THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 28, 1994 TAG: 9408260278
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
FOR KINDERGARTENERS, that first day of school can be scary.
But 5-year-old Cole Segner, who starts kindergarten at Nansemond Parkway Elementary School next week, isn't a bit worried.
``We went school shopping yesterday,'' Cole said excitedly. ``I got a sleeping bag for school, and I think Nana is going to buy me a Batman lunch box.
``School is going to be fun,'' he said wisely. ``I just know it.''
But not all children start school with Cole's enthusiasm, according to two Elephant's Fork Elementary kindergarten teachers, Deborah Blackwell and Burnette Boone.
``A lot of the children cling to their parent,'' said Boone, who has taught in Suffolk 21 years. ``For many of the children, this is the first time they have been completely separated from their mothers.''
Parents can help alleviate their children's fears with a visit to their schools before classes begin Sept. 6, Blackwell said.
``Children are more comfortable in a new place if they have been there before,'' said Blackwell. ``Parents should come out here before school starts and bring their child so that the first day of school won't be the first time they have seen these walls.''
During the next week, every elementary school in Suffolk will hold a kindergarten open house orientation so parents and children can meet teachers and visit classrooms.
Parents unable to make their scheduled open houses can stop by most anytime before school opens, Blackwell said.
``Some parents want to come in on the first day of school and ask questions. We need to be spending that time making the children feel at ease.''
According to Boone, a few simple advance preparations can eliminate much classroom confusion typical of first days at school.
Parents should make sure their children bring a change of clothes, a napping mat and either lunch or lunch money. The child's name needs to be written in everything, Blackwell added.
Necessary student information is often missing from class and office records, Boone said. It would help if parents would write the following information and send it to school with their children: full name, street address, telephone and parent's work telephone. MEMO: KINDERGARTEN ORIENTATION SCHEDULE
Booker T. Washington Elementary School: 7 p.m. Sept. 1
Elephant's Fork Elementary School: 7 p.m. Sept. 1
Driver Elementary School: 6:30-7:30 p.m Sept. 1
Florence Bowser Elementary School: 9 a.m. Sept. 2
Kilby Shores Elementary School: 7 p.m. Aug. 31
Mount Zion Elementary School: 10:30 a.m. Sept. 2
Nansemond Parkway Elementary School: 2 p.m. Sept. 2
Oakland Elementary School: 9:30 a.m. Sept. 2
Robertson Elementary School: 1 p.m. Sept. 2
Southwestern Elementary School: 10 a.m. Sept. 2 ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Burnette Boone, a kindergarten teacher at Elephant's Fork
Elementary, says a few simple advance preparations can eliminate
much classroom confusion typical of first days at school.
by CNB