Mansfield children excited to see teachers and friends at first day back to school

Dylan walks into Southeast School with his mother Heather Spottiswoode on the first day back to school, Sept. 1, 2010. Photo by Roxanne Pandolfi

Despite bus delays this morning at Mansfield Middle School, staff felt prepared for the first day of school.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Superintendent of Mansfield Public Schools Fred Baruzzi.

Baruzzi, who has been working in various positions in the district for 26 years. Before becoming superintendent, Baruzzi was assistant principal at the Middle School, assistant superintendent and the district’s curriculum coordinator.

He said things were calmer than they were on the first day of school last year, when the school was in the process of installing heating and ventilation systems.

There are a reported 586 students in fifth- through eighth-grade who are currently enrolled at Mansfield Middle School.

School also opened at the town’s three elementary schools, Dorothy C. Goodwin, Southeast Elementary and Annie E. Vinton Elementary.

And Regional high school, E. O. Smith also began classes.

The staff at the schools, Baruzzi said, eagerly anticipates the arrival of the children every year.

“It’s great to have the buildings here and ready to go, but it’s not the same without the kids,” Baruzzi said.

Although it didn’t faze Baruzzi, the late bus arrival made 12-year-old Xinyu Lin somewhat nervous.

Lin, who started seventh grade today, said the bus normally gets to her stop at 7:15 a.m. and gets to school about 7:45 a.m., but this year, it didn’t arrive till 7:55 a.m.

“I thought I missed the bus,” Lin said.

But Lin remained composed and was excited to see her friends and meet her new teachers.

10 year-old Nico Martinez, a fifth-grader, was excited for the same reasons. Martinez said he likes school and looks forward to it every fall.

“I’m often waiting for it (school) to start,” Martinez said.

Students at Mansfield Middle School talked about their various interests and favorite subjects.

10-year-old Gina Sydie, a fifth grader, said her favorite subjects are science and math. Science is her favorite because she likes “studying different things (she) wouldn’t learn in everyday life”.

Sydie said she likes math because she is good at it. “It sometimes helps me calm down at night,” she said.

12-year-old Cassidy Graves, who begins eighth grade, said her favorite subject is reading. She loves to read fiction, she said, and read a lot over the summer.

MMS Principal Jeffrey Cryan said the staff felt very prepared for the first day and and agreed with Baruzzi that things were calmer this year than last. The building project made things “jumbled” last year, he said.

And although he has been teaching at the school for nine years, Cryan said he is just as excited for the first day as ever.

Posted Sept. 1, 2010