“Welcome,” said Dode Klein, as students entered her first-grade classroom during the Kimball Elementary School Open House Wednesday, Aug. 27. “You can choose any desk you want. The desk you choose will be yours for the entire school year, although we will move them around at times.” Using the utmost concentration, Miranda Cooper walked around the room and aptly decided on a desk in the center of the room, with a perfect view of the blackboard. After her careful selection was made, Klein taped a name tag to Cooper’s desk. Then, Klein handed Cooper a bag of goodies. Inside was a bookmark, notepaper, pencil with an eraser, sticker and a roll of Smarties. A note in the bag explained the significance of each gift. An eraser because “we will make mistakes and that’s okay;” a sticker because “we will stick together by helping each other;” and the Smarties mean “we will learn a lot!” In the other wing of the school, sixth-grade students looked at their desks piled with many books. While the stack of books could look intimidating, it didn’t seem to bother sixth-grade students Nicole Klein or Tina Henkemeyer. They were both more interested in the monarch caterpillars located in the back of the room. According to Henkemeyer and Nicole Klein, students in Paulette Hauge’s sixth-grade class take care of the caterpillars and watch them form cocoons. When the butterflies emerge, students let them go out into the wilderness. “We tag each of them, so if we see them again [outside], we know they are ours,” Nicole said. While the sixth-grade students were gearing up for their butterfly project, four students visited Patti Bauerly in the multi-age classroom. Bauerly helped student Alyssa Hurrle put her belongings into her own cubby. The box was marked as Hurrle’s and carefully put back in its spot. Bauerly explained how multiage classrooms are different from the regular classroom setting. “I teach students in grades 4-6,” Bauerly said. “Since the students vary in age, there is less competition.” Bauerly also said that returning students know her and feel more comfortable coming back to the classroom. These returners also help younger students adapt to the different learning setting. “It is more of a challenge, since I need to prepare lessons for each student,” Bauerly said. “But the students are great with helping each other.” With different aged students at various skill levels, Bauerly prepares lessons both by grade level and for all students. While the task may require more work, Bauerly wouldn’t change her position. “I really love it. The kids truly work well together.” At the open house, teachers and pupils enjoyed getting to know one another. Parents learned what would be required of their children and what the classes would learn. They also showed students their classrooms and practiced walking from bus drop-off points to their rooms. In the gymnasium, parents visited with the family advocate, learned about Title 1, registered for Community Education classes and signed up to be involved with the Partners in Education (P.I.E.) parent group. Most families and students were excited for the school year to begin. As one father said about his daughter, “She just couldn’t wait to get back. She has been looking forward to it all summer.” Kimball students began their first day of classes Tuesday, Sept. 2.
