Tyler Starts Kindergarten

School started August 21.  Tyler's school was still under construction at that point.  A call came through the school's Facebook page for helpers to come help get things ready for the first day of school.  I showed up on Monday, August 19, from 8:00-10:00 a.m.  About the time I got there the UPS guy showed up with a huge truck that needed unloading RIGHT. THEN.  So, a few of us PTA folks pitched in to help the UPS guy.  He would bring the boxes to the edge of the truck and we would slide the very big and very heavy boxes on to the ground.  Then we opened the boxes, pulled out the cubbies (which thankfully had wheels on them) and wheeled them near the building where the plastic boxes were being unloaded from cardboard boxes and put into the cubbies. 

Unloading the boxes.



Breaking down the boxes.



Loading up the cubbies



All done and ready to take to the teacher's rooms.

 

 

This is what the inside of the school looked like 2 days before school was to start.

 

Tyler didn't start school the first day of school, but he did have his evaluation on August 21.  Here he is with his teacher Mrs. Madsen.



The kindergarten didn't start school until August 28.  It was a very exciting day!







Darrell didn't think he'd be able to make it to the school to see Tyler off, but "luckily" his co-workers didn't show up to the meeting they were supposed to have, so Darrell surprised us by showing up at the school right on time.



They had the kindergarten students line up outside the front of the school to wait for the teachers to come out.



There's Mrs. Madsen.



Going inside the school.




The whole student body was in the entranceway to the school to cheer on the kindergarteners as they paraded through the entranceway and to their classrooms.  It was very emotional for this momma.

This is my view from right inside the door. 

 

This is the view from up above.  (Things look better inside than they did the previous week, but there was still quite a bit of work to be done in the halls, gym, etc.)



Tyler after he put his backpack away in a cubby.

 

Finding a spot on the rug.

 

 

Here are their tables and stools.  Every classroom has tables at standing height with stools so that the students can sit or stand to do their work.  Read about that here.

 

 

Let me explain how Tyler came to be at this school.  Neil Armstrong Academy is  not a charter school.  It is a public STEM school that focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.  Half of the school's enrollment comes from within the specified school boundaries and the other half comes from open enrollment--on a first-come, first-served basis.

In December 2012, we received a postcard in the mail from the school district announcing the opening of the school for the 2013-2014 school year.  It had a link on how to enroll if you don't live inside the school boundaries (which we don't.)  I read the postcard and held on to it as something to look in to. 

Fast forward a few days (maybe?).  I woke up in the night feeling sick and icky.  I threw up (TMI) and continued to feel lousy.  I have no idea where I got sick from because the kids hadn't been sick at all.  The next morning I still didn't feel well, so I asked Darrell if he could stay home and take care of the kids.  He said he could come home at noon.  So I survived the morning by letting he kids watch whatever they wanted to on TV.  I laid in bed and contemplated enrolling Tyler in the STEM school.  I was a little hesitant because I wanted to try and enroll Tyler in the nearby charter school.  I called and talked to my neighbor (while I was laying in bed) whose kids go to the charter school about the charter school.  I felt like the charter school would be a great option for Tyler.  (I have nothing against the neighborhood school, but I thought I would leave all educational options open since Tyler is our oldest child and we're not "locked in" anywhere.)  Anyway I was a little hesitant about the STEM school, but after talking to Darrell later that evening, I dragged myself out of bed to go sign up online.  I was so surprised to hear back that from the principal saying he had received our applications. (I had enrolled the girls for the preschool too but it was twice as much as we pay now, and besides we love Miss Katie!) 

I started following the school on Facebook and was VERY impressed with the principal.  He was always posting pictures and videos of the building's progress, as well as keeping everyone up to date on what was happening with hiring teachers, going to visit other STEM schools, etc.  The open enrollment period ended in February.  There were a lot of anxious parents who wanted their children to attend the STEM school and the wait seemed to drag on forever.  Finally the day came when the letters were sent out and we found out Tyler had been accepted.  We were ecstatic!  (On a side note, Tyler was number 90 on the waiting list of the lottery for the charter school.)

So, why did I include all of this, including the part about me getting sick?  Because I think it is a miracle that Tyler is at the STEM school.  Let me continue.  There were some pretty disgruntled parents whose children didn't get in or else one child got accepted, but another didn't.  This had to do with the first-come, first-served basis.  There were 900 applicants for 350 spots.  Each grade filled up differently depending on how many applications there were for that grade.  Mr. Howe, the principal, put the explanation of how the whole process worked on his blog.  Read it here.  It wasn't until I read that kindergarten had filled up on December 13 that I decided to go back and look at my journal to see when exactly I had been sick and had filled out the application.  Guess what?  It was December 13!  God does indeed work in mysterious ways!  We couldn't be more excited for the next several years as Tyler and the girls attends Neil Armstrong Academy.  (Yes, I will be up at midnight on December 1, 2014 to get my girls' applications in at the beginning of the open enrollment window, although they will have an added advantage of already having a sibling at the school so they will most likely get in, even if I'm not "the first" online, but hey!  we're not going to take chances.!)