School starts tomorrow!

Macy is so very excited that her first day of school is tomorrow! Today we were invited by her new principal to an open house for new students. All four of us went and we were so impressed (again!) by her new school--Memorial Elementary. The kids played a bingo game and won prizes. They each got their picture taken and filled out an All About Me sheet to be displayed in the library at Open House. They were served juice and cookies, and everyone took home a treat bag and school folder.

We met our new principal, Mrs. Pantier, today and she is awesome. She is so happy and positive with the kids. We can tell how much she loves her job and the kids and families she serves. She took us on a tour of the school and answered lots of questions from the kids. She even took the kids into her office and let them look around. Macy found one of the coolest things ever in there. Mrs. Pantier has a "vending machine" of sorts with small toys/trinkets in it. (It's like the ones in the grocery store lobby that you put quarters in for those junky, I mean fun toys.) Anyway, the kids can earn tokens for the machine and go to the principal's office to spend them and get their treat. The principal and teachers give them out at random to reward positive behavior and learning. Mrs. Pantier told the kids that most students come to her office for good behavior rather than bad. I think this is awesome! I picked up very quickly on the fact that she is a very positive person and encourages positive behavior in such a fun way. We can tell we are going to love our new principal!

We also got to meet Macy's new first grade teacher. Her name is Mrs. Stanchina and Macy already loves her. She is young and fun, and she was so sweet to us and Macy. She encourages parents to volunteer in the classroom, and we were thrilled about that. Macy gave her a big hug and said that she couldn't wait for tomorrow. Mrs. Stanchina said she couldn't either!

We also met several other moms (PTA volunteers who were helping with the open house) who have children enrolled at Memorial. They have a very active PTA and all spoke so highly of the school. One of the moms we met is a member of the church at a nearby congregation and her husband used to preach at Garden City! She is one of the "lunchroom moms" and promised to keep an eye on Macy for us. We met another mom who grew up at Garden City and still has relatives in the congregation. Also, one of the members at Garden City is a fifth grade teacher at Memorial. She has been so sweet to us, too. She showed us around a little today and introduced us to some of the other teachers. We also have another member who works at Macy's school in the mornings with before-school care.

We had a great time today and we are really excited for Macy to start school tomorrow. We were a little nervous at first about the transition, but we feel so at ease now. If only we can get Macy in bed tonight and get her to actually go to sleep. She has so much fun to look forward to!



J