Avon Full-Day Kindergarten: 'We Were Most Nervous About Them Eating Lunch.'

When Pine Grove School kindergarten students sat down in the courtyard for their first bell-ringing ceremony on the first day of classes just after 1 p.m. on Aug. 29, AM kindergarten was over and PM kindergarten had just begun. 

But most of them were in it for the long haul until 3:25 p.m. as the first generation of full-day kindergarten students in the Avon school district. 

"It's going great," said Jess Giannini, newly appointed principal of Pine Grove School. "So far they seem to be handling it pretty well."

But the length of the school day was not the biggest concern Pine Grove staff had going into the first day. It also marked the first time the school would be serving the kindergarteners lunch.

"We were most nervous about them eating lunch," Giannini said. "So far, so good."

Giannini said that the full-day kindergarten option benefits the district's "youngest learners" and gives them more social exposure. 

Parents are excited about full-day, he said. Early in the 2013-14 budget process, many parents rallied in support of adding full-day kindergarten to Avon schools and wore FDK tags to school board meetings. 

As of July, 158 students were signed up for full-day kindergarten at Pine Grove (72) and Roaring Brook School (86), Avon Superintendent Gary Mala previously said. In July, three at Pine Grove and four at Roaring Brook were signed up for half-day kindergarten.

The kindergarteners on the full-day program at Pine Grove and Roaring Brook are in school from 8:50 a.m. to 3:25 p.m. like all other grades, according to the school website. 

How is full-day kindergarten going so far for your child? Tell us in the comments!