CITY OF TONAWANDA, NY (WKBW) — As the calendar flipped to September 1st, it also marked the first day ‘back to school’ for some Western New York students.
A few districts and schools returning for the first day of classes, including Andover, Friendship, Lackawanna, Elmwood Franklin, Charter School for Applied Technology, and the City of Tonawanda School District.
“Raise your hand if you want your family members to share with you,” declared Teacher Meghan McMahon.
It's the first day of school for first graders at Mullen Elementary School in the City of Tonawanda. It is also the very first day on the job for their teacher Meghan McMahon.
“It’s going great. It's going really well. We're making a lot of good friendships. A lot of great connections because I think that's something that's so important on this first week is that they know each other. They feel safe with each other. They feel safe with me and then we can learn from there,” reflected McMahon.
“So how are you feeling today on your first day back to school?” Buckley asked a first grader. “Good,” responded Anthony.
5-year-old Anthony and 6-year-old Grady say they already played games and where reading books with their teacher.
“Book and then another book, then we um put away our folders,” Grady replied.
But you might wonder why some students had to head back to class before the Labor Day holiday.
Schools Superintendent Dr. Timothy Oldenburg tells me starting a few days earlier helps ease some hesitation about returning to school.
“Reduce some of those anxieties and then be able to really start a full week and moving forward following the holiday,” remarked Superintendent Oldenburg.
The superintendent calls it a "soft opening" that also fulfills the district's contractual requirements and holiday mandates.
“Our community has some mandates regarding holidays and day before Thanksgiving the day after Easter — so to balance all these different mandates, requirements and needs — this model has really served our district well,” Oldenburg explained.
And no one I spoke to was upset with the early start including veteran Teacher Pam Lunetta, who has been teaching in the district for 27 years.
“It’s nice to have just a couple of days and then you have a long weekend, and then they can start fresh again, so they've had a little bit to build those routines and get back into the swing of things for the fall,” described Lunetta.
“And I think that going back for these two extra days — I mean our principal called it the pre-season. He said this is the pre-season — this is the basis — you get to learn — you get to learn about each other and then we will start Tuesday and then we will really get our routines done,” McMahon noted.
“Close your desk. I’m going to call you up and you can grab your lunch,” McMahon stated.
“The embrace, the care, the energy — is just all overall. We're just so happy to be caring for our kids,” explained Oldenburg.
