Opening day goes smoothly at St. Lawrence County schools, officials say

Even a cool, rainy morning didn't appear to dampen the spirits of students, parents and teachers Tuesday as schools opened throughout St. Lawrence County.

"She's so excited," Roberta Taylor, a kindergarten teacher at St. Lawrence Central School, Brasher, Falls, said as she brought her daughter, Emily, to school for her first day of kindergarten.

A sign posted above a window outside St. Lawrence Elementary offered a greeting: "Welcome back to the best school in the world."

The story was similar at A.A. Kingston Middle School in Potsdam, where someone had used chalk to write "welcome back" in front of the main entrance doors.

Most students started arriving at St. Lawrence Central Elementary about 8:30 a.m., but some already had been there, patiently biding their time in the cafeteria with games and videos until their classrooms opened. It gave them a chance to reminisce about the hot, sticky summer that just wrapped up and the school year that was just beginning.

"I played in my pool a lot" and visited the North Pole, first-grader Gabriel Hornung said.

Still, he said, he was looking forward to school being open again, giving him an opportunity to see some of his friends.

Superintendent Stephen M. Putman said there were a few first-day glitches, but "nothing insurmountable."

Enrollment, for the most part, was staying steady, Mr. Putman said.

Massena Central School Superintendent Roger B. Clough II said opening day was successful.

"Day one is going excellent. We had a really good opening. Everything went off without a hitch," Mr. Clough said.

The district is seeing an increase in the number of students this year, he said.

"We are up about 75 students districtwide. Last year at this time we were about 2,820. This year we're about 2,900," he said. "Enrollment is up, which is good news. Our pre-K classes are full and we have waiting lists."

In Potsdam, Superintendent Patrick H. Brady called Tuesday "one of our smoothest starts ever."

"I think everyone was very prepared, ready to come back to school. We had a few tears in the elementary from a couple of students," he said.

As part of the new year at Potsdam Central, Mr. Brady said, the middle school staff is using a program called Google Docs "in order to get away from paper."

"Locker assignments and homework collaboration were done there. That helps," he said.

Enrollment is down slightly, according to Mr. Brady, who said the school had 1,485 students last year but dropped to 1,455 this year.

Elementary school enrollment at Norwood-Norfolk Central School was "rising by the day," Superintendent Elizabeth A. Kirnie said.

"Every day we've had three or four new students enroll. That's a very good sign of the health of the district," she said.

It was another opening day that went smoothly, as students and teachers arrived in their classrooms and began using some of the new technology that was put into place over the summer.

Colton-Pierrepont Central School Superintendent Martin J. Bregg said there were "some minor glitches" with schedules Tuesday, but otherwise it was another good opening day.

"We're very happy with it. It was a very smooth opening. The faculty seems very enthusiastic to be back and so are kids," Mr. Bregg said.

"Lunch was a little crowded, but we do a modified schedule the first week" for class meetings, he said.

Although the school is seeing a few more students at the elementary level, Mr. Bregg said, Colton-Pierrepont's enrollment is "about the same as last year."

At Parishville-Hopkinton Central School, Superintendent Darin P. Saiff said it was "a very nice opening."

The enrollment, he said, was "fairly consistent" from previous years.

"I haven't seen a big change in our student population. We may have seen a small reduction over the years," Mr. Saiff said.