Welcome Back: Southington Schools' First Day Goes Without A Hitch

Classes may have started a day later than originally anticipated, but the slight delay for Southington Public Schools only added to the excitement for local students and teachers.

The first day went off without a hitch with students showing up to school mostly on time and without any bus issues in either the morning or afternoon, said School Superintendent Joseph V. Erardi Jr. In fact the biggest challenge the school district was left with is figuring out how to maintain the enthusiasm for the next nine months.

“From outside looking in, what I saw was students who were excited to be in school and teachers who were excited to teach,” said Erardi, who along with Board of Education Chairman Brian Goralski visited each of the town’s 12 public schools Tuesday. “The next step is figuring out how to maintain that excitement.”

Traveling alongside Goralski, who was joined at nine of the schools by board members Patricia Johnson, Colleen Clark and Patricia Queen, it was easy to find that excitement.

At , Goralski danced alongside a physical education class with students. Down the road at , he watched as teacher Brett Rioual led his students in a stretch exercise that Rioual said is designed to activate the body and focus the mind.

Meanwhile, across town at , Rose Risser’s kindergarten class was learning to play a variety of instruments that they later demonstrated for Goralski during an afternoon visit to the school.

“I love the first day,” said Sharon Brostrom, a science teacher at . “There’s just so much energy. For the students, it’s a new chance to make a first impression and for teachers, there’s a feeling this year could be something special.”

While some teachers were adjusting to new settings, new students or even new careers, others, including second-grade teacher Annmarie Gowdy of the , had a chance to welcome back their classes from the previous year.

Gowdy was asked to move into a new role as a lapse teacher — a teacher who inherits the same class for a second year in a row — and said while she was a little hesitant at first, it was a decision that allowed her and her students to get right down to business.

“It really did help us jump right back in. The students were excited to see each other and were happy to see me,” she said. “They understood the rules and routines and gave us an opportunity to really start the year running.”

Flanders School Principal Patricia Mazzarella said a lot of the energy seen at the Flanders School on Tuesday was due to a strong camaraderie created between staff members who openly welcomed the energy of three new teachers, Jaclyn Gatto, Marlene Moutela and Alexandra Garry.

The veteran teachers took the “rookies,” who were among 19 new teachers and staff members welcomed to the district last week, out for dinner, Mazzarella said.

“Seeing [the new teachers’] passion for this just invigorates everyone,” Mazzarella said.

New Assistant Superintendent Karen Smith, who spent the last 15 years as the principal at , said she is still getting adjusted to her new role as well, but was excited to hold the door for students — many whom she first met when they were in kindergarten.

But it wasn’t just teachers and administrators who were excited about the school year either. Dressed in their newest clothes and sneakers, children of all ages showed their joy to be back in different ways. first-grader Sarah Drechsler was anxious at first but said she made several new friends on her first day. At , Grace Cardozo said she was excited to try new things, including cross-country and learn how to make the adjustment to becoming a high school student.

But the best part of going back to school? Seeing friends, she said.

“During the summer, you don’t really have the chance to see them everyday,” said Cardozo, an eighth-grader. “It’s great to sit with them at lunch, talk and find out everything they did over the summer.”

Goralski, who entered every classroom in the town’s elementary and middle schools Tuesday, said it was great to experience everything the district has to offer and hear from all the teachers and students.

As he was walking through the halls of the Kelley School, he said it was amazing to watch the diverse way that every classroom got back into the swing of things. Some were reading, others interviewing each other or working on math lessons, but everyone was learning.

“When you stop for a moment and watch, even two hours into the first day of school, everyone is already focused on something,” Goralski said. “That’s what makes this district so great. Everyone is focused. I have a feeling this is going to be a great year.”

Editor’s note: Students have not had a chance to sign the district’s 2011-12 media release and could not be directly photographed or interviewed without the direct permission of parents.

Still want more? Be sure to see how the start of the school day went at Thalberg and photo spread by Patch contributor David Newman.