LAKEWOOD — Lakewood Elementary kicked off the Lakewood School District’s series of three kindergarten orientations and open houses from Sept. 2-3.

For Angi Sio, this year marks her third time sending a child off to kindergarten, but her first time in Lakewood.

Although Sio’s previous two children are now 13 and 16, she didn’t notice any huge differences between kindergarten orientations then and now.

“It’s very organized here, though,” Sio said. “And I like that each kindergarten teacher is scheduling twenty-five minutes to meet with each of their students, one on one, before their first day of school next Friday.”

Sio admitted to feeling a bit emotional, but she regards herself as an old hand at this.

“It’s my last kid, going to school for the first time,” Sio said. “I’m ready, but nervous.”

It wasn’t just kindergarten teachers who stuck around to chat with families. Autumn McClellan is starting her second year of teaching first grade in Lakewood, and while her classroom has changed each year, she’s gotten into the rhythm of reassuring parents.

“I want them to feel at ease, and know their kids will be learning a lot,” McClellan said. “I keep things active. There’s a lot of growing in first grade.”

Indeed, meeting each year’s new crop of “different personalities” is part of what McClellan loves most about her job, as she helps them learn and grow.

Susan Cotton is heading into her first year as Lakewood Elementary’s principal. She and kindergarten teacher Becky Bartlett greeted the families of an estimated 70 kindergarteners and more than 300 grade-schoolers.

“We had a lot of questions about bus safety, and about how kids would be guided around campus to ensure their safety,” Bartlett said.

“We also had a lot of parents who wanted to know if their kids would have permission to go to the bathroom. I told them, if I see a kid who’s standing and crossing their legs, I’m taking their hand and we’re running to the bathroom,” she laughed.

Cotton added: “When parents recall their own school years, they often confuse grade school with the later grades, and remember the hall passes they needed in high school.”

Cotton noted that several parents were effusive in their praise for the start of all-day kindergarten this year.

“They love that they don’t have to pay for it,” Cotton said.

Bartlett added: “It gives everyone a chance to settle in and learn the rules. When you’re doing it every day, it becomes a routine habit.”