“I’ll try not to cry too much,” a parent said Monday morning at the Poplar Bluff Kindergarten Center, as students made their way in for the first day of the new school year.
According to Principle Christy Young, 350 young students started their educational journey Monday.
She stated, “Everyone I’ve seen has come in excited.”
Moms and dads arrived with a broad spectrum of emotions. Parents Dustin and Rebecca Park dropped off their daughter Maleah, the youngest of four children.
“She’s the last one,” her mother described. “It’s bittersweet.”
Maleah excitedly showed off her brand-new shoes and expressed enthusiasm for her first day. Teachers and staff helped escort the children from the cars and buses to their respective classrooms under an arch of balloons.
Gina Cato, a speech therapist for the school said, “It’s a brand new day. It’s good to see everybody.”
Young explained the incoming class is somewhat smaller this year, down from the approximately 400 the district typically sees. She attributes this to the new online registration system which parents are still adapting to. Young anticipates more children will be registered once the system becomes more familiar.
“We’re excited. We have a great staff,” she affirmed.