PERU — Dirigo Elementary School Principal Charles Swan greeted students Wednesday with a plastic gold medallion to signify the theme for the new year: “There is gold in all of us!”
Inspired by his passion for the Olympics, he said he and the staff’s desire was to help all students “shine” and find their strengths.
Standing in the outdoor walkway, kindergarten teacher Sue Bousquet gave her students name tags on a yellow ribbon to wear around their necks and told them to go to the playground to line up with their class before going to their classrooms.
Others greeting students in the walkway were first-grade teacher Danielle Afari, kindergarten teacher Heather Gray and first- and second-grade teacher Stacey Gilbert.
First-grader Zoey Bordeau hugged the teachers before heading off to join her classmates.
Waiting nearby, Zoey’s mother, Brandy, said, “Zoey was very anxious last night with some tears, but as soon as she saw familiar faces, she was happy to be here.” Zoey “is looking forward to doing science experiments in the new (science, technology, engineering and math) program,” she said.
Brandy Bordeau is starting her first year as a long-term substitute teacher.
“I’m looking forward to helping some kids and to having great days,” she said. She is teaching in Sarah Murphy’s Learning Center, where she will help students with life skills and students who need assistance in their classrooms.
On the playground, fourth-grade teacher Kristi Holmquist greeted and supervised students.
“This year, there are some new things in our curriculum; we’re using the Lucy Calkins Reading and Writing Units,” Holmquist said. She said she “finds it challenging to learn new ideas and embrace them.”
Holmquist said she’s hopeful that this year’s students will be as eager to write as last year’s and “that they will appreciate all the choices they can make when it comes to choosing books they want to read and discuss.”
She said she always looks forward to a new school year and a new group of students.
mhutchinson@sunmediagroup.net
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