A single-income, teacher's salary household with four kids: public school. Unless the teacher's salary happened to come from a private school, in which case, you may get a break, and get to go to the private school at a much reduced rate, or maybe even free.
Such was our case (I presume it was free or near it - Mom?). I went to Lake Silver Elementary for first, second, and third grades, while, I think, my father was teaching at Edgewater High (the public high school in College Park). But then, he got a job at Lake Highland Prep, and without much fanfare, that's where I wound up going for fourth grade.
Many of my classmates at Lk Silver I had known since kindergarten, and most since at least first grade. My best friend in third grade was Vince O. whose gandfather owned the local toy store, Toy Parade. We spent a lot of time together, and were cut-ups of sorts, Vince more so than I as I recall. Just his laugh was enough to stir the class. Derek and Troy were with me in Kindergarten, David C. since first, Howie R. as well. I remember a girl with long blond hair, Chellini, that passed me my first 'love note' (I don't remember responding). I was very comfortable at Lake Silver.
Despite being so established and comfortable, I can't remember at all any discussion about this significant change in my life. I don't remember being upset about not seeing my friends, possibly because some of them I still saw at church and around town. I don't remember if I saw less of Vince, or if I still went over to his house for play times. Nor do I remember exactly how it felt to be the "new kid" at Lake Highland. I do have a vague memory of the new routines there: I recall gathering around the flag pole in the courtyard every morning for, I think, a prayer, moment of silence, and pledge of allegiance. Miss Anderson (not related to the Miss/Mrs Anderson of second grade fame) was my teacher, and I remember liking her - I mostly remember her smiling face and blue eye liner. I remember learning to play the recorder, and remember her being impressed with my vocabulary and spelling. I met a great new friend, Charles M., who was a fellow model builder and had a real interest in reading science books. I remember being invited to a sleep over at his house, learning that some people put ketchup on their scrambled eggs, a new idea to me at the time.
While I don't remember feeling anxious about the transition to a new school, I don't doubt it was stressful. It was at this time I have my first memories of actually fibbing a couple times in the name of getting attention. Thirty years later, I still feel the remorse for even these little transgressions. For example: I remember discussion about a classmate who wore contact lenses. The teacher was really interested, other students were all wanting to see what they looked like- so, I said I had contact lenses, too! Well, I got called on that pretty quick, and lost face in a few kid's eyes, I think. The other time, my friend Charles was telling me about all the books he read, and how they were stacked in piles next to his bed. Well, I said I had stacks of books next to my bed, too! And frog skeletons hanging on the wall, just like he did! I have a vague memory of his being invited over to my house (I only remember one such time) and having to sheepishly explain that none of that was true. Luckily, I think I got this need for attention out of my system during that year, or at least the fibbing method of getting it.
Such was our case (I presume it was free or near it - Mom?). I went to Lake Silver Elementary for first, second, and third grades, while, I think, my father was teaching at Edgewater High (the public high school in College Park). But then, he got a job at Lake Highland Prep, and without much fanfare, that's where I wound up going for fourth grade.
Many of my classmates at Lk Silver I had known since kindergarten, and most since at least first grade. My best friend in third grade was Vince O. whose gandfather owned the local toy store, Toy Parade. We spent a lot of time together, and were cut-ups of sorts, Vince more so than I as I recall. Just his laugh was enough to stir the class. Derek and Troy were with me in Kindergarten, David C. since first, Howie R. as well. I remember a girl with long blond hair, Chellini, that passed me my first 'love note' (I don't remember responding). I was very comfortable at Lake Silver.
Despite being so established and comfortable, I can't remember at all any discussion about this significant change in my life. I don't remember being upset about not seeing my friends, possibly because some of them I still saw at church and around town. I don't remember if I saw less of Vince, or if I still went over to his house for play times. Nor do I remember exactly how it felt to be the "new kid" at Lake Highland. I do have a vague memory of the new routines there: I recall gathering around the flag pole in the courtyard every morning for, I think, a prayer, moment of silence, and pledge of allegiance. Miss Anderson (not related to the Miss/Mrs Anderson of second grade fame) was my teacher, and I remember liking her - I mostly remember her smiling face and blue eye liner. I remember learning to play the recorder, and remember her being impressed with my vocabulary and spelling. I met a great new friend, Charles M., who was a fellow model builder and had a real interest in reading science books. I remember being invited to a sleep over at his house, learning that some people put ketchup on their scrambled eggs, a new idea to me at the time.
While I don't remember feeling anxious about the transition to a new school, I don't doubt it was stressful. It was at this time I have my first memories of actually fibbing a couple times in the name of getting attention. Thirty years later, I still feel the remorse for even these little transgressions. For example: I remember discussion about a classmate who wore contact lenses. The teacher was really interested, other students were all wanting to see what they looked like- so, I said I had contact lenses, too! Well, I got called on that pretty quick, and lost face in a few kid's eyes, I think. The other time, my friend Charles was telling me about all the books he read, and how they were stacked in piles next to his bed. Well, I said I had stacks of books next to my bed, too! And frog skeletons hanging on the wall, just like he did! I have a vague memory of his being invited over to my house (I only remember one such time) and having to sheepishly explain that none of that was true. Luckily, I think I got this need for attention out of my system during that year, or at least the fibbing method of getting it.
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Damn I hated all three years there. You may not remember, but we didn't have a choice about going there. Going to school with state senator's children, etc., it was very difficult to compete. I remember David C. who had everything you could ask for as a kid. Nice guy though. There was a really cute girl whose name I can't remember. She was one of dad's students and she drove a brand new Porsche to school. Well, not sour grapes, but you get the picture. I remember a couple of neat things about the place. It had a huge pool with high dive. Dad's class room had the neat air glide for the physics class. I also remember one of the first hand held calculators made by Hewlet Packard. I was a scientific model with red numbers and cost the school about $400 at the time. It made the slide rule instantly obsolete.
I remember some kind of big Field Day there also. I seem to recall the whole school being out there, or maybe it was just the lower school...
The only field days that I remember were one each at Lake Silver, and Lake Highland. For some reason, I remember the Lake Silver one, i.e., the earlier one the most. They had set up a cool treasure hunt that I remember coming home with a decent amount of loot. The one at Lake Highland was okay, but the only thing I seem to remember is that I had bought a pocket watch for a dollar and lost it during that event, presumably from all the running around campus. I really liked that watch.