Erin Klotz is an assistant principal at Edgewood Elementary School.
Q: Tell us about your first day of school.
A: I'm not sure I remember my first day of school in kindergarten. I was going to a school in New Jersey ,and we went to half-day kindergarten. So, I was probably thinking mostly about when will I get picked up? And what time will I get to go home and have lunch? But I can—I do remember my first day of school last year, starting at a new school and the excitement and the nervousness—really nervous about. Will they like me? Will I know how to get places? Will I get lost at Edgewood? And will I be helpful? And so, I know all those feelings. And it was really exciting, and ended up being a great day and it was so much fun getting to see so many new faces and helping lots of friends learn their lunch numbers in the cafeteria.
Q: What would you tell your younger self on their first day of school?
A: I would tell my younger self to just embrace the nerves and to find joy in the day. There are so many new things that are gonna happen. It's gonna be over so quickly. And that when we find that joy, even in the hard things, our minds can be open to so many more experiences.There's a great quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that says, "Nothing great is ever accomplished without enthusiasm." And I truly believe that when we let ourselves feel the feelings, and then take things head on that we get a chance to make wonderful new friendships and new experiences and grow in our spirit and resilience and have a lot of fun while doing it.
Q: What advice do you have for incoming students or parents on the first day of classes?
A: Just wanna encourage and remind the students that lots of people are feeling exactly how they're feeling on this first day. And, even though we might all be feeling nervous, that the teachers are so equipped to help handle all of those jitters, whether it's from the parents or from the students. And that nervousness is gonna translate to excitement and a love for their job and their passion. And the teachers are gonna do such a great job of making their students fee; welcome and invited. And so to just remind them that they're not alone and that everybody gets to feel those first day jitters again. And the fun part about working in a school is that we get to feel them again every August. In fact, when a teacher retires, that's always one of the first things I wanna ask them: what's your plan on the first day of school when you're not working? Because we're so used to that I can't sleep feeling or I can't wait to meet all those new friends. And so just to remind students and parents that they are not alone, those feelings are normal, just to embrace them and that we're gonna spend time talking about them and helping kids process those feelings and have a great first day.
Q: What were you most excited for on the first day of your senior year?
A: I know that also feels like a long time ago, my senior year and the first day of that. So, I think—I know, in general, I was excited for all of those sort of quintessential senior things that I was gonna get to do, and to really savor those time with those teachers I had developed such strong rapport with and that I felt like really believed in me as a student and my friends that were so important to me. And, I remember really being pretty excited about taking classes that I selected that I felt like were really catered to what I wanted to do in my future and what I thought I was gonna pursue. But probably the most excited was about good parking because I went to a really big high school in Georgia and seniors were the only classmen that got a parking spot. And even at that, it was like a lottery. So, it was very limited, and so I was probably really excited about a great parking spot.
