Preparation pays off for Crane opening day

Students and staff all welcomed a new academic year as Crane School District got off to a winning start, officials said.

The new principal of Crane Middle School, Laurie Doering, credits much of the day's success to Assistant Principal Norine Bowers and administrative staff Norra Harries and Mary Garcia.

"They worked weekends and evenings to make sure students would have their schedules early."

Leslie Raymer, Crane social studies teacher, said it was a major transition for 7th grade students, who go from sitting in one class all day long to changing for six different classes.

"We have a team system and teachers track each student to keep them on track academically and behaviorally."

Yet Crane's first day was typical, with the normal 7th graders feeling anxious, she noted.

Morgan Miller, 12, a 7th grade student who came from Mesquite Elementary School, said Crane was a little more confusing because if she got lost at Mesquite she had her best friends to help each other out.

"It's more fun because you get to have a change of classroom and not get stuck the whole day with one teacher and you get to make a lot more friends."

Morgan also said she is excited about playing soccer and, time permitting, she wants to try out for the cheerleading squad.

Morgan noted the first day of school is fun because they do not get assigned so much work, but she does not like having to review all the rules, such as the dress code.

The dress code is a little narrower than last year. Now students can only wear white and navy blue, Doering said. At the end of the spring term, 6th grade students were invited to Crane, where they got a primer on the dress code that they could take home to parents

"Today kids got familiar with their locker combinations and we had volunteers to help them. For most 7th graders, that's the most traumatic thing. I've been in classes and the teachers all reviewed with students that we go bell-to-bell here. There's no down-time, it's all learning. But the kids seem happy to be back and ready to learn."

Valley Horizon School Principal Bobbie Henry said it was a fabulous first day, with the only problem being 1st grade students who do not know yet how to enter their four-digit codes to track their lunch room accounts. However, teachers prepared handouts to help them remember their codes.

Cameryn Henry, 11, said, "I can't believe I'm a 6th grader," but she added she is excited at having the same teacher she had in 4th grade, Amanda Evans.

"She's cool, not really strict like some. But if the students get a little rowdy, she stops being nice."

Cameryn's classmate, Bryce Schoenborn, 11, said he is excited about flag-football, where he plays quarterback. The 6th grade is the first time students get to compete in interscholastic sports where they have a double-elimination tournament at the end of the season against other Crane schools.

"I was kind of excited to see my friends but I wasn't ready for homework," Bryce said.

Clayton Teeter, 11, also in the same class, just transferred from Gary Knox School and said he was looking to making more friends when football practice gets underway. Clayton also was excited about the spring science fair. During the Yuma County Fair, Clayton won a $25 prize for raising a Yorkshire hog who gained the most weight and tipped the scales at 268 pounds.

The first day back is always "a honeymoon period" with some academics but a lot of time reviewing procedures, said Marina Vera, 3rd grade teacher. Yet tomorrow students take their mock AIMS tests, which gives teachers a benchmark to know if students are at grade level.

"I'm excited. It's a new set of faces with new personalities, and a new team. Our teachers work a lot together to share our lesson planning."