Franklin Park students said goodbye to summer break on Monday. Students in School District 84 — North Elementary School, Pietrini Elementary School, Passow Elementary School and Hester Junior High — had their first day of school.
“Today went great; so far so good. The kids are excited to be here,” said Judy Martin, the principal at Passow on Monday morning. She’s been with the district since 2003. “For the first day, we do our kindergarten families. We had an orientation the other day.”
She said about 50 families were at Monday’s kindergarten orientation, which let parents learn more about the curriculum along with a tour of the school.
Martin said in addition to the orientation, the district will be hosting a Parent Teacher Association ice cream social Aug. 16 at the district’s elementary schools.
“From 3:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. our District 84 schools will be hosting the event at their playground areas,” she said. “This year is a little different, we’re hosting it at each building in order to try to reach more families by having one at every single school.”
The locations for the ice cream socials are Passow, 2838 Calwagner St.; Pietrini, 9750 W. Fullerton Ave.; and North, 9500 Gage St. In case of inclement weather, the ice cream social will be moved indoors to the gym at each school.
The district is hosting an open house on Aug. 25 for all of its elementary schools from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
“It’s another great opportunity for the families to come and tour the school,” Martin said. “The vast majority of our families are returning students, but it’s always exciting to meet new families. We’ll also have a book fair in our libraries that day.”
Alex V. Hernandez is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.