First-day jitters? Not for this
outgoing first-grader in Vicenza
By Kent Harris, Stars
and Stripes
Kent Harris / Stars and Stripes
Staff Sgt. Guy Kerby gives a hug and some advice to his son, Kyle, who was getting ready
to walk into his first-grade classroom for the first time Monday. Sisters Kaitlyn, left,
and Kelly —too young for school— stand in front. |
VICENZA, Italy — Kyle Kerby had to get up a little earlier than usual on Monday.
It wasn’t, after all, just another day.
The 6-year-old, with his parents and younger sisters in tow, got into the family car
and traveled to Vicenza Elementary School for the first day of school. His first day of
organized school, if you don’t count a few weeks of half-day kindergarten.
"I could have stayed longer, but I think [the teacher] wanted the parents to
leave," Allison says to her husband, Guy, after emerging from Kyle’s classroom
Monday. "But what I wouldn’t give to be a fly on a wall in that classroom."
Chances are, Kyle and his classmates would have had other things on their minds than a
few flies hanging around. So did teacher Mary Markfelder, spending the first few minutes
trying to make sure her 17 students found their seats.
Advice from Kyle’s parents: You’re in for a fun year, Mrs. Markfelder.
"He needs a very structured and disciplined teacher," Allison Kerby says
Sunday night, while talking about her son.
"He’s smart," says his father, an Army staff sergeant. "You just
can’t stick a coloring book in front of him and expect him to keep quiet."
"He likes to ask lots of questions," his mother says.
For his part, Kyle doesn’t sound like someone who might make a lot of noise.
"I don’t want to make friends," he says, while squirming on and off the
couch of his home Sunday night. "I just want to play by myself."
About 12 hours later, he’s apparently changed his mind. His parents say he already
knows two classmates and Kyle doesn’t seem to be the shy, hard-to-meet-new-people
type.
Kyle’s favorite subject?
"Power Rangers," he says, quickly.
That earns a laugh and a shake of the head from his dad. "No, Kyle, what do you
like to study?"
"I like to study math," Kyle says. "I think it’s funner than all
the other stuff."
First grade does, of course, involve a lot of fun. It also requires some schoolwork.
Kyle’s parents, like those of thousands of other students across Europe in Department
of Defense Dependents Schools, did some shopping to provide a little bit of both.
Kyle’s grandparents in Florida sent a Scooby-Doo backpack — not quite as good
as Power Rangers, but pretty close — to keep his school supplies in. Then there were
new clothes, including, Kyle quickly points out, a Power Rangers shirt. His parents say
that he probably won’t be wearing the long-sleeved shirt anytime soon. Unless it
rains.
"I hope it rains," Kyle says.
No such luck. The sun was shining in a clear blue sky as Kyle sits in his classroom,
getting to know his new teacher Monday. It seems just a bit cloudier around his parents as
they walk out of the schoolyard, too busy with daughters Kaitlyn, 3, and Kelly, 2, to
spend a lot of time looking back.
Kyle’s on his own — sort of — until the bus stops near the family’s
home at the end of the school day.
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