Elementary students start school

Wednesday morning, Douglas County elementary schools opened their doors and classrooms for the first day of school.

At Pinon Hills Elementary School, students and parents swarmed the playground, waiting for the school bell to ring.

Angelina Moore, whose daughter Jade Moore is starting third grade at Pinon Hills, recently moved to Carson Valley from Bakersfield, Calif. Surrounded by smiling parents and laughing children, she expressed her satisfaction with the school setting.

"I love it here. I don't miss California at all," she said.

Her daughter Jade said she was very excited about starting school and looked forward to studying math.

"She's a straight-A student," her mother said.

As the school bell rang, 4-year-old Elizabeth Moreno jumped out of the swing she had been occupying and headed for her new kindergarten class, escorted by her mother, Silvia Moreno.

"The first day is always hard to let them go," said Moreno, who is also the mother of a fifth grader.

Inside, students found teachers awaiting their arrival. The commotion of the playground subsided as parents said their good-byes and teachers led new students to their classrooms.

Janet McDonnell, a fourth grade teacher, began her class with each student drawing his or her name on an index card. Then she surprised the students with some rather interesting information. She told them that her pet dog had written a book, that in fact all her pets had written books.

"If my cat and dog can write a story, so can you," McDonnell said, holding up a colorful book written by her dog.

At Meneley Elementary School, students started their first day with a tour of the facility.

Third graders gathered in the gym for their first P.E. class, led by veteran instructor Ellen Lucas, who addressed the students through a headset microphone.

Eight-year-old Dominic Fessler, a brand new third grader, said he loves P.E. but needs to focus on being good in class.

Near the gym, Stacy Harrel was in her office preparing for new students. Harrel has worked as a counselor for Meneley for five years, and said that this year she would like to focus more on career counseling for students of all ages, even kindergartners. Harrel said she had been helping both students and parents adjust to changes, specifically parents leaving their children for the first time.

As Ellen Lucas wrapped up her P.E. class, Paula Zona, Meneley's new principal, roamed the gym looking for ways to assist her staff. Having worked in Las Vegas for the past 11 years, Zona is new to the area. Zona said that she has been impressed not only by the beauty of Carson Valley but also by the high quality of the people she works with.

"Teachers have been here all summer preparing," Zona said.

Carol Lark, the superintendent of Douglas County School District, was also found roaming the halls of Meneley. Lark said she would be visiting all the schools in the Valley but was pleased with what she'd already seen. She said that her biggest goal for the new year is to ensure that teachers and students are distributed evenly and that no one classroom is too crowded.