Carson area elementary schools back in session

Brandon Yonkers' first day of first grade at Fritsch Elementary was just like everybody else's - scary.

The only other person he knew in his class didn't show up, and he was nervous that his ride to day care wasn't coming.

Still, he's optimistic that things will get better.

"My teacher is nice," said Brandon, 6. "I get my own desk and chair."

First-grade teacher Mary Kay Kinne said Brandon is typical of most first-graders.

"At 9:30, they start asking when lunch is," she said. "After lunch, they start getting nervous about whether mom is going to pick them up or if they'll know which bus to get on."

About 3,800 students from kindergarten to fifth-grade made it through the first-day jitters Wednesday as Carson City elementary schools went back into session.

Superintendent Jim Parry expects anywhere from 80 to 100 more students to enroll before Sept. 20, bringing the total count to around 8,340. Last year's enrollment was 8,363.

For the more experienced student, the first day of school wasn't so traumatic.

"It was fun. We got to make our own classroom rules," said Jennifer Sober, 10, who started fifth grade. "I have a lot of my friends in my class."

For first-timers, though, Kinne said she tries to ease the opening day tension.

A couple of weeks before school starts, she hosts an open house so students can become familiar with the classroom, and she lets them pick out their own desks.

"About 75 percent of them come," she said. "It really helps out on the first day."

One of the biggest challenges in the first grade is to get the students used to being in school all day.

"For about a month, they're very tired," said Kinne, who has been teaching for 18 years. "When they stay all day, it wears them out."

To keep their interest, Kinne said, she changes activities every 15 to 20 minutes.

"There's no down time in the first grade," she said. "You have to be ready to go every day or it will be a miserable experience."

However, Kinne said it is also very rewarding because of the tremendous growth she sees in her students over the year.

"At the beginning of the year, a good part of them don't even know the letters of the alphabet," she said. "By the end of the year, they're reading at second- and third-grade levels."

Enrollment numbers on the first day of school:

Bordewich/Bray Elementary - 668

Empire Elementary - 573

Fremont (year round school) - 660

Fritsch Elementary - 559

Mark Twain Elementary - 640

Seeliger Elementary - 662

Gleason - 40