The First of Many

This time last week I was a wreck.  The out of district school that Tate had attended for the past two years was not going to have enough space for Britton to enter Kindergarten.  I was faced with a few choices:
1. Leave Tate in his current school, send Brit to the other, in-district school and pray that a space would open up for Brit at Tate's school.
2. Leave Tate in his current school, home school Brit for a year and then send him to the out of district school with Tate.
3. Move both boys to the new, in district school and be done with all of this forever.


My final decision came on the day before school when I realized there was really no hope of getting Brit into Tate's school this year.  We decided to send both kids to the in-district school where they and Ellie will carry out their elementary education career.


Why all the fuss?  Why all the confusion?  Why wasn't Tate in his in district school to begin with?


When Tate started Kindergarten, we were building a house, living with my grandmother, I was working full time and Brit was attending the Little School.  It made the most sense for our family to send Tate to the school that was located closest to our temporary residence and closest to our new home.  Ga Bill HB-251 made that possible, providing there was enough room for Tate after all the in-district kids were placed.


Fast forward two years later.  Tate is in a school that he loves, his parents know most of the teachers, are involved in the PTCO and have a fantastic relationship with the administration.  We never thought twice about sending Brit to the same out of district school that Tate was attending.


To make a long story short, there was not enough room in the out of district school to accommodate Brit.  As much as I hated to take Tate out of a school that he loved and away from his closest friends, in the end, we really had no choice.  We'd been looking forward to our boys attending the same school for years- we were not going to have them separated this year or ever.


My heart still aches when I think about...

• not seeing Nancy Cathcart at parent drop off and Susan Turpin in the pick up line   
• knowing I'll never bump into Mrs. Herrin or Mrs. Gannon in the hallway as I show off my second grader and kindergartner
• knowing that my sons are not in the same building as Madeline Washington, Britt Cody, Kathy Meredith, The Bracketts, The Hills, The Vickerys, The Halls and The Pauls.  
• I'm sad when I think about Charlie and Smith playing football without my son or Ansley pretending to be a S.W.A.T team member without her Tate.  

We made so many great memories at Clarkesville and I would be lying if I told you that this transition has passed without tears, heart ache, worry and fear.


When I asked Tate about going to the new school, he said: "That's ok mom, I make friends everywhere I go. Plus, Trevor and Kalen will be there!"  Oh, there was so much love and admiration in my heart for that boy at that moment, I thought it might explode.  Because of my son and the confident little guy that he is, the Habersham Board of Education Superintendent & Board Members, our beloved CES Principal Dr. Susan Turpin and the administration at Fairview Elementary, our family was able to make the transition into a new school comminuty as painless as possible.

So, as we casually began our First of Many days at Fairview Elementary, I watched my brave little men walk confidently down the hall of their new school:

We had a good laugh when we almost collided with a dear friend
and fellow kindergarten parent:

And it did my heart good to know that my Britton, though largely unknown at FES,
will be in the company of this sweet little friend all year long:

Best of luck to all as the 2011/2012 year is now underway!