First Day Frenzy! How Was Back To School for Your Family?

More than 5,300 students arrived for the morning bell in the Saline Area School District Tuesday. That is a lot of backpacks, bus rides and back-to-school banter, not to mention homework given out on the very first day.

“I’ve got a ton of homework on the first day,” said fourth grader Conor Waterman. “I did go to two specials though, and want to try out for Safety Patrol."

For as much activity as took place today, there were no real unexpected moments for Heritage Elementary paraprofessional educator Amanda Cody. “I think it went really smoothly,” she said.

This is her first year on the west side of the lot, after four years in a classroom at Woodland Meadows.

Art teacher Laura Laatsch agreed. 

“There was a lot of excitement,” she said. “Today was everything a first day should be.”

Bob Cindric is the music teacher at Woodland Meadows. He formerly taught at Saline Middle School and Heritage Elementary. 

“This is my first day at Woodland Meadows too, so I was just as happy and excited as the kids,” he said.

Kids poured out of both schools promptly at 3:35pm.

Schedules were new for parents, too. Some really missed all the noise at home, while others celebrated with a big breakfast out at a local diner.  

Kelly Saiya-Cork has a first grade student and fifth grade student in the district. The day seemed a little too long for her without the kids at home.

“I can’t believe it is still morning. Perhaps I need to sign up to volunteer with lunch,” she said early in the day. 

With all of the excitement also came a bit of frustration. A common theme heard throughout different locations was the dismissal time between the elementary schools and Heritage school. Many parents have kids in both places, and can’t be in two places at once to pick them up. 

“It’s fairly easy to pick up one from Pleasant Ridge quickly,” said Monique Castria, who has a second grader there, and a fourth grader at Heritage. “But here, (Heritage) it's not possible. I want to know when they built this, how they thought 100 parking spaces was enough for 1,000 kids?” 

Those standing around her agreed emphatically. There seems to be a consensus that the pick-up and drop-off loop at Woodland Meadows and Heritage schools takes some getting used to. The school district solution is to encourage families to have their kids ride the buses.

Woodland Meadows Principal Michelle Szczechowicz summed up the very busy day. 

“It was a great first day here at Woodland Meadows, and it was nice to have everyone back,” she said. “A school needs to have kids in it.”

There were certainly plenty of kids to fill up all of the schools in Saline on Tuesday.