BAY RIDGE — School children throughout the borough were back in school yesterday after the long summer break. From the smiles on the faces of the kids at McKinley Junior High School and P.S. 185 in Bay Ridge, they seemed happy to be back.
While the weather may have been sunny, there was a cool breeze blowing as the kids donned their finest clothes and toted their book-filled backpacks to class.
McKinley Principal Janice Geary was happy to see the kids arrive for the new school year saying it was exciting to be back. “Every year is a brand new year and that’s the great thing about this field. You get to start fresh every year, erase the mistakes and start better and bigger,” Geary told this paper.
Joseph Bongiorno, school lunch assistant / cook said that it was good to be back considering the summer went by too fast. “I’m eager to start the new school year and meet the new kids who are coming to school and feed them breakfast and a nice hot lunch and hopefully they will have a successful year,” said Bongiorno.
U.S. Rep. Max Rose joined City Councilmember Justin Brannan to greet kids outside P.S. 185. “Had a blast at P.S. 185 with my friend Justin Brannan greeting parents, teachers and students like Lucy, who’s a bit shy, but says that someday she wants to be president,” said Rose. “Good luck to all the students on their first day of school and to all the teachers helping them reach their dreams!”
For Brannan, it was an especially moving homecoming. “I don’t care how old you are, the first day of school is always exciting. That first crisp September air is filled with so much promise and excitement,” he told this paper.
“It was cool to greet folks at my alma mater. For me, the first day of school is also a reminder that these kids are our future, and based on what I saw outside P.S. 185, the future is in very good hands.”