By Nicole Falco
Valley Stream School Districts 13, 24, 30 and the Central High School District welcomed back students on Sept. 4. Teachers came back Sept. 3.
"They've only been in first grade one day and they already know how to spell," said Howell Road teacher Stacey LoBello. Her class learned how to spell the word, "red," and then worked on a project to reinforce the word.
Bev Becker's sixth grade class at the Brooklyn Avenue School didn't let a brown out stop them from learning. The class didn't miss a beat when the lights went out as they continued going over their classroom rules. The students had a say in deciding what the classroom rules should be.
Down the hall in Lena LaFleur's third grade classroom, students continued reading the books they had chosen for storytime by sunlight after the lights went out. Brooklyn Avenue wasn't in the dark too long after a call was made to LIPA.
While most students in Valley Stream were abuzz with typical first day activities, kindergartners had a classroom and an entire school building to get to know. That was no problem for Howell Road kindergartners Terry, Joel and Ryan. Terry was all smiles after taking a tour of the school's playground and his new classroom. "It's fun," he said during a lunch break.
Teachers and administrators were excited to see the halls of Valley Stream's 14 public schools filled once again with smiling, eager faces.
"We look forward to the first day of school just as much as the kids look forward to it," said Dr. Edward Fale, superintendent of schools, District 24.
The floors may have been a little brighter than they were in June and the schools' populations may be slightly larger, but for the most part things hadn't changed much over the summer. One notable exception is an increased security measure that has been implemented at the schools. Parents and other visitors must first ring a bell and be buzzed in.
"It's like they never left," said Forest Road Principal Carol Kingsley as her students poured out of their classrooms and scrambled for the door at dismissal.
