THE UNIFORMS WERE NEW, the shoes unscuffed. The backpacks did not yet have a layer of detritus at their bottoms. All the glue sticks had caps, every desk had a name tag and in Teresa Santana’s kindergarten classroom, the Play-Doh and dinosaurs were out and ready for play.
St. Angela Merici Parish School in Brea opened its doors on Aug. 19 for the first day of school. Music played as children lined up to get their pictures taken with chalkboard signs stating which grade they were starting. Parents sipped coffee, reuniting with other families as everyone buzzed with that back-to-school feeling.
“The first day of school is just the jitters that everyone gets,” said Principal JoAnn Telles. “Everyone’s a little nervous and excited, but it’s a different feeling.”
She added: “We haven’t gotten into the swing of things, and yet it’s just like anxiety, but happiness. Last night I had butterflies. I’ve been doing this for 25 years and I still get nervous.”
For parents dropping off their children for kindergarten, the day is a milestone, said Tiffani Martin, mother of a kindergartener, first-grader and third-grader. Dropping her daughter off in Ms. Santana’s kindergarten classroom brought tears, even though it went well.
“She did great,” said Martin. “She walked right in there. She practically ran. She’s ready.”
Martin and her husband, Kyle Martin, have been preparing their children for back to school this summer. They had lots of talks about their friends and teachers, what they were looking forward to and what it would be like, said Kyle Martin.
ROBIN DA SILVA, 6, LEFT, ARIA EDUALINO, 6, CENTER, AND KAIA PEREZ-ACOSTA, 6, POSE FOR A PHOTO FOR THEIR PARENTS ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. PHOTO BY SCOTT SMELTZER/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
“I’m excited,” he said. “It’s a big step. It just seems so quick.”
For 5-year-old Harper Kahler, she was feeling good about starting kindergarten. She attended St. Angela’s last year for TK [transitional kindergarten] and was most excited to “play on the playground.”
Harper is the oldest child of Scott Kahler, and for him the day had mixed emotions.
“It’s nerve-racking and exciting at the same time,” he said. “It’s exciting to see her grow and also grow in her faith. It’s a little nerve-racking too, her being the first child for us. It’s always hard to move on.”
The first day of school isn’t the first time students are meeting their teachers, though. St. Angela’s hosted a meet and greet the previous week to help nervous students prepare. TK teacher Debbie Felix, whose students are brand new to campus, said the event usually does the trick.
“I really want the children to transition in well,” Felix said. “I want to see happy faces instead of tears. The children feel more relaxed, they’ve already recognized faces, certainly my face, my aide’s face and then many friends.”
In Felix’s class, all the families were welcomed in. The students put their thumbprints on the “Initiation Wall” to welcome them to the St. Angela’s family. Pictures were taken and a book on second families read before parents said their goodbyes.
Over in the kindergarten classroom, students put away their backpacks, stacked their lunches and added their water bottles to the collection before taking a picture with their family and settling down to an activity with a friend or two. Santana said they will introduce themselves, take a mini tour of the campus, go over classroom rules and regulations, and make a first day hat.
The first day is fun, Santana said, but she hopes they leave the day with one important lesson.
“That God loves them, that He is a loving and forgiving God,” she said. “Of course, the academics come, but primarily I want them to know that they have a loving and forgiving God and just learning about His good news and His message.”