By:Jacky Gerzema
No more sleeping until noon, kids. Those long days of summer sports, later bedtimes and languid hours swimming at the pool and tanning on the beach are almost over, and that early morning alarm clock will be ringing loud and clear on Sept. 4. It's time to go back to school.
While summer will reluctantly be left behind, Baldwin students are mostly ambivalent about the new school year.
"School's school, you know," said eighth grader Michael Jenny. "The first day is always fun."
Jenny and Baldwin Middle School students Steve Elias, John Conforti and Chris Salamone, who were skateboarding in Baldwin Park, all agreed that they were excited about the first day, but not thrilled about the seemingly endless days to follow.
The only thing 8-year-old Vincent Pellegrino hopes for is "no mean teachers."
One change in Baldwin schools this year will be a full day of kindergarten. Incoming Meadow Elementary kindergartners Brianna Maglio and Anthony Erickson are both looking forward to going to school, and are especially excited about gym class.
While Erickson is happy to begin his education and said he has many friends who will be with him, he has one reservation that bothers many school children of all ages: acceptance by his peers.
"I don't want other kids to pick on me," Erickson said.
Baldwin resident Darlene Maglio, who has children in kindergarten, second grade and high school, said she hopes everything works out smoothly in the full-day kindergarten class.
"They're supposed to have three lunch periods now to keep the kindergartners away from the older kids in lunch," Maglio said. "I hope they do it."
The Baldwin school district expects to register about the same number as last year, said Trish Hughes, public information officer for the school district.
Meanwhile, the district has hired 50 new teachers to fill old positions and to accommodate the new full-day kindergarten program, Hughes said. Three new teachers were hired Aug. 22, and the district is still in the process of hiring additional teaching staff.
District Registrar Bob Croke said he would like parents to schedule a meeting for registration, but that many people are coming in without appointments as the school year gets closer. Croke said parents who are registering their children should provide three proofs of residency and show identification of parental relationships.
As the school year progresses, Croke said he will follow up on registration and do home visits to make sure residents with school-age children are still living in the Baldwin School District.
"We don't want to be educating people out of the district because it's a burden to taxpayers," Croke said.
While school feels like a burden for many kids, at least a few confessed that they actually like it.
"I'm looking forward to going back," said Rocco Maglio, high school junior. "I'll see all my friends, and sports and art are things I don't get to do as much over the summer."
