Getting ready to let go

As Tuesday’s first day of school drew nearer, some of the most excited children in Oceanside and Island Park were those who were about to start kindergarten. With new backpacks and notebooks, folders and pencils, may were looking forward to their first full days of school.

Their parents, however, may not have been as fully prepared -- at least psychologically. “It’s a little sad,” said Jennifer Lane, whose daughter Julia was starting at the School 6 Kindergarten Center in Oceanside. “My husband’s not as sad as I am, but it’s a little scary and sad, and all-day school seems a little overwhelming for me. [Julia] seems excited about it.”

Lane is one of many parents getting ready to send their young ones off for the first time. “As the father of two daughters, it’s kind of like having them go out on a date,” joked Mike O’Malley, one of the PTA co-presidents at School 6, whose oldest daughter, Ellena, will also be attending School 6 this year. “That’s how I look at it.” In Island Park, Carolyn Barwicki was preparing to send her youngest son, Drew, to the Francis X. Hegarty School for kindergarten. Drew is a special-needs child, like Barwicki’s older son, Jaden, so she already knows what a good experience Hegarty will be for Drew.

“I’m a little sad because it’s my last one going off to kindergarten, but I’m very happy with the school,” Barwicki said. “They have great programs, especially for special-needs children. They do a lot of work, they have great classes. And I really feel he’s in really good hands there.”

For many parents, getting their children ready for kindergarten was the easy part. Barwicki enrolled son in Hegarty’s Kindergarten Readiness Program over the summer to help him, among other things, become familiar with the school and the people in it.

And the schools sent out supply lists to parents so their children could be properly prepared for classes. “I work for Staples, so all of her supplies were no issue,” said Lane. “I picked everything up on my own.”