Off to a good start

Suzie Harrison

The sun was shining, illuminating the end of a season and keeping

the last days of summer bright before school started.

During her last days of summer, Madeleine Gumbrecht was full of

energy. She was playing with one of her cats, Lucky, and had all the

energy and exuberance that comes with being a 6-year-old.

She chatted excitedly as she showed off the pictures of her

family’s recent summer camping excursion to Big Sur.

“We went camping and saw a deer. And then we saw a daddy deer and

maybe a baby and a mommy one,” she said.

Other than camping, Madeleine, known as Maddie to her family,

filled her summer break with day camp, playing with friends, drawing,

swimming, riding her bike and going to the beach.

On her last summer day Maddie and her dad were heading for the

water.

“Daddy said we could go to the pool or beach,” she said happily.

But as much as she was enjoying summer, Maddie said she was ready

for school to start. She was excited about becoming a second-grader

at Harbor View Elementary School.

Maddie and her parents went to the school and checked a list to

see who her teacher was going to be a few days before school started.

“The sign said Murdock, but we aren’t sure if it is a Mr. or Ms.,”

said Maddie’s father, George.

Familiar faces in class

Maddie was pleased to note that there would be some familiar faces

in her class.

“I know some people in my class,” she said. “Quentin was in my

first-grade class and is going to be in my second-grade class.”

Maddie recalled her previous experience with new classes as she

did ballet jumps in the air.

“In my first-grade class lots of my kindergarten friends were

there,” she said. “We studied clouds and stuff.”

She was looking forward to getting back to learning, especially

reading -- one of her favorite subjects.

“Cat in the Hat Comes Back is my favorite book. And I like One

Fish Two Fish and Sam I Am,” Maddie said.

She said she also was looking forward to art, drawing, writing

letters and spelling tests.

“Kindergarten homework was really easy,” Maddie explained.

“Homework in first grade was fun -- airplanes, monkeys, sail boats.

We added them up, like how many sailboats add up to what number.”

Reflecting on what her first day would be like, Maddie seemed

relaxed and excited.

“Hopefully...I don’t think we’ll get homework,” she said. “Oh,

yeah -- we won’t have it for the first three days. You have to learn

more things before you do homework.”

In the end, it didn’t matter that it was the last day of summer,

because Maddie was ready for the new school year to start.

“Tomorrow is school day and I have new clothes for school,” she

said. “I want to go to school really bad. And I’m going to curl my

hair and wear my new sparkly jean skirt, flower shirt and new clogs

and clog socks.”

She had planned her outfit two days before school started,

following a recent shopping venture to the Gap.

The day begins

Fingers of fog blew from the coast, blanketing the beginning of

the big day.

Before 8 a.m., Maddie was dressed and ready for her first day of

the second grade.

“I woke up pretty early and then slept for a little bit,” Maddie

said.

Her mother, Lora, gave her kisses goodbye before she left for work

and asked if she wanted the “kindergarten kiss,” a kiss given onto

the palm of a child’s hand. The child closes it to keep it, and if

she starts to miss her parents, she can hold the hand up to a cheek,

and it’s like she is getting a kiss.

“I tried to give her the ‘kindergarten kiss’ but she’s too big for

that,” Lora said.

Maddie and her parents figured she had everything she needed and

she held onto her lunch.

“I want to go to school,” she said. “This is how it is when we are

rushing to school.”

The fog was beginning to thin a bit as the sun fought to break its

way out and the children lined up with their new teachers.

As Maddie approached the sign that said Mrs. Murdock’s

second-grade class, she glanced up to her father. The puzzle had been

solved.

“Oh, I see it’s a Ms.,” Maddie said.

While in line Maddie saw familiar faces and ran into old friends.

She hugged and danced around with her friend Danielle Watson, 7, who

was in her class.

With bright book bags and back packs, the kids headed into class.

“Dad I want to go in by myself,” Maddie said.

* SUZIE HARRISON is a reporter with Times Community News. She may

be reached at (949)494-4231 or by e-mail at

suzie.harrison@latimes.com.