Kindgergarten roundup shows potential, though numbers are down

by Chelsie Darrow

Though many may hate school now that we are in higher grades, we can probably look back on our first day of kindergarten and reminisce. You keep those memories with you well beyond your high school years. This year’s kindergarten roundup was not as highly attended as superintendent and elementary principal Mr. Shaw expected, with only 24 kids showing up. He hopes to have a least fifteen more student to sign up before the school year start again next year.

The desired number is based on how many students are leaving in the senior class, compared to the amount of students coming in. This year we have 49 seniors leaving Pittsford and so far we only have 24 kindergarteners signed up for next year.

Kindergarten roundup is a chance for the children and parents excited for their first year of school. It also is to show them around the school and what type of things that they will be doing here a school. Most parents are very curious about what their children are doing here at school during the day and this gives them the chance to see what goes on and what their child will be doing every once they begin kindergarten.

The test that the kindergarteners take is called the ABC Inventory; it tests the student on how to define shapes, colors, numbers and the alphabet. It also tests common knowledge, asking questions such as, “What season do the leaves fall off of the trees?” nd “What season does the snow fall?” The children also received a hearing, vision and speech screening. These tests informed the parents of the possibility that their child has impairment. Also the parents could go and get their children checked out because they know well before the school year that their child had and impairment and hopefully get it fixed so their child can learn to their full potential.

All the children who showed up on the two days of kindergarten roundup received a free backpack. The backpack contained many of the supplies that the children might need for their first year of school. The supplies also will help the children learn some of the necessary skills that they will learn the following year. Most of the students are about 55 months old, so on the ABC Inventory, teachers are hoping that they will get a 55-month score or better.

The average amount of students that sign up during the summer is five to seven. We need at least fifteen or risk falling short of the goal, which would mean a lot less money for the school due to lower school enrollment than budgeted for. All the other school districts are about average or a tiny bit over in their kindergarten population. So we are hoping that there are some kids at home that just haven’t had the chance to sign up yet. We have advertised many places including the radio, newspaper and Pittsford’s Contact newsletter. Hopefully we can find fifteen more students to join us next year so we can be satisfied with our student numbers.

“The kindergarteners this year were very up-to-level academically and socially,” explained Mr. Shaw. All of the students sat politely waiting for their turn on all of the tests. None of the children cried this year; usually many of the children do because it’s their first time being left without a parent or a family member.

Overall it looks to be an awesome kindergarten class with a very promising future. The numbers are bit lower than what we would like to see, but hopefully they will improve as the summer progresses.