Gig Harbor kindergartners are ready for the school year, with masks — and unicorns

Five-year-old Juliette Wing had everything she needed to start kindergarten at Artondale Elementary School last Friday.

Backpack? Check. Water bottle? Check. Dress with a sparkly unicorn appliqué? Check.

Pink unicorn face mask? Check and double-check.

“I had to buy a 12-pack of unicorn face masks,” laughed Juliette’s mom, Makenzie Wing. “Unicorns are her thing.”

Juliette was among several hundred first-time kindergartners who arrived at the Peninsula School District’s 10 elementary schools on Friday, all of them masked and most of them eager.

After a summer of hearing from parents ambivalent about sending kids to school in a reviving pandemic, district leaders have been bracing for a drop in kindergarten enrollment.

In 2019, Peninsula enrolled nearly 700 kindergartners, a district record. But the pandemic took a toll, dropping total district enrollment from a high of 9,203 to 7,926 in 2020, not counting special programs, according to figures given to the school board in August. The district has been planning for about 8,850 this year.

Attendance pretty normal

Preliminary numbers reported by the district Monday showed 528 kindergartners enrolled for this year, up from 508 during the pandemic low, but short of the district high of 692 in 2019.

There was no big slump apparent at Artondale, said Jessica Rosendahl, the principal.

“We have three classrooms full, which is about normal,” she said. There are about 20 students in each kindergarten classroom.

Indeed, a steady stream of 5-year-olds poured out of cars lined up in the school’s drop-off driveway on Sept. 10. Each one was met by a school counselor, gently prompted for their name and escorted to their new teacher. Some turned to wave at parents, and some nearly galloped to their new school.

“They’re so much fun at that age,” said Rosendahl. “They’ve got those bright eyes and they’re so excited to be here.”

Two generations at Artondale

It was a special occasion for Juliette’s mom. Her daughter was starting kindergarten in the same school she herself attended 32 years ago.

“She’ll be in the classroom right next door to the one I was in,” said Makenzie Wing. “We were in it for the parent’s night a few days ago. It looks exactly the same. It even smells the same!”

Still, it will be a different experience for Juliette. Kindergarten has changed a bit in the last three decades.

“No naps!” her mother was surprised to learn. “And I was all excited about shopping for school supplies, but then they told us, “Oh, no, they’ll all have iPods. Just bring earphones for the iPod, a mask and a water bottle.’”

Also, in a few weeks, Makenzie’s old classroom will be gone.

Built in 1952, Artondale, at 6219 40th St. NW, is the oldest elementary school in the district, and it’s one of two being rebuilt to serve larger populations. Even as kids were arriving Friday, hard-hatted workers were swarming over the rapidly-rising new school next door. When it is finished, the old one will be torn down.

“The lights have just come on this morning,” in the new building, Rosendahl said. “It’s starting to get pretty real.”

Greeting the newbies

The principal was prowling the parking lot, walkie-talkie in hand, watching the line of cars forming in the drop-off circle.

Due to COVID-19 measures, parents were encouraged to stay in their cars — though a few popped out to take first-day snapshots. Many kindergartners were escorted hand-in-hand by proud older siblings.

In the traffic circle, counselor Mimi Mathews was dealing with a 5-year-old who was having a meltdown. “I want my mommy!” the boy wailed. His mother, looking distraught, was gently shooed back to her car. Ten minutes of persuasion later — including a surprise greeting from the walkie-talkie, which squawked, “We’re so glad to have you here!” — the boy was on his way to a classroom, happily chattering.

In Elizabeth Vela’s classroom, the new kindergartners were set to calming tasks like writing their names and drawing a crayon picture. The children sat two to a table, masked and separated by the pandemic regulation 3 feet.

Comfort and belonging

With so many kids from so many different preschool backgrounds, Rosendahl explained, it’s important to establish a comfortable routine right away.

“Some of them will have been to preschool, some will have been at home, so they are all starting at different levels,” she said. “It’s important to make them all feel safe and belonging.”

They’ll also have to get used to a long day. “They’ll be in class for six hours, same as fifth-graders — and no naps,” she said.

A forest of little hands went up and down as Mrs. Vela ran through quick lessons on asking questions and going to “voice level zero” — silence — on request.

When a child offered to help a seatmate use the wastebasket, Mrs. Vela gently intervened.

“That’s very nice, Willow, but in kindergarten, we learn to do things by ourselves,” she said, instantly making both girls feel very grown-up. Then she gave Willow a reward sticker for being kind.

This story was originally published September 14, 2021 at 5:00 AM.