A School Year Begins

In the course of a life, many things change, but some events remain constant.   One of those is a rite of passage, the first day of school.   On Monday, I visited Georgetown’s Mitchell Elementary School to watch the excitement.   Taking that first step into kindergarten can be unsettling.   Nobody seemed to feel that more than 5-year-old Diana Diaz as she held onto to her mother, Maria Flores.   It was obviously a hard moment for both, but the good teachers helped ease them into this new adventure.     Some families were just plain happy to be there, like the Bruton family as they strolled quickly into the school.  There was 9-year-old Emelia leading the way, followed by her sister, Abigail, 7, and little brother, Sean, 5, and their parents, Donnie and Kristi.   Some kids, like 6-year-old Carolina Fuentes, a first-grader, were old pros and walked with purpose to her classroom with little brother, Nicholas, 3, and their dad, Andres.   Teacher Beth Messineo was there to greet them and help get things arranged.   The final photo in this post, also at Mitchell, shows school nurse Marcy Schroeder,  a fast-moving lady zipping down the hallways in her bright purple Saucony running shoes, but slowing down long enough to visit with a first grader who was feeling a bit nervous, but after a few moments and soothing words from Marcy, he was good to go.    I began documenting first day of school events in the 1970s.   They still embrace life’s drama and pleasures.