza," she said. She likes to draw pictures of pizza.

It was Monday afternoon at at Melville Elementary School's open house and Ruth and her friends had a chance to talk about favorite things at school while her parents visited her classroom and met her teacher, Keri Jardine.

Ruth's mother, Nora, has been to this rodeo before. She went last year for her older son Peter, now in second grade. This time, she was there again for Peter and for her twins, Ruth and Thomas, both in the same first-grade classroom—but not, as Thomas pointed out, at the same desk.

He's okay with going to first grade with Ruth.

"She never really needs help," he explained when asked if he looks out for his sister. But there was that one time, he said, "I had to remind her to put her banana in her seat pocket."

So far, first grade is "fine," he said. "Everything's fine with me."

He does enjoy Friday, which is Pizza Day.

"At lunch time, it's choice number one," he said.

Rhys Shuttlesworth, 6, wasn't sure what he liked best about first grade. He was busy looking for his notebook to show his mother, Rebecca. He looked worried as he fumbled through a desk drawer, but the missing book finally materialized.

"Here it is," he said happy to find it.

After the classroom visits, the parents and children spilled outside for the ice cream social.

Sebastian Lozada, 6, sat on the sidewalk and enjoyed his sundae with his little sister, Elizabeth, 4.

"I like ice cream," Elizabeth said. "And cupcakes." She's not in school yet, but she came to see Sebastian's classroom.

Photo captions:

1. Lila Hildenbrand, 6, takes a little whipped cream on her sundae from Olga Ploutz, right, a Melville School parent, while Lila's mother, Ali, and little sister, Penny, 2, look on.

2. Twins Thomas, left, and Ruth Tyerwitek, both 6, are in first grade together at the Melville Elementary School.

3. Rhys Shuttlesworth, 6, shows his mother, Rebecca, his classroom notebook. They visited his first grade teacher, Keri Jardine, in her classroom at Monday night's Melville Elementary School open house.

4. Sebastian Lozada, 6, enjoys his ice cream cup at the ice cream social. His little sister Elizabeth, 4, came, too.

5. Elizabeth Lozada, 4, savors a spoonful of ice cream at the Melville Elementary School ice cream social.

Credit: Margo Sullivan