First wave of county schools begin new school year

Bryson Dixon started his first day of preschool on Wednesday in Le Grand, joining many classmates he’ll likely be with until he graduates from high school.

The 4-year-old walked up to Le Grand Elementary with his backpack on, holding his mom’s hand, while she juggled his other school belongings.

His mom, Gracie, said she had many feelings about her little boy starting school.

“I’m sad because he’s my little baby,” she said. “But I’m excited for him because these are kids he’s going to go to school with for a long time.”

Le Grand Union Elementary, which started the 2016-17 school year Wednesday, is the only school in the rural community, with just 402 students last school year, according to state enrollment data. Students go to one campus from preschool to eighth grade before going to the town’s only high school just down the street.

And for nearly 10 years, the eighth graders have been greeted by the same smiling face every morning.

Vicky Banaga, the district’s chief business officer, welcomed students and parents at the school’s front gate on Wednesday morning with smiles and high fives. She greeted every student with familiarity, noting their back-to-school outfit and giving out many hugs to students and parents alike.

Since she’s not a teacher, she said it’s one of her only opportunities to see the students. “They do come and visit me in my office,” she said. “They know there’s always candy on Vicky’s desk.”

Her smile has welcomed students and their parents on many first days during her 40-plus years of working at the campus.

“I’ve had kids and their kids and even their grandkids,” she said. “These are all my kids.”

Eighth graders returned for their last year on the K-8 campus feeling confident. “It’s going to be a great year,” Maryanna Romero, 13, said.

She and her friend Mia Martinez are looking forward to the school’s Mother’s Day tea, where students perform dances and poems for their moms.

This school year, Le Grand held its Back To School Night on Tuesday, giving students and parents an opportunity to find their classrooms and meet their teachers before school starts.

“Parents have said it reduces a little bit of the first-day anxiety,” said Rosina Hurtado, the school’s superintendent and principal.

Even Carmen Belmontes, who’s been teaching first grade for 16 years, still gets a little nervous on the first day of school.

“Although I’ve been teaching for a long period of time and the first day of school is exciting, I still get nervous meeting the students,” she said. “I hope to serve them well and meet the parents’ expectations.”

This year, Belmontes is excited about her classroom theme and hopes it sparks students’ desire to learn. She went with a Pokémon theme after the summer launch of the smartphone game Pokémon Go.

The theme will help students in reading, writing and listening and by growing their vocabulary, she said.

“I try to get these guys at this level to speak intelligently,” Belmontes said. “I hope it stirs something inside them and gets them interested in learning.”

Le Grand was one of the first schools to start the school year, with many other districts around the county set to start next week. Delhi, Dos Palos, El Nido, Gustine, Hilmar, Los Banos and Planada schools also started this week.

Many county students still are doing their school shopping.

But for those families who needed a little assistance paying for supplies, the Merced Salvation Army and Educational Employees Credit Union stepped in to help.

The Salvation Army hosted a “Back 2 School” night on Tuesday and gave away 170 backpacks filled with school supplies such as pencils, notebooks, erasers, scissors and more.

The night also included a water slide, bounce house, balloon animals, face painting, hair cuts, snow cones, cotton candy and more.

“We try to provide a community for families to come together,” said Salvation Army Capt. Kimberly Boyd, who runs the local Salvation Army with her husband, Capt. Joel Boyd.

Nearly 300 people attended the event, lining up for dinner and chatting around tables while the children waited to go down the water slide.

“It shows that people care about the kids,” Boyd said.

Naomi Fox took her four children, hoping they could get backpacks for the new school year while the family settled into new living conditions.

After spending the summer homeless and on a waiting list for a new apartment, the Fox family is working on getting their lives back on track.

Emerald, 8, and Elizabeth, 10, attend Pioneer Elementary. Elizabeth said she’s looking forward to trying out to play Toto in the school’s production of “The Wizard of Oz.”

Fox called around to find the different organizations providing school supplies and was directed to the Salvation Army’s event.

“I’m hoping this event helps out,” she said.

With school getting back underway, the California Highway Patrol recommends drivers leave earlier to allow for enough time to drop children off without having to rush. Officers say it’s a good time of year to remind drivers to take basic, common sense precautions, such as looking out for children while backing up, driving slower in school zones and avoiding leaving kids inside running vehicles.

Officer Moises Onsurez said pedestrians should use crosswalks with crossing guards, if possible. “Be aware, children may dart in front of cars,” he said.

This story was originally published August 10, 2016 at 4:46 PM with the headline "First wave of county schools begin new school year."