It’s the most wonderful time of the year — for parents.
After nine weeks of summer fun, nearly 1 million public school students returned to the classroom Thursday for the start of the new school year.
At M.S. 51 and P.S. 321 in Park Slope, students were excited to reunite with friends, make new ones, explore exciting subjects, and participate in after-school sports.
P.S. 321 buzzed with excitement Thursday morning as students and their parents gathered on First and Second streets, eagerly scanning for teachers holding up signs with classroom numbers in the schoolyard. The teachers then led the students into their classrooms, marking the beginning of what many hoped would be a fun-filled year.
Mom Ashley Macsuga-Gage shared that Thursday was not just the first day of school for her daughters, Goldie and Olive — who were entering fifth and first grade, respectively — but also their first day at a new school in a new city. The family had relocated to Park Slope from Florida just one day before the start of school.
Macsuga-Gage said her daughters were excited about making new friends and getting to know their new school.
“And I’m looking forward to a whole day to get my work done,” she said.
Fifth-grader Milania, accompanied by her mother Trefann and younger brother, told Brooklyn Paper she was eager to “get better grades, do better in school, and have fun.”
Shannon and her daughter Colette spent a quiet moment on one of the benches outside P.S. 321 before Colette headed to her fourth-grade classroom.
Colette said she was looking forward to learning more about history, while Shannon praised P.S. 321 for its tight-knit community feel despite the school’s size.
“I’m so excited for her to be in the upper grades,” Shannon said. “There’s a lot more independence in fourth grade compared to the lower grades, so I’m excited to see her shine.”
Six-year-old Emily, a first-grader with a love for computers, was excited for the new school year. Her father, Carl, said he hopes she will learn coding and eventually join the STEM program.
Emily’s mother, Wanda, added, “I’m looking forward to a fun school year for her, with exciting learning, new experiences, and new friends.”
Twins Oscar and Emily posed for a family photo outside P.S. 321’s main entrance, holding a sign that read “Oscar & Emily’s First Day of Third Grade.”
Oscar said he was excited about math, while Emily declared she was looking forward to making new friends.
“[P.S. 321] is a really good school, and I have a lot of friends and very nice teachers,” Emily said.
Third-grader Molly Liben admitted she was “a little scared” but also “really excited” for the new year, especially for her sisters, who were starting their first day at P.S. 321.
“We’re going to be learning to write in cursive,” Molly said. “I’m really excited for that.”
