Lexington District 1 Students Return to School

Hundreds of fresh-faced and wide-eyed youngsters descended Wednesday on the campus of Lexington Elementary School, signaling the start of a new school year.

It was a scene only an ogre could have failed to find charming. 

In the midst of the controlled chaos of traffic lines and classroom assignments, dutiful parents, faculty, staff and volunteers helped upwards of 704 kindergarteners and grade-schoolers trundle inside to their classes, with the children bedecked in new clothes, shouldering fresh backpacks, and a whole wide world of promise ahead of them.

All told, nearly 22,100 district students from K-through-12 said "so long" to summer yesterday, and hello to another school year throughout the county's largest district.

Jeanne Stewart did what a lot of parents did. With at least one child entering school for the very first time, and another child entering third-grade, it was a time for photos to mark the milestones for each child's progression into their individual versions of big-boyhood. The school sign out front served as the perfect backdrop for Stewart and countless others to mark the occasion in photos.

And while summer's end might be worthy of mourning, many children seemed to embrace the change with unbridled brio. Stewart's sons -- kindergartener Connor (age 5), and third-grader Kyle (age 8) -- were no exception.

"I've never seen a boy get up so fast in my life," Stewart said about Kyle. "They're really ready to get into it."

Said Kyle: "I barely got any sleep last night!"

But such excitement can be fleeting. 

Tears are not uncommon, obviously. Typically, though, says school secretary Edie Beaver and District 1 Communications Specialist Megan Moore, it's parents who shed the majority of tears on their children's first day of school.

But, of course, children are not immune.

Parent Andrea Shabeldeen is a recent transplant from Boone, N.C. Her six-year-old daughter, Lilly, started first grade yesterday. 

Visiting the school before classes started, Lilly got a little overwhelmed and cried, Shabeldeen said. However, mom was quick to point out that Lilly would make new friends and "have lots and lots of fun." And the teacher was helpful, too, giving students a stone to put under their pillow at night to remind them "they were not alone," Shabeldeen said.

"So, I think she'll have a good day. She just had the jitters," Shabeldeen said. "We talked about it this morning, and she said, 'No jitters!' So, I think she'll have a good day."