A B C

Here are some musing in alphabetical order.

(While it seems a little hokey to do an ABC for the beginning of school--I think it has been done before at least a million times-- the Ann Arbor News used one for football yesterday. At least that puts me in some sort of journalistic company.)

A--Arrival is always my favorite part of the new year. Parents are as excited as the students to see old friends, meet new ones, and start the year off right.
There is also the Anticipation of all that lies ahead.

B--Books, Books, Books I had to say that. I am, after all, the librarian.

C--Chalk and Crayons and markers of all sorts. Now you have the chance to create a masterpiece or a first class doodle.

D--Desk Ask me sometime about some of my stories of desks. I know that many of you now have tables, but I still hold a soft spot in my heart for a desk of my own.

E--Enthusiasm for education, of course, in all its many forms that you will find in and out of school.

F--Friends, Fun, and Frolic Above all else, school should be filled with fun and joy in learning.

G--Gang I remember that old school gang of me, a group of giggly girls. Find your group and start the year with a smile.

H--Hello and High Five

I--Investigation Investigate your class. Icebreakers will help you get to know your friends. Imagine, imagine whatever you want to imagine.

J--Jumble Let's face it, the mass of people the fill the halls on the first day are something of a jumble.

K--Kiss A kiss good-bye will make this transition easier for your mother so even if you are in 8th grade, give mom a little peck on the cheek. But do it at home, so none of your friends will ever know for sure what an awesome mom you have.

L--Laptop Thank goodness for laptops. Without them, I have no idea what I would have used for 'L'.

M--Moms One more wave good-bye and then she really has to leave you to your fun.

N--Normal Isn't it amazing how quickly school seems normal to you even after the long summer break?

O--Optimism When things seem strange or tricky it is a good time to be optimistic that the new year brings many more great opportunities than difficulties.

P--Pens and Pencils It is still good to have a few of these around in case your laptop batteries get low or the Internet connection is down or you want to pass a note to a friend.

Q--Questions Bring them on!!

R--Recess I bet you thought it would never get here. Enjoy. (Remember that you teacher was looking forward to it, too.)

S--Smiles They are everywhere on the first day. So are tears, of course, but those are soon replaced by smiles.

T--Tired Yes, your teachers are tired. They got used to going to bed late and getting up late just like you did.

U--Umpteenth My daughter tells me that umpteen is not a word, but it is surely the number of times you have been told most of the things on this list.

V--Voices The school is so quiet during the summer. It is great to hear voices ringing through the halls.

W--Wondering Wondering where you are and wandering the halls trying to find the rest of your class. For most of us, that gets cleared up by the end of the first week. Then you can wonder about much more interesting things.

X--eXceptional, eXtraordinary Everyone and everything you do will seem eXtremely eXceptional and more than a little eXtraordinary. That's only because you and they are.

Y--Yawn OK, I am awake again. School has started. Yeah!! Yippee!!

Z--Zip, Zoom, Zowie Zip off to school. Zoom into class. Zowie, this is fun.