The girls are back to school.  We received postcards from the teachers a little over a week ago. That is how the school lets the students know which teacher they will have.  Each teacher sends their students a postcard to welcome them to their classroom.  I think we had a preference as to who would be Audio’s kindergarten teacher.  At least, I think I did.  And, that was the teacher we got.   I don’t think we had a preference as to who would be Dee Dee’s third grade teacher.  One of the two third grade teachers was recognized as a Top Teacher by a local TV station last year.  The other teacher wasn’t.  Dee Dee got the teacher that wasn’t.  After attending our “Meet the Teachers” night, I think both girls will be fine, but I’m not going to get my hopes up. 

The evening that we went to meet the teachers was a bit chaotic.  We knew too many of the people clogging the halls.  No matter which direction I looked, there was someone who I had to say “Hi” to.  We met with Audio’s teacher first.  She has taught at the school for decades.  What I noticed the most was that she used a lot of endearing names while addressing Audio, like Sweetie, Honey, and the like.  I’m not sure if it stuck out because I don’t like it or because I’m not used to hearing it.  We’ll have to see what Audio thinks about it.  Dee Dee’s teacher seems all right.  He is not a very charismatic character.  But, he seems to communicate well.  We learned that the boy who punched Dee Dee last year will be in her classroom.  So, I explained the background to the teacher, and he seemed to listen, and said that he appreciated knowing about the situation.  We’ll see how he handles it, if he has to.  Hopefully he won’t have to. 

Dee Dee’s first day was the Tuesday after Labor Day.  Audio and the rest of the kindergarteners started on Thursday.  Dee Dee bounced the entire way to school on her first day.  And I was happy to see her bounce out the door at the end of the day, too.  Everything went fine.  At least, that’s what she said.  She said that one girl didn’t say “hi” to her.  But, other than that, she seemed satisfied with her first day. 

It was a very hot day, and I’d seen a news piece on how some of the city’s schools didn’t have air conditioning.  So, I asked her if the school’s air conditioner was working.   She said that the building was air-conditioned except for the gym.  I asked her why she was in the gym and she said that she just opened the door and peeked her head in.  I asked if there was anyone in the gym when she did this and she said that there was.  I asked what they did when she opened the door.  She said that they told her to close the door. 

Audio’s first day went well.  Dee Dee walked her into the building and took her to her classroom before going to her own room.   When the girls came out of school at the end of the day, Audio walked behind Dee Dee, hiding from her mother and me.  Besides doing a bad job of hiding, it was hard to miss her because of the giggling.  She had had a good first day.  While walking home, Dee Dee remarked on how odd it was that even though everything is new (year, teacher, room, etc.) it all seemed very familiar.  She’s done this a few times and seems to know the ropes.  Knowing that there are a lot of kids who don’t like school for whatever reason, it’s a very good feeling to know that your children are happy students. Now, we just have to slide back into our schoolyear routine.