Last Thursday night, was Open House Night for the
Rogers Public Schools. Unfortunately, this meant that Titus & I would
have to split up in order to attend both of them. Janie Darr Elementary (JDE)
held theirs from 5:30-6:30, while Elmwood Middle School’s (EMS) Open House was
from 6-7:30. I wanted to meet Cambden’s teacher, so we decided I would attend
Cambden’s open house while Titus would take Addison to hers. Previously, JDE
held the Meet & Greet, which was a come & go event, before
school started and would host an Open House a few weeks into the school year.
They decided this year to combine the 2 events, so it was no longer come&
amp; go as you wish as a presentation regarding the curriculum for the year
would be given. Not knowing what to expect at EMS, we anticipated it would be
similar in structure. Well, it wasn’t. It was, in fact, a come & go
open house. Addison met her homeroom teacher, got her schedule &
received her locker assignment & combination. They got home shortly after
Cambden & I. Well, at least now we know for next year that we can
actually attend both events. Addison is SUPER excited about starting middle
school. Especially after having gone through her 4 hour orientation last week.
Cambden got the teacher I was hoping we would get!! YEAH!! As we entered Ms.
Logue’s classroom, she greeted us & asked “who do we have here?”.
Cambden turned mute all of a sudden, so I told her his name. She got a big
smile on her face. “Oh, Cambden, I have heard GREAT things about you from Mrs.
Armstrong& from your friends! I am so excited you’re in my
class!!” I smiled at her, introduced myself& amp; told her how excited we
were to have her as his teacher. I was quite curious who ‘the friends’ were
that had spoken to her about Cambden. A mystery. We found Cambden’s cubby, saw
which of his friends were in his class & where his seat was located
before settling in for the presentation. Afterwards, I got a text from a friend
of ours in the neighborhood who told us that she had put in a good word with
Ms. Logue about Cambden. Ahhh, mystery solved. I thanked her, asked her who her
daughter got for kindergarten & wished her a great 1st
day on Monday.
So that brings us to today...the 1st day of
school.
Again, because of timing, Titus
& I had to divide & conquer the job of getting the kiddos to school
this morning. I wanted to walk Cambden to class this morning, but would not be
done in time to get Addison to school – even though being the big ol’ middle
schooler she would just get dropped off, not walked in. Getting walked in to
school is soooooo elementary school. LOL! So, Titus took her to school while I
took Cambden. On the way to JDE, it hit me… this was the 1st time I
hadn’t taken Addison to school on the 1st day. That made me sad.L The drive to school
wasn’t bad, not until I got close to the school, that is. The turn lane to turn
towards the school was so backed up I sat there for nearly 10 minutes. People
were INSANE! There wasn’t any place to park in the lot, so people had resorted
to parking on the grass (NO judgment here, as I totally planned to do the same
thing!!) Anyway, the reason I say people were insane was people were parking in
random driveways, getting out & walking the distance to school so that
their child would not be late. Like I said, due to time restriction &
knowing that a parking spot would not just miraculously open up for me, I
pulled into the car rider drop-off/pick-up line as though I was going to just
drop him off, but then I veered off onto the grass & parked my truck.
People soon followed my lead. Cambden & I hoofed it up the hill &
continued on our way to get him to his class. As crazy as it was outside,
inside was even moreso! People were everywhere, but everyone seemed to know
where to go, thanks to last week’s Meet & Greet/Open House. I walked
Cambden to his classroom, snapped a couple 1st day on-site pics,
helped him find his seat, gave him a big hug & kiss then told him I would
see him after school & couldn’t wait to hear all about his AWESOME 1st
day of 1st grade.
As I was leaving & making my way back to my
truck/SUV, my thoughts turned to Addison & wondering how she was doing. I
was sure she was doing just fine, but still a Mama worries. I hoped her 1st
day was as fun & exciting as she was hoping it’d be. As her lunch hour
approached, I prayed for her that she would have a friend to eat lunch with so
she wouldn’t have to eat alone. My thoughts went to my kids A LOT during the day wondering what they were doing & if they were having fun & were happy. When I picked the kiddos up, I found this Mama
was anxious over nothing!! God watched over the both of them & took care of
them. They each had a great day! Addison had her good friend, Sydney, in the
majority of her classes. As for lunch, the entire 6th grade all eats
lunch at the same time so finding a friend to eat with would not be a problem! Thank
You Lord, again for hearing & answering this Mama’s prayers!! No, the only problematic part of the day, was
for me when I tried to figure out the car line @ Addison’s school. Evidently
people find it necessary to park along the street north of the school (W. Olrich St) &
have their student walk up to them. Ok, I can somewhat understand that, even if
it leaves VERY little room to get around them without veering into to oncoming
lane of traffic. What REALLY irritates me though, is that people evidently don’t
understand (or more, likely just don’t care) the procedure that is SUPPOSED to
take place. That procedure is you enter the MOVING pick-up lane (on 13th St) & move
forward. See? The KEY word there was MOVING. What many people evidently do is
mistake that turning lane as a parking lot & camp out there waiting for their
student to walk to them! So, I got stuck behind not just one of these misguided
people & had to pull out & go around them (nearly getting side-swiped
in the process), but I had to do it again when I got behind yet another person
who didn’t feel the process applied to them. By the time I got up to the
school, I think I had smoke coming out of my ears!! I almost signed Addison up
as a bus rider the & there!! I am truly hopeful that as the days go by
people will figure out what the pick-up procedure involves & follow it accordingly.
Someone is going to get hit if this continues! I only pray it isn't a student. Here is a photo to give you a little visual of what I am talking about (the blue arrows indicate the PROPER procedure & the direction I would be coming from)...
Ok…rant
over. I am thankful that my babies had a very fun, exciting & successful 1st
day of school & am eagerly looking forward to the new adventures the school
year will bring! Goooo Raiders!! Goooo Jaguars!!
