Time to hit the books

By MIKE JAMES
The Independent

CATLETTSBURG August 07, 2008 07:14 am

— On the one hand, no more sleeping in and no more riding bikes all day.
On the other, gleeful reunion with old friends and a good reason to show off all those new clothes.
The first day of class came to Boyd County schools Wednesday, equal parts anxiety, excitement and anticipation.
“The kids are excited, the teachers are excited, and the parents are excited to get rid of them too,” quipped Catlettsburg Elementary Principal Marci Prater at the end of a hectic morning of assemblies, teacher introductions and the myriad housekeeping chores that go into starting the academic year.
As usual, Boyd County is the first district in the region to get back to the grind, followed closely today by Carter County.
By the end of next week hardly a chid in northeast Kentucky will remain outside the classroom. Classes start Monday in Greenup County, Tuesday at Raceland-Worthington, Wednesday in Ashland and Russell, and Thursday in Fairview.
A quick show of hands in teacher Aaron Bowling’s arts and humanities classroom suggested fifth-graders at Catlettsburg are ready to rule the school.
“My mom says we’re the top of the totem pole this year,” said Presley Wiler.
Presley and most of her classmates have been at Catlettsburg since kindergarten. They tower over the new crop of 5-year-olds and it amused them to reflect on how they’ve grown since those long-ago days when they first walked through the schoolhouse door.
“They look itsy-bitsy,” said Cameron Wilbur.
Tanner Wilcox was looking forward to science class, his best subject.
Alisa Graham was just glad to meet up with her cronies. “It took around two minutes,” she said.
Down the hall in Leta Collins’ kindergarten class, children were quietly absorbed in first-day activities — four of them in headphones at computer stations, five mashing clumps of orange clay into animal shapes, and half a dozen more sprawled on an alphabet rug fiddling with blocks and Tinkertoys.
To their young minds, school is still a new adventure.
“They’re all excited,” Collins said. “Some of their parents said they’d been toting their backpacks around the house.”
Next week they’ll delve right into some intensive reading instruction, Collins said, but for now she’s concentrating on the transition to school with its emphasis on organized classroom activities.
Ever-increasing pressure to squeeze more instruction into each school day has changed the flavor of the first day. It wouldn’t have been as smooth a generation ago, said parent involvement coordinator Norma Meek.
“Fifteen years ago you wouldn’t have seen this,” she said. “You would have seen crying kids hugging on their mothers’ legs.”
Emphasis on preschool programs, which most of the children in Collins’ class had attended, has helped the transition.
A fast-paced first day that gets housekeeping out of the way and jumps right into academics helps the transition, Prater said.
With the Olympics coming up, some of the Boyd schools are using the games as a back-to-school theme.
At Cannonsburg Elementary, teachers have decorated their classroom doors with Olympic themes, said teacher Diedre Patton. Encouraging students to strive to go higher, stronger and faster fits in with academics as well as it does sports, she said.
Patton’s own door includes a clay tablet with the inscription, “To proficiency and beyond.”
MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2652.

Watch out for children
With children returning to school, buses also will return to roadways. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet offers the following tips to motorists:
‰Pay attention behind the wheel and allow extra time to get to work or other destinations.
‰State law requires all traffic, both oncoming and following, to stop for a school bus loading or unloading passengers when the bus’ stop sign is extended and its red flashers are on. The only exception is for four-lane divided highways, where oncoming traffic is not required to stop. Modern school buses are also equipped with yellow flashers that serve to warn following or oncoming drivers that a stop is imminent.
‰Bus routes and stops can change from time to time. The cabinet places some signs at bus stops along state-maintained highways, but not all stops are marked.
‰Students who live in urban areas and walk or bike to school should cross streets only at designated crosswalks. Pedestrians have the right of way at crosswalks, but should look both ways before crossing a highway, even at crosswalks controlled by traffic lights.
‰When waiting for the bus, stay away from traffic and avoid roughhousing or other behavior that can lead to carelessness.
‰Line up away from the street or road as the bus approaches.
‰Wait until the bus comes to a complete stop and the door opens before stepping onto the roadway.
‰Once on the bus, find a seat, sit down, and talk quietly. Yelling or other noises can distract the bus driver.
‰Never put your head, arms or hands out of the window; and keep the aisles clear.
‰At your stop, wait for the bus to stop completely before getting up from your seat. Then, walk to the front door and exit.
‰When getting off a bus, if you have to cross the street in front of it, walk at least 10 feet ahead of the bus along the side of the road, until you can turn around and see the driver.
‰Make sure the bus driver can see you. Wait for a signal from the driver before beginning to cross.
‰When the driver signals, walk across the road, keeping an eye out for sudden traffic changes.
‰Look left, right, and then left again before crossing the street. Continue to look in this manner until you are safely across.
‰Stay away from the rear wheels of the bus at all times.

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