Carson City students return to school

The first day back to school went off without a hitch for Carson City kids Monday, and students looked prepared for the new school year, said Carson City Superintendent Richard Stokes.

“It was a fun day, the first day of school is always exciting,” Stokes said. “Each student looked so well dressed and well behaved. Kindergarten was fun to see them so excited to be at school for the first time.”

For the kindergartens at Fremont Elementary and their parents, the first day of school brought a mix of emotions from excitement to fear.

“I’m excited about lots of friends,” said Tristin Welton-Thornton, 5, as he started his first day in Ms. Ovard’s kindergarten class.

Only a handful of children had tears in their eyes as they clutched to their parents, but in Ms. Ovard’s class, the kids started off the day comparing backpack designs with each other.

“It is very terrifying to leave him, he was more calm than I am about coming to school,” said Jennafer Jenkins, of her kindergartners Logan. “He has been bugging me for the last six months to start school. It is definitely hard (to leave him) but you have to let go.”

In Erika Mettke’s kindergarten class, the kids started off their day coloring pictures of their favorite movie characters, such as Elsa from “Frozen” and Minions from “Despicable Me,” to help warm up to each other. Many of the kids started interacting with each other by showing off their coloring skills.

“It has been really quiet, because it is the first day and they are nervous and I still even get a little bit of nerves,” Mettke said. “But coloring with something familiar helps them because it is things that they recognize.”

In all, educators at Fremont were confident that everyone was going to have a great school year.

“We are excited and happy to see our students,” said Fremont Principal Casey Gilles. “We are happy to be here and ready to go for this year.”