CLIPPARD KINDERGARTEN CLASS BACK AT SCHOOL

Some 24 Clippard Elementary School kindergartners relived first-day-of-school jitters this week when their class began all-day instruction on campus for the first time this year.

The students have been attending school in the youth center at the First Assembly of God Church at 750 N. Mount Auburn Road since school began in August. Recesses were taken on a playground at the church, and physical education, art and music teachers travelled to the site for classes. Students had the option of taking their own lunches to school or eating sack lunches prepared by the school.

A new, 1,200-square-foot mobile classroom was installed at the school for the students, and classes were held in the trailer for the first time on Monday. The additional kindergarten class was added by the school board in August because of high enrollment at the school.

The decision came after a number of Clippard parents objected to a random selection process that would have resulted in the busing of reassigned children to a different elementary school within the district that had available kindergarten slots.

Maximum class sizes were increased and a larger trailer was also ordered to replace an existing mobile classroom at Franklin Elementary School. That trailer has also arrived and could be opened to classes as early as Friday.

Clippard kindergarten teacher Dawn Eichholz said the mid-semester move has caused her students to make adjustments similar to those made at the beginning of the year.

"They were used to being in a group with just themselves, and now there are 200 more people for them to interact with," she said. "It was like the first day of school for them again."

Principal Stan Seiler said students have been receptive to the new classroom. The trailer is partially tiled and partially carpeted so teachers are able to use it for many different types of classroom activities, he said. There is also a bathroom available for the students to use, he said.

"The only problem we've had with the classroom is it took longer to make than we expected," he said. "The kids are just glowing with excitement."

Students said they liked having class in the church and the trailer equally well, but the new experience is nice. In fact, they weren't fazed as much by the new location as they were with the change in the lunch schedule.

"Some kids bring their lunch and others eat lunch (served by at the school," said 5-year old Sarah Lasky. "One thing bad about it is you barely have any time to eat."

Kindergarten assistant Amy Fisher agreed that lunchtime has been a major adjustment for the students, as have fine-arts and physical-education classes. The new environment is much more structured, she said, and now students have to adjust to carrying trays, definitive meal times, and more group interaction.

"They had soup for lunch on their first day, and they were all walking on tippie toes because they were trying to balance the trays. It was very cute," Fisher said. "They're still nervous about the change, but I think for the most part they've adapted very well.

"The best thing about it is just feeling like a part of the school. The church facility was very nice: You couldn't have asked for any better place if you had to do what we had to do. Now they get to be more independent and go to other classrooms and interact with other students. We're glad we're here."