‘The Adventure Begins Here.” So reads the welcoming sign on Amy Ashberry’s pre-kindergarten class at Middlesex Elementary School (MES).
The first day of the new school year on Aug. 18, 2025, her students lined up quietly to go to breakfast. Their innocent eyes looked at a large camera, maybe for the first time. They posed with big smiles.
They were taking their first steps in a journey that will last more than a decade. Guided by teachers they will learn the basics and through experience will grow towards independence.
It’s been said that the most important things needed are learned in kindergarten. It’s a coincidence that the first four letters of kindergarten spell “kind.”
Some kindergarten students in Brianna Ersing’s class were wearing hats they had colored that read “Happy First Day of School.” She asked the class for things they would “promise.” Among the things that make a class a family were, “care about others, be on task, stay safe, and be trustworthy.”
“Be kind”
In this first hour of the first day of school “be kind” was the theme. Media Specialist Gayle Segall went over the rules, and emphasized that being kind and “a good friend” was the theme. “If you say ‘I can’t’ you are being unkind to yourself,” she said. “You can do things that you think are impossible.”
In the cafeteria a colorful message stated some important wisdom, “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”
“I see Mickey”
As they finished breakfast in the cafeteria kindergartener Nevaeh Hosmer pointed to the artwork on the ceiling. “I see Mickey!” The whole table looked upward searching. Sure enough, in the art-filled ceiling there was Mickey Mouse painted on a panel by a previous student who signed it “Elliott.”
Likewise, on the cafeteria walls are artistic ceramic tiles created by hundreds of former MES students, some whom have since graduated high school. Not many of them are signed by the artists’ full name.
But around 2011-12 Lauren Cockrell signed hers. “Never let your dreams go.”
“Follow your dreams”
Sophie Wilds, MES Class of 2022, autographed her message, “Life is like a balloon. If you never let yourself go you will not know how far you can rise.”
Jade Johnson drew a rose and wrote, “Follow your dreams.”
Carly Jessie, now a senior volleyball and softball athlete at Middlesex High School (MHS), wrote, “Live, Love and Play Softball.”
Future
Who knows what this year’s kindergarten students — the Middlesex High School Class of 2038 — will leave as its legacy. Thirteen years ago, smart phones were just becoming mainstream; now these handheld computers that happen to have a phone, are a necessity for most.
Will emerging Artificial Intelligence (AI) still be a friend in 13 years? Will cars really drive themselves? What will happen to all the data collected “on the cloud?”
By the time they graduate high school, the world will be theirs. Some things used in their past will have changed, for better or worse. But together they will find their way and create a life that is as unique as each of them.
And their first steps in a long journey started here at Middlesex Elementary School.
