Summer Is Gone — Why Some Kids Are Glad

By Pam Teel

It’s time to put away the shovels, pails, sun lotion and trips to the beach to get ready for another promising school year. If you’ve gone to the stores lately, you see shelves upon shelves of notebooks, binders and school supplies. It’s time to make that not so smooth transition back into reality. For some parents, it’s a relief. It’s not easy keeping children occupied with things to do all summer. On average, more money is spent during the summer months on vacations, plentiful trips to the mall, movies, and other social outlets geared just for children.

The first week of school is an adjustment, getting accustomed to bus schedules, bus stops, new teachers, and waking up with the roosters. The first day back brings visions of children donning their new school clothes, wolfing down some form of breakfast, drearily trudging out to their bus stop still half asleep, as happy parents wave goodbye from the doorway. But not all children view it as if they were forced to take a heaping tablespoon of cod liver oil. Some are actually looking forward to their first week back to the grind.

Ella Skelton from Millstone Township is going into the second grade. She is really looking forward to going into a new private school. She can’t wait to meet new friends. She likes the fact that the people who work there are very nice and helpful so she will have nothing to be afraid of. Her favorite time of the school day is recess where she gets to meet even more friends who are not in her immediate class.

Hannah Siegel is going into the third grade. She’ll be going into the Millstone Elementary School. She can’t wait to meet her new teacher and see what friends are in her class. She’ll be in the same school now as some of her best friends. She is looking forward to riding on the same bus with them.

Troy DiStaso will be going into the sixth grade at Getz Middle School in Jackson. It will be a new school for him. He can’t wait to see what it’s like in the new school. He can’t wait to walk all around and check the school out. He is excited to see what kids are in his class. He likes the idea of having to switch classes and being able to take trumpet lessons and play in the school band. He really likes the fact that he will get a locker to put his things in. The main thing is that he will meet so many new friends because there will be kids from two different elementary schools in Jackson going to the same middle school that he will be in.

Christina Cingolani just graduated from Allentown High School. She is ready to start he new adventure at St. Johns College in Queens, New York. She will be living in a dorm with two other roommates. Christina traveled a lot in the past with her high school traveling club, which gave her some backbone for being on her own. She really enjoys her independence and is not a stranger to the city. Her grandmother lives in Brooklyn and Christina’s family visited there often. Christina is comfortable around a big city and feels she will have no problem getting around on her own via buses and other transportation. For now she wants to stay within an hour from home. A great student academically, she is looking forward to diving right into the hard work. She has no problem meeting new friends and looks forward to joining new groups, perhaps even a traveling club.

Congratulations to all the students on their upcoming school year, even the ones who are dreading it. Think of it this way, you always have next summer to look forward to.