DENNIS TOWNSHIP — Whether it was tears of joy or tears of fear, there were few dry eyes to be found on the first day of school for many Cape May County youngsters.
On Wednesday, Bishop McHugh Regional Catholic School in the Ocean View section of Dennis Township opened its doors to kindergartners and pre-K students to start the 2010 school year.
The Cape May County Catholic school, which hosts students through eighth grade, is one of only a few that opens prior to Labor Day, the holiday that signals the end of summer for many students in New Jersey
“We find that by this point, a lot of the kids are ready to begin school,” said Barbara Byrne, the principal at Bishop McHugh. “But they’re also ready to get out of here early in June because they’re beach people.”
Bryne said this is the fourth year the school has welcomed students back prior to Labor Day, and the response from students and parents has been mostly positive.
Other school districts in southern New Jersey, such as Egg Harbor Township and Wildwood, are set to open today.
While many teachers are coming off a school year involving sharp budget decreases and lost jobs, most parents and students at Bishop McHugh were too busy dealing with their own significant milestone: that very first day of school.
Martin and Lora Radzeita brought their son Andrew, 3, to start his first day of pre-kindergarten. At 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, they were the first family to arrive.
“He’s always ready for a new adventure it seems,” Martin said of his son, who was keeping close watch over his brand-new Toy Story backpack.
But as families piled into the all-purpose room at Bishop McHugh, Andrew was one of several kids who had trepidations over what the day held in store.
Some children were better at hiding their fear than others.
Avierre Crawley, 5, of Woodbine, was starting his first day of kindergarten. He somewhat reluctantly posed for pictures for his family to show off his school uniform, a green-collared shirt and khaki-colored shorts.
Crawley had described to his mother, Priscilla Ramirez, how he was feeling in his own words.
“He told me before we got here, ‘My legs feel burny,’“ Ramirez said. “I think that’s his way of saying he’s nervous.”
In some cases, the parents were more worried than their children.
Magdeline Langton, 4, of Cape May Court House, was clutching a box of tissues that she was instructed to bring with her on her first day of school.
Magdeline’s mother, Theresa, explained that the family just moved to Cape May Court House in June, so Theresa’s first day was another sign that the family was starting a new life.
“I might end up needing (the tissues),” Theresa said.
At roughly 8:15 a.m., Principal Byrne officially welcomed the students and their families, and the students lined up to follow their teachers on their first day.
At the end of the last pre-K line was 3-year-old Stelios Stathakopoulos. As a teacher helped him through the line, he reached out to his mother, Joanne, one last time before the Cape May Court House child officially became a student.
“I think when he started seeing other people crying, he started wondering what was happening,” Joanne said.
Contact Ben Leach:
609-463-6712
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