1st day of school memories

[5thSFGP]

I went to St Matthew for the 7th & 8th grades - with IHMs. Our only "lay" teacher was the football/baseball coach who also taught math. My strongest memories of the nuns were their "burn in hell" stories. Many, and I'm 64, still hang with me. Perhaps that's why I am less religious today and less responsive to the Church. Terror only goes so far.

[LodgeDodger]

Thanks Dodger...maybe I ought see about getting them in order and bringing them up the next time.
How long before they were able to get your work done?

About two weeks.

[daddeeo]

It used to be the only lead you were worried about was for your
mechanical lead pencil. Now, you have to watch out for the hot lead flying through the air on your way to and from school.

[d2dyeah]

I attended Catholic school's in Dearborn for grades 1-6 and went to kindergarten at Parkwood elementary school in Inkster. My 1st day was very dramatic. I knew some of the other kids and felt comfortable with all the activity. Then our teacher,Mrs. Thomasina Posey, I will never forget her name or how beautiful she was, gathered us around the piano to learn the song "Ting-a-layo", about a singing,talking donkey. About half way through the song Mrs. Posey fell off of the piano bench, and was just lying there very still. My friend David Zachary jumped up and said "SHE'S DEAD". We all headed for the cloak room to get our coats to go home, just as the principal, Mrs. Brown entered the room to stop us. Mrs. Posey was epileptic and had a seizure, which was monitored by the office. We didn't know, we just just thought that was the end of school that day.

[beachboy]

EMG, your post re: being an only child really hit me...

I'm an only child and that first week of school was horrible [[still have nightmares)...was quiet, retiring, rarely went outside our home except to play in the woods or at the beach...



Was told not to cry [[didn't work) - tears rolled down my face every day for the first week of school...



Sent to kindergarten at age 4 'cos I could read & write...too young...it was my birthday, wanted to stay home and play with my toys and cat. Nope, was told to "grow up" and taken to the neighborhood one-room schoolhouse...K-8, 1 teacher [[friend of my folks), 32 kids...


[[sorta like this, not quite the same )

The only thing I liked was playing with clay, the kind in sticks with cellophane wrapper - it smelled good and said "Non-Toxic" [[thought that was the clay company's name):



My best friend [[son of my Dad's best friend) sat next to me like our Dads sat together K-12. He was good at making clay tractors, wagons, and barns. I made clay cows, horses, ducks, and cats...didn't care if they were green or blue...just wanted something nice. We got yelled at for playing with clay "too much". The other thing I liked was reading books - and painting on the windows but I hardly ever did that 'cos I was too short:



http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Lost-Art...ing-on-Windows

Grades 5-8 in town with IHM nuns - intelligent, well-meaning, dedicated ladies but geez what torturemeisters [[OMG some were friends of my parents)...



And their horror stories [[joining the chorus of "burn in hell" memories)...



Then boarding school far away [[first nite was the loneliest of my life). Still hated school, but liked to play music and read, so sat in class and read books ...told the profs it would keep me quiet and out of trouble...they believed.

I wanted to stay at our beach cottage, swimming and playing in the sand [[hence my login name). Endless summer - finally found it in the tropics...



[[you can go home again...)

[LodgeDodger]

I attended Catholic school's in Dearborn for grades 1-6 and went to kindergarten at Parkwood elementary school in Inkster. My 1st day was very dramatic. I knew some of the other kids and felt comfortable with all the activity. Then our teacher,Mrs. Thomasina Posey, I will never forget her name or how beautiful she was, gathered us around the piano to learn the song "Ting-a-layo", about a singing,talking donkey. About half way through the song Mrs. Posey fell off of the piano bench, and was just lying there very still. My friend David Zachary jumped up and said "SHE'S DEAD". We all headed for the cloak room to get our coats to go home, just as the principal, Mrs. Brown entered the room to stop us. Mrs. Posey was epileptic and had a seizure, which was monitored by the office. We didn't know, we just just thought that was the end of school that day.

I love kids that age. Yep, teacher's dead, time to go home...

[Ravine]

NOTHING funny about epilepsy or death, NOTHING, but the combo of the story & LD's comment is just hilarious, truly.

[Corn.Bot]

Was I the only Catholic kid here who was taught by Felecian nuns?

We lived on Georgia near what used to be Patronage of St. Joseph church/school, but they didn't have kindergarten, so I went to A.L. Holmes for that year. I think home & school were about 1/2 a mile apart [[actually, probably less). Can you imagine a 5-year-old walking that distance to and from school now, anywhere?

In any case, kindergarten must have been uneventful because I remember very little about it. I do remember my teacher was Miss Cosgrove. First grade at Patronage was more memorable. I met my first Best Friend whose name was Christine. I met a black child for the first time [[had previously only been aware of black grown-ups). His name was Russell, and I remember that he was the only person of color in the room and there were 60 kids in that class. Yes, I said 60. One more thing I recall is that my first first-grade teacher, a nun who I remember as young with a pretty singing voice, was replaced within a short period by an older sister that was much gruffer in voice and demeanor. I honestly don't know why the young nun left and never came back, but I believe this must be around the time I first heard the term "nervous breakdown."

[LodgeDodger]

I attended Gabriel Richard for Kindergarten, then for a couple of years periodically through elementary [[whenever he was kicked out of Grotto). This depended upon when my brother was asked to leave school for the year. Mother didn't want to break us up. Gee thanks.

At any rate, when my brother wasn't in trouble, we attended Assumption Grotto. I'm not sure which order the nuns belonged to.

Btw, my Mother was once a nun. The sisters from Assumption Grotto would stop at our house and visit Mother [[after having their hair cut--or whatever nuns did to their hair) at Jo's Beauty Salon on the corner of Pelkey and Seven Mile Road. Our house was just South of Jo's. Imagine walking to Grotto at Gratiot and McNichols. We'd have to go home for lunch, too. We weren't considered to be living too far from school to stay for lunch.

[DetroitPlanner]

My first day of school was at Everett Elementary which was later engulfed by Frank Cody High. I can remember having to walk to the corner to meet Jimmy. I have known Jimmy ever since and while we are not best buds, we do share a lot of the same friends. I saw Jimmy last night at a friend's funeral. Life goes full circle.

[d2dyeah]

NOTHING funny about epilepsy or death, NOTHING, but the combo of the story & LD's comment is just hilarious, truly.

Mrs. Posey lived to be 87. She died last year, and was a wonderful, beloved teacher for her entire life.

[MrJones]

My first day of Kindergarten was at Guyton Elementary in '65. As kid #6, my parents were old pros and sent my oldest brother, a high-schooler, with me. It was a comfort having him there and crying never entered my mind. From then on, I was on my own.
I remember it was a several block walk to school and he told me to walk three blocks down until I saw the house with the lion statues guarding the porch steps, then turn left and the school was a few more blocks over.
It sure is a different world today.