Mars helps parents deal with 1st day emotions
ADAMS TWP — With new backpacks and lunch boxes in tow, students arriving at the Mars Primary Center for the first day of school Wednesday were all smiles.
For some of their parents, however, the day brought other emotions.
Having seen the first day of school blues several times in her career, Elizabeth McMahon, Primary Center principal and district assistant superintendent, made sure the start of classes was an easy transition for everyone involved. She, along with hundreds of parents, greeted students as they exited buses Wednesday morning.
Parents were permitted to escort their children to their classrooms, see their work spaces, and then were served a breakfast of “boo-hoo bagels.”
The concept is one McMahon created a decade ago.
“I noticed ... parents were crying, and that would start the little ones crying, and I can’t have that,” she laughed.
The bagel breakfast is a chance for parents to let out those emotions away from their children and with other parents, which McMahon said is helpful.
“Those little ones are excited, but when they see mom or dad crying, then they think something is wrong,” she said.
McMahon was named principal for the year to fill a hole left by Todd Lape, who took over duties at the Mars Elementary School from the retiring Robert Zaccari. McMahon said she was excited to be back in the school, where she previously served as principal from 2005-14.
“When the parents said to me ‘oh my gosh, we’re so excited for kindergarten,’ I said, ‘not as excited as we are,’” she said.
