'Smiles are required'
Central Elementary assistant principal and teacher/coach Tim Garcia tells new fourth and fifth graders, "Smiles are required," as they gather this morning on the playground in McCook, Nebraska, for the first day of the 2011-12 school year. Brooke McCorkle walked her 10-year-old fourth grader, Caitlin, to school. Caitlin said she's excited about going to a new school, having "graduated" from McCook Elementary last spring. Adrienne LaBay, an 11-year-old fifth grader said she's excited about school, "because I like school. I can make more friends at school, because you meet more people." Clowning beside her on the monkey bars was 10-year-old Dalton Stone, a fellow fifth grader who said his favorite subject is science -- and he added with a grin -- "and monkey bars." Other fifth graders, above left, from left, Cady Havlicek, Olivia Hernandez, Bria Simmonds, Jaqueline Beltran and Jana Harris, "moved in," carrying their plentiful supplies of classroom and locker supplies.