First days of kindergarten: So far, so good
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School is back in session and the parks around here are a bit emptier; toddlers once again rule the swings and sandboxes. All went smoothly for us, enough for me to question my own moments of worry. Night Owl, my kindergartner, still struggles with the early-to-bed, early-to-rise routine, but she put on her game face and strode confidently into her classroom. Her old classroom. It was the only hiccup in an otherwise smooth morning at PS 29. Thanks to clear communication from the school, everyone seemed to know what to expect that first day, so the momentary congestion in the halls only seemed to produce amiable chitchat.
Many arriving kindergarten parents were pleasantly surprised to see classroom assistants alongside teachers — after being told in June we would not have them. Our school is increasingly crowded. A new kindergarten class sprouted this year to absorb the influx, but the classrooms are still full. It was a relief when news came later in the summer that the city had reversed itself, and granted permission to keep PTA-funded aides in the classroom, especially in the face of budget cuts. Our PTA leaders hired them in time for opening day, so there are an extra set of hands in the kindergarten classrooms.
Having read some of the first-day horror stories from around the city, I feel almost guilty recounting our favorable one, but I think it’s important to show positive examples of a school community working well and working together amid today’s grim news of recession, overcrowding, and H1N1 flu outbreaks.
PS 29, like schools all over the city, is struggling with budget cuts, but so far, our principal and PTA have been able to remediate their effects through energetic fundraising (from weekly bake sales to a neighborhood block party) and cooperation from parents, be it time volunteered at the school or extra supply donations. We’ll learn, at the first PTA meeting of the year, some of the specific challenges we’ll face in the year to come. But for now, so far so good.
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