Lynn holds first day of K

LYNN – It was just about 10 minutes into the school day Monday when Callahan Elementary School Principal Ed Turmenne made an announcement to a classroom full of nervous parents.”I have good news to report,” he said after making his morning rounds. “We don’t appear to have anyone crying yet.”Monday marked the first day of full-day kindergarten at schools across the city, and there is little doubt that tears were flowing down the cheeks of more than a few students – and parents – as hundreds of the city’s youngest residents embarked on the next step in their lives.Callahan welcomed 80 new kindergarteners Monday and about a quarter of their parents stuck around for a PTA-hosted breakfast after they dropped their children off. They sat nervously sipping coffee and picking at muffins as Turmenne introduced them to the school and promised a good, safe education for their young children.Being around other parents helped some keep it together while they worried about their kids, while others still weren’t quite sure how to feel about the new experience.”I almost started crying myself when we got here – I am nervous because I have never left my son for this long,” said Jose Lagares, who dropped off his only son, Ivan, for his first day of school. “He was very excited, but as soon as we got in the school we both felt like we were going to cry. I know he is a good kid, I just don’t know how his reaction will be without Mom and Pops there.”Several of the kindergarten students have attended pre-kindergarten or nursery school programs in the past, so they have been away from their parents for a few hours a day. But a full day in school is much different than the afternoon or morning programs students are used to.For teachers and staff, the first immediate challenge is getting the kids to feel comfortable and acclimated with their new surroundings before the learning can start.”Our job right away is to get the kids ready to read. We take a few minutes to get to know each other and get to know the teachers,” said Turmenne. “It is about learning and it is about making progress.”Parents Jessica Guthrie and Christine Williams sent their oldest daughters Hannah and Kayla off to school Monday, and said a friendship the two made in preschool should help the girls feel comfortable with one another at their new school.”I am nervous, but she will be fine – she has a friend here so they will go through it together,” said Guthrie. “She was excited, she woke up right at 6 a.m. and asked, ‘When am I going to school?'”While parents like Williams, Guthrie and Lagares are dealing with the emotion of seeing their oldest children off to school, other parents were sending off their third or fourth child to kindergarten Monday.Even though these parents have been through it before, it is different for every child and there are still plenty of nerves.Janet Peterson has a third-grader in the Callahan already, and said she felt proud seeing her youngest son, Adam, start school himself.”There are always nerves, but I feel fine, I am very proud,” she said. “I told him he was going to be brave and that he wasn’t going to cry.”For many experienced parents the start of school means the house will be empty during the day for the first time in years, leaving more time to get things done or get back to work.Peterson said she plans on picking up more hours at her job, while other parents such as Desarrae Moran, who has seen her two older children and one foster child off to school already, will stay home and work on cleaning the house.Breakfast with the PTA at Callahan went a long way to ease the nerves of many parents of kindergarteners Monday, but for those experiencing the emotions for the first time, they will not truly feel comfortable until they can pick their children up following the first day.”I tell him to have fun, he is my first and only son,” said Lagares. “I am so proud. I work hard for him and my family for sure. I just hope he does OK.”