TRIBECA — Crowds of families lined Greenwich Street Monday morning as parents walked their kids — many smiling, some laughing and a few crying — to TriBeCa’s popular P.S. 234 for their first day of school.
Moments before the 8:30 a.m. bell rang, Alex Koster, 8, said she was excited to head into her beloved elementary school at 292 Greenwich St.
"I really want to see my friends, I really like my teacher," Alex said, wearing a big smile, and an even bigger pink backpack, before bounding through the schools gates for her first day of third grade. "I went to Paris and I went to Switzerland this summer. But school is fun.”
New fourth-grader Ryan MacIsaac had more ambivalent thoughts about his big day back.
"I'm sad because I have to go back to school, but I'm happy that I have to go back to school," Ryan said, describing his mixed emotions while holding his dad, Joe’s, hand. "But I know once I walk in those gates, I'll just be happy.”
The popular kindergarten-through-fifth-grade school, along with other Downtown schools, is constantly fighting classroom overcrowding, but on Monday morning, the chatter among parents and kids was filled with cheerful hellos, a few moments of catching up and some hope for the new year.
"We're lucky to have such a great school nearby," said Kate Koster, Alex's mom. "She loves it and we love it."
