Thaddeus Carroll, tcarroll@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Thaddeus Carroll Shawano fifth-grader Madeline Heling checks her room assignment at the Back to School Night on Tuesday.
Leader Photo by Thaddeus Carroll Camay Lyons, left, and her son, King, meet his second-grade teacher, Karen Flunker, at Hillcrest Primary School. Students throughout the Shawano School District were able to visit their teachers and schools Tuesday night.
Hundreds of students and their parents visited classrooms out of session Tuesday night.
It was Back to School Night throughout the Shawano School District, giving students and parents time to meet the teachers and see where they will spending a lot of their time over the next nine months.
“It’s nice to meet (the students) before school,” Hillcrest Primary School second-grade teacher Karen Flunker said, “and it’s great for the kids so there is no apprehension.”
Whether the students are second-graders or freshmen in high school, Back to School Night seems to help get rid of those first day jitters.
Incoming Shawano Community High School freshman Kylie Gunther was worried about finding her classes, but after visiting the classrooms on her schedule, she said she felt reassured.
“Kids get comfortable and get to know where they’re going,” Hillcrest Principal Troy Edwards said. “It gives a nice transition.”
Not all anxieties can be calmed in one night, though.
Kylie’s best friend, Erica Schmidt, is pretty nervous about her step up to the high school ranks. She is worried about what the upperclassmen will be like and the new experience in a new school.
“It’s scary,” she said.
Students are not the only ones feeling nervous. Teachers get stressed, too.
Flunker is beginning her 23rd year teaching at Shawano, but she still gets anxious.
“I get butterflies. You’re just trying to get through the day, but it’s fun,” she said.
Third-grader Katie Rigg, who is moving up to Olga Brener Intermediate School from Hillcrest, never gets nervous about school.
“I love it,” Katie said.
She is looking forward to the school’s big playground and cafeteria, which she got to see Tuesday night.