Clap Clap!

Area Students Start New Year

“Raise your hand if you’re excited for kindergarten,” Katy Scott called out to the room of 5-year-olds at F.W. Kling Jr. Elementary. Dozens of hands shot up.

“Raise your hand if you’re a little bit nervous.” Just as many went up.

Scott smiled and told them, “Sometimes you can be nervous and excited at the same time.”

It was a rainy first day of school morning in Buena Vista, with the halls humming at a low buzz as families dropped off their children and students filtered into their brightly decorated classrooms. New principal Terri Flint greeted everyone with a genuine smile, and the office staff was calmly helping some parents with their questions.

At Kling, Scott’s kindergarten class was already learning the rhythms of school: where to sit, when to unpack, how to take turns, and how to listen. She led them with a steady rhythm of encouragement and call-and-response. “Unpack!” Clap clap. “Put your stuff away!” The kindergarteners eagerly followed suit. “Lunch box!” Clap clap. “On top!” Clap clap.

Scott was ready for the day’s energy. One girl kept getting up, but Scott gently guided her back to her seat without losing patience. When another child covered his ears against the noise, she calmly offered him noise-dampening headphones.

Later, she introduced her paraprofessional with the same ritual cheer: “Ms. Coleman!” Clap clap. “Helps our class!” Clap clap. By the end of the first hour, the students had covered rules, routines, feelings, water breaks, and even the all-important question of lunch choices — all under the watch of a teacher who kept the mood calm, positive, and confident.

Scenes like this played out throughout the Rockbridge area last week as Buena Vista students headed to school on Wednesday, a day after Rockbridge and Lexington students returned to school.

Buena Vista schools opened the year with 894 students enrolled. Kling Elementary, where Scott teaches, accounted for 180 of those. Enderly Heights Elementary reported 269, Parry McCluer Middle School 129, and Parry McCluer High School 316.

Attendance on the first day came in at 877 students present, just under the total enrollment — a number that school officials noted has risen each day since. Kling welcomed 173 children through its doors that morning, while Enderly Heights had 264, the middle school 125, and the high school 315.

In Lexington, Superintendent Rebecca Walters reported 317 students enrolled at Waddell Elementary, with 313 present on the first day. Lylburn Downing Middle School opened with 190 students enrolled, 187 of them present. Walters noted the middle school saw an unusually high number of new students this year — about 15, many moving in from out of the district or even out of state.

“That’s a lot for a middle school,” she told the School Board at its meeting Wednesday night, adding that staff had worked hard to make the transition smooth. She also praised families and staff for helping the year start on steady footing, with few absences or tardies and even morning traffic moving more smoothly than usual. “The feeling of the building is good,” Walters said. “The families seem to be excited.”

As for Rockbridge County Public Schools, enrollment and attendance figures were not available by press time. Superintendent Phillip Thompson told the School Board last Tuesday that the first day had gone “smoothly.”

One notable incident marked the first week: on the morning of Aug. 15, a Rockbridge County school bus carrying only its driver and one high school student was struck in a collision, according to a statement posted on the division’s Facebook page.

“We are extremely thankful to report that both the driver and student were unharmed, though understandably shaken by the experience. According to the Virginia State Police, the driver was not at fault,” the statement read. -As the morning progressed in Ms. Scott’s classroom, the children were still raising their hands — this time to choose between cheese bites and peanut butter and jelly for lunch. After each vote, they clapped for themselves, the room filling with the sound of children becoming more comfortable in a new situation.

“We love kindergarten. We have so much fun in here,” Scott said to her students, and they nodded with anticipation. Nervous or excited, the children were already settling into the rhythm of school, one clap and one cheer at a time.