GREAT EXPECTATIONS: Everything you need to know about your first day in school

With school just two days away, students countywide are gearing up to go back to the classroom.

Those starting a new school for the first time may not be as ready for school as the upperclassmen. Here, teachers and principals offer words of advice for students:

Elementary school

Kindergartners going to elementary school for the first time have no reason to be scared, said Jodi Kautz and Diane Howard. They teach kindergarten at Lyle Creek Elementary and Shuford Elementary, respectively.

"Kindergarten is fun," Kautz said. "Exploration and play is a big part of learning."

During the first week or two of school, kindergartners can expect to practice lots of routines, such as how to line up, how to walk in the hall, learn their way around school and how to carry lunch trays.

Students will learn the basics of kindergarten.

"The first week, we go over the rules of the classroom," Howard said. "We also do a transportation unit and learn about bus safety, because a lot of them have never ridden a bus before."

And although each kindergarten class has a different supply list, Kautz offers a suggestion for each parent to pack with their child on the first day of school.

"Parents might want to pack an extra change of clothes for the kids to keep at school," she said.

Throughout the year, children work on math, doing sorting, graphing and looking at patterns, Kautz said. They improve their language skills by reading words, and progress to writing sentences and stories.

Howard said most children in kindergarten enter the grade at different levels, with some already reading and some not knowing their ABCs. It's the teacher's job to work with students and get them all on grade-level.

She said parents and students have nothing to worry about on the first day of school.

"A lot of kids are anxious, but we just try to make it fun," Howard said. "We're real community-based and family-oriented."

Middle school

The most important thing for newcomers to middle school to bring is a can-do attitude, said Shirley Herbert, a sixth-grade teacher at Northview Middle.

"We work with students," she said. "If they're excited about school, then they're ready."

During the first few days of school, Herbert said Northview does a lot of introduction activities so students get to know one another. Students will be shown around the building so they're comfortable with the school's layout and where everything is located.

There are a few other things new middle school students will have to become accustomed to that they didn't have in elementary school.

"Students will need to learn to work a combination lock on their lockers quickly," Herbert said.

On the positive side, students will have more choice in their classes.

"They'll have more electives. We have a fantastic music program, and a good chorus and art program," Herbert said. "There are also clubs in the afternoons students can participate in, like Battle of the Books and international club."

When students reach seventh grade, they can participate in athletics.

High school

The first thing freshmen need to know is this: Not everything is the truth.

"Everything they hear is not always true," said Kevin Campbell, principal at Newton-Conover High School. "High school is not a scary place. Teachers and staff are available to help them, just like in elementary school and middle school, and they should ask for help if they need it."

Rachael Moyer, an English teacher at Hickory High School, echoed this sentiment.

"High schoolers have more accountability and are in control of what they're doing more, and so it's really important for them to come to teachers when they're having problems," she said.

Moyer noted there are other, more noticeable differences between middle and high school, such as the size of the buildings and the class periods.

Most of the high schools in the area use block scheduling, so students are in classes for 90 minutes at a time — something many students are not used to.

"Teachers try to break up their classes, so it's not so bad, especially for freshmen classes," Moyer said. "If I have freshmen, I try to make it like three separate classes, so they have little breaks in between."

Campbell said the most important thing students need to know, however, is that what they do in high school counts from the first day they walk in the door.

"There are graduate requirements, and students should understand what they are," he said. "Freshman year is the most important year, because it impacts what students do as sophomores, juniors and seniors; because it's reflective on their transcripts. It helps students get off to a great start."

Students also will have the opportunity to put more on their transcripts through a greater variety of clubs, athletics and other offerings, Campbell said.

"They'll have a lot more independence than they've ever had in school," he said. "There will be a lot more extracurriculars offered, from art club and chorus to athletics to Interact club. There's definite choice for students."

The bottom line is, if freshmen have an attitude of success in academics from the start of the year, the school will do its part to support them and ensure they will be successful, Campbell said.