The first day of school, which is usually a traumatic experience for the little ones, especially the Early Childhood (pre-kindergarten) and kindergarten students, was generally quiet at Webster School this year. When the school bell rang for the first time last Wednesday morning, there were very few tears, only a hint of separation anxiety, and nothing as traumatizing as in years past.
“We used to have kids banging on the doors, wanting to get out, screaming for Mommy,” said pre-kindergarten teacher Anna Bernstein, who began her 11th year with the Early Childhood students and the second year of full-day sessions. “You had kids holding onto the door, not wanting to go into the classroom. It was brutal. It was so hard trying to comfort eight kids who were crying. You could comfort one or two, but eight was very tough.”
But nothing like that happened Wednesday at Webster. In fact, quite the opposite.
“It’s so much easier now,” Bernstein said. “I think because most of the parents work, the kids are enrolled in some sort of child care program before they come here. So that makes coming to school even easier. They also learn more before they come to school. I tested my kids and half knew their letters on the first day. That’s a good start.”
Laura Gagliostro has been teaching kindergarten for 14 years at Webster School, so she’s been through some of those trying first days.
“You really don’t see the crying that you used to see,” Gagliostro said. “With full-day Pre-K, I find that the kids are well prepared for me. I didn’t have any crying, and no separation anxiety. The kids seemed to be happy to be returning to school. I think it helps because a lot of the kids know each other from Pre-K, so they’re already friends. You have less parents standing by the door. The first day goes so much smoother now. It used to be that I would spend three weeks just teaching them how to sit in their chairs.”
Gagliostro said that she was happy to see the less anxious moments in school, because she has two little ones (ages 7 and 2) at home.
“It’s so much smoother now that I can relax at home,” Gagliostro said. “I can sleep better at night.”
Gagliostro said she was amazed how many of her new kindergarten students could already write their names.
“In the past, it would take me two weeks to teach them how to hold a pencil,” Gagliostro said. “We’ve come a long way.”
New principal The first day was also an initiation for new principal Anthony Colasurdo, who took over at Webster after a long career at Weehawken High School.
“I had to handle problems I never experienced before, like kids who didn’t want to go on the bus, kids that were afraid to go to the bathroom,” Colasurdo said. “I never had to deal with that at the high school. But there weren’t as many criers as I expected. I guess the kids today are so used to be away from their mothers. It wasn’t the way it was when I was a kid. I cried all the way until sixth grade. And that’s the truth. This was really a new process for me, but it went pretty smooth.”
Colasurdo spent most of the first few days, introducing himself to the students and to the parents.
“I went into each classroom and asked the kids if they were having fun,” Colasurdo said. “I asked which ones were Yankee fans. I haven’t talked to children that age in a long time. In meeting a lot of the parents, I realized that some of them used to be students of mine. That was a little strange and caused me to have flashbacks. But these kids are at a great age. They’re wide-eyed and innocent. They’re willing to talk to you about anything.” Colasurdo said that he was taking pointers during the first three days of school.
“The teachers were telling me to watch out for the kids with sticky hands at lunch,” Colasurdo said. “We haven’t had lunch yet, so I haven’t noticed it. But they run up to you and touch you, and I’m really looking forward to that. It’s all a new experience to me. It’s been a whirlwind for me. I’m learning so many new things myself. But the kids have been great.”
Bernstein said that she can’t remember an easier year.
“Sure, there’s always going to be some anxiety, but we were able to start right away this year,” Bernstein said. “We already had a work sheet to do. In years past, comforting and play time were the only things we could do during the first few days.”
Bernstein said that her class was worried about one thing.
“They were anxious about nap time, because they didn’t want to sleep,” Bernstein said.
No worries. Nap time doesn’t begin until the full day sessions commence Monday.