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It's day one for the parents, too
By MICHELE MILLER, Times Staff Writer Brianna Bennett, craning her neck in search of the yellow school bus, was more than eager to start second grade Monday in the newly opened Wesley Chapel Elementary School. "I woke up yesterday and asked my mom, "Please, please can we go to school today?' But we couldn't because it was Sunday,' " Brianna said. Her younger sister Hayley, who was starting first grade, wasn't so enthusiastic. "She's a little nervous," their mother, Breezi Bennett, said while keeping an eye on 22-month-old Kenneth at the bus stop at Ellerbee Road and State Road 54. A few moments later, the bus pulled up on the opposite side of the road. "Wait just a minute till I make sure it's safe to cross," yelled the bus driver as two vehicles plowed past, despite the bus' red flashing lights. The Bennett sisters were safely on the bus and mom was on her way back home when it hit their mom. "With all the rushing I forgot to kiss them goodbye," she said. "Now I'll be feeling bad about that all day." Cathy and Michael Gunn also put their son, Zachary, on the bus headed to Wesley Chapel Elementary. Then the couple hopped into their car and followed the bus all the way to school. "At least I know in an emergency which way the bus is going and what the stops are," said Mrs. Gunn, sprinting across the school parking lot and toting her camera and a nap mat for Zachary. His introduction to kindergarten began a couple of weeks ago. "We've been drilling him about his teacher's name, his bus number, the school name, our subdivision name and his parents' name," Cathy Gunn said, as the bus pulled up and Zachary hopped off, sporting a Bob the Builder backpack and the most unusual lunch box his mother could find. "That way I'll be able to pick him out in a crowded cafeteria," explained his mom. "It feels like the first day of school for you as a parent," said Yvonne Bohannon, who after seeing off their daughter, Lee Ann, attended with her husband, Lonnie, the school's Boohoo Breakfast for kindergarten parents. Mrs. Bohannon spent time peering into her daughter's classroom window till her husband persuaded her to leave. The Boohoo Breakfast seems to ease the transition for parents, many of whom need as much, if not more, consoling than their children, said principal Cynthia Harper. That's true, said Mrs. Bohannon. "Lee Ann's doing fine. She's doing better than I am." Over at Land O'Lakes High, principal Max Ramos was heralding another smooth first day. "It was an outstanding opening," he said on his way to lunch duty. "We have several days of balancing things out, but overall the opening has been fantastic." Ramos says he looks forward to the first day of school every year and especially enjoys seeing all the "wide-eyed freshmen" -- like Amber Miller, Rosemary Ram and Dayna Marakami, former Pine View Middle School students scoping out a cafeteria table and looking a little overwhelmed. "Last night I couldn't sleep. I kept waking up," Rosemary said. "There's a lot of kids who are taller than us, so that's a little scary." "Am I excited about school?" said Dayna. "I don't know . . . maybe not today. Maybe a week from now." Administrative assistants Mary Lou Bartlett and Annette Noak, who were stationed outside the administrative offices selling student parking passes, dealt with their share of dress code violators. "Some of these kids have been coming here for three years now. You'd think they'd know by now that they can't wear flip-flops," Noak said. Assistant principal Stan Trapp spent much of his morning doing what he calls "triage duty" outside the guidance office, which was packed with registering students and those who wanted to make changes in their school. Of about 2,000 Land O'Lakes High students, 50 or 60 have schedule problems the first day, he said. "The first week we do emergency fixes -- kids who passed Algebra I last year and have it on their schedule this year." Jenna Kelly, a junior, was one of them in the guidance office. "This is a little confusing. They gave me classes I really didn't sign up for. I wanted American Government, but I got Care and Prevention of Athletic Injuries instead," she said. "I hope this year goes fast."
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From today's Pasco Times Letters |
