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Above, Patterson High students stand around waiting for school to being today, the first day of classes for St. Mary public schools. Second from the top, Berwick Junior High students Grace Campbell, Zach Campbell and Annemarie Campbell are greeted by sixth-grade English teacher Angie Kulka. At the bottom, Morgan City High students wait for the doors to open about 7 a.m. today. (The Daily Review/Shea Drake)

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Tri-City kids head back to school

By Shea Drake sdrake@daily-review.com

St. Mary Parish schools are off to a positive first day of school despite one minor hiccup with one of the buses.

“We had one bus with a transmission problem,” said St. Mary transportation spokesperson Mike Ortiz. “But we swapped that out with another bus.

“We’re very fortunate that the school board provides us with six extra buses that we have on standby. Everything went well.”

The transportation staff was prepared to address emergencies in the event something occurred.

“I’m very fortunate to have the people that I work with because they do an excellent job as a support group,” Ortiz said. “Also, you’re going to have some mechanical issues that you can’t control. But other than that, it seemed to go very smooth this morning.”

Other schools reported a smooth opening day.

“So far, things are real positive to start the school year,” said St. Mary Superintendent Leonard Armato at mid-morning. “We haven’t had any complaints at all. I haven’t had any, so it looks like we’re off to a smooth beginning.”

The first day count reporting student attendance will be available around noon. The count will allow the district to compare it from last year. This gives them an idea of how many students moved out of the area.

Armato urges parents to make sure students are present on day one. Student enrollment appears stabilized after Labor Day weekend.

“We encourage parents to get their kids in school as soon as possible, as soon as the first day,” Armato said. “Unfortunately, some parents, for whatever reason, tend to hold some of them out.

“After Sept. 1, for some reason attendance numbers tend to firm up. That’s almost a month of school passed.”

Virtual Learning Program’s orientation is set for Wednesday. The program begins Aug. 15.

“We generally begin a week after school starts,” said St. Mary Technology Facilitator Sue Dupre . “It allows the kids to get back to school and discover any problems. We will start putting kids in courses today.”

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