Tearful students and parents go hand-in-hand with the imagery of the first day of school for anxious kindergarten students and their parents across America.
But that’s not the case in Menands School, where an innovative program seeks to shed the tears and replace them with smiles, laughter and joy.
Kindergarten Warm-Up Week starts Aug. 18 and runs through Aug. 21, with kindergarten students getting to learn the ropes in a relaxed atmosphere without the fear and anxiety of students from other grades being present.
Students meet for two hours each day, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the school, with their teachers. They also experience a bus ride for the first time. The week culminates with an open house at 5 p.m. on Aug. 22, where parents are invited to meet the teachers—Pooja Gosai and Chelsea Passaro—and see the school and their classrooms.
“Kindergarten Warm-up Week is a long-standing tradition in Menands and one of the best things we do for our incoming kids,” Superintendent Jennifer Cannavo said. “It relieves so many of the kids’ nerves and, because of it, we don’t have tears the first day of school that you see elsewhere.”