Waiting at the Top of the World

Suzie Harrison

It was a hot and sunny Friday afternoon, most children were playing

and savoring the last week of summer before heading back to school.

That was not the case at Top of the World Elementary School, where

mothers with young children in tow anxiously gathered to check out

the posted class assignments to see who would be their child’s

teacher for the upcoming school year.

Right at 4 p.m. the crowd hadn’t formed yet, a few mothers scanned

the lists -- some consulted others with their cellphones to spread

the news. Maps were also displayed so people could navigate the

terrain and learn where most of their child’s time would be occupied

for the next nine months.

Marisa Laspina, 7, wasn’t daunted even though she’s new to the

area.

“We moved from Ohio back here and now we live in Laguna Beach,”

Marisa said. “We’ve lived here three weeks, I like it -- the beach.”

She said her teacher is going to be Mrs. [Lois] Rake.

“I don’t know everything that’s going on, but I am excited about

the playground and making new friends -- that’s why I am excited

about school,” Marisa said.

Tori Krohnfeldt, 10, is another newcomer to Laguna Beach.

“I’m going into fifth grade and Mrs. [Angela] Irish is my

teacher,” Tori said. “We moved here from Temecula, we have been

coming to Laguna on weekends and now I’m going to go to school here.”

She said she is looking forward to meeting new friends, but is

lucky to count three classmates as friends already.

“I feel lucky,” Tori said. “I’m glad the summer is over.”

Jack Winter, 9, checked to see who his teacher would be and to see

who else was in his class. He cheered the results with enthusiasm.

“I’ll be in fourth grade and Mrs. [Carol] Hromadka is my teacher

-- yes, I’m excited it’s going to be fun,” Jack said. “I’m looking

forward to learning everything, getting good grades and more things.”

Jack said his favorite subject is math and he doesn’t have a least

favorite.

“I think I’m excited to start, but I’m going to miss summer,” Jack

said. “Most of my friends who were in the third grade with me are

going to be in the fourth grade with me.”

Dakota Shryes, 9, will be one of Jack’s classmates and is thrilled

she’ll have Hromadka as her teacher.

“I had her for summer school, she was really nice,” Dakota said.

Karina Parker, 9, said she is going to be in the fourth grade and

Mrs. [Cory] Day will be her teacher.

“I think what I’ve heard is she’s really, really nice,” Karina

said. “I’m excited I’m going into fourth grade because you get to be

in older recess ... and you get to do things that you can’t do in

first, second and third grade.”

Karina said she has a lot of friends in her class and knows most

of the others too.

“I’m looking forward to K-Tell News -- you get to learn how to

make movies at Top of the World and only get to do it in fourth and

fifth grade.” Karina said. “I’m excited because I love acting.”

Student, Neika MacDowall, 10, with her mother had to navigate an

even thicker crowd to view the fact that her teacher would be Rosie

Haynes. It was getting closer to 5 p.m. and more faces began to

appear.

“I’ve never met her before but it’s probably going to be fun,”

Neika said. “I’m looking forward to being with my friend Ciera.”

Neika said she anticipates it will be much harder this year, but

is looking forward to going on a lot of field trips. One of the field

trips the fifth grade goes on every year is to the tall ship Pilgrim

in Dana Point.

Ciera Crowe, 10, is another newer student to Laguna, and she also

has Haynes as her teacher.

“We moved from Hawaii in April, I think it’s kind of nice, it was

different,” Ciera said. “I have a lot of friends and people are

nice.”