First Day at Parkway

Yesterday was Thomas' first day of school. He is entering the first grade and recently changed schools from a suburban mega elementary to a very old, very small, neighborhood school in downtown Frederick - what a change! He used to have a 40 minute bus ride each way and now we can walk or he can ride his bike in a about 15 mintues.

Day one there was a welcoming committee complete with Starbucks coffee, pastries, teachers, parents, and administrators interacting with the newbie and veteran parents. The Parkway mascot is a Panda - which I thought was really cool. They have a climbing wall in the gym and the facility was spotless.

Mostly - it was the caliber of the people that impressed us. The parents were friendly, outgoing, confident, and involved. Michele and I met too many people to remember all the names, but had much in common with many of them. One woman, Amy, has a cabin in the woods near Kettle Creek in Northern PA, several Penn State Alumni, other local businessmen and women, several moms are travelling together to Dewey Beach, DE to compete in a triathlon.

Thomas' desk was ready for him and he was ready for it.
They are having a picnic Wednesday afternoon after school. When Michele picked up Thomas in the afternoon on her bike pulling a trailer with Henry and Alex she said it was like a PTA meeting in Boulder, CO - lots of bikes, jog-strollers, sandals, fit people milling around with kids. Oh yeah and Baker park is directly across the street.

Thomas wore a tie (his idea) and still had it on when I got home from a two-hour road bike ride after work. His memorable comment was that his teacher is really nice and when they were waiting to get dismissed after a full day - she let them put their feet up on their desks to relax a bit. That would not have happened in last year's suburban nightmare industrial education complex.