Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-20
PUBLIC SCHOOLS REOPEN
Busy Time at the Office of the Su-
perintendent.
PRINCIPALS GREET THRONGS
Issuing Cards and Granting Permits
and Setting the Big Machine
in Motion.

shiny stick, the base ball bat ana rolie'
skate this morning in order to get TO
school on time. this being the first day
Of the new school year. In addition about
1,71O teachers did their best to get the
army of scholars enrolled. placed and in
terested in the business of becoming edu-
Gated. The figures for the teachers are
very nearly correct but the enrolment
is a guess placed on the enrolment for
last year and allowing the normal in
crease Of 21s per cent. All day long the
various principals will be telephoning
their figures into the Offices of the as
sistant superintendents. Messrs. Hughes
and Bruce, at the Franklin School build
ing, and 1t will not be until tomorrow aft
ernoon or later that the complete enroll
nent will be obtained.
There were no surprises for the officials
this morning, except the surprise in the
shape of boy at the home Of Assistant
Supt Bruce. The school machinery has
been bathed in oil for several days and
started off just as smoothly as possible at
8 o'clock today. All those schools which
have been looming up like a nightmare
before the board of education the past
few days because the repair work that
comes In the province of the municipal
architect, Snowden Ashford, was reported
to be dragging are in good enough shape
to start work today. Even the Garfield
School. which is only half ready, started
with four grades this morning and alter
mated with the remaining four grades at
1 o'clock this afternoon.
Cards and Permits in Demand.
School principals everywhere were be-
sieged by great crowds of parents and
children this morning. There was a
great deal to be done in the way of max
ing out various cards and permits. and
there was verita BILE army of people who
wanted them. The first thing that the
schools had to do was to corral all of
last years pupils, bid them welcome, ac-
count for them and then pass them on to
the grades above-with the exception of
those who will remain another year in the
same grade. Then later on in the morn
ing came the children of parents who
have experienced the Joy that comes with
the moving van and the new home. and
who have to seek another school building.
with tickets from the old schools. took
up the time of principals and teachers
from II O'Clock to about noon, and the
last call was for children who had never
been to school in the city at all, but who
come from other cities or the Maryland
and Virginia suburbs.
All this placing and grading takes time.
but the principals and teachers have done
5000 settled at their desks in one school
day, and more than that some of the
teachers began the actual work of i'm
parting education today. There were
only three or four absentee teachers this
morning out Of the entire 40. The sub
stitute list quickly filled up the gap, and
the situation was entirely satisfactory to
Supt. Stuart, who said that the absences
were caused in every case by illness.
Fitting Normal School Girls.
While the school rooms were filling up
this morning at the Franklin School there
were was large and beautiful group of
Normal School girls fitting about from
room to room. just to see how things
were DONE The Normal School did not
get started along with the rest Of the
schols. but 1t Is all right, and part Of
the program consists In watching the
experienced ones teach the young idea
how to add and subtract. and sit at
desk several hours day. Superintendent
Stuart is mighty proud of that Normal
School, but it is a safe thing to say
that he would be very willing to see that
street, where for several years past the
board Of education has wanted school
that would be worthy Of the high charac-
ter of the normal students. There are
figures. and over half of these entered
today They will start their studies in
the rooms in the Franklin building which
are variOusly termed "the garret" and
tHc lOIt, ana OtDcT expressive titles.
II is no easy task suddenly to give up
long vacation and get down to books.
The 5000 brought whole lot of vaca-
tfon boisterousness with them. and did not
relinquish 1t right away, either.
That dear friend of the school child the
janitor, came out of his summer trance
this morning, and realized that once more
the world was filled with trouble. AS
early as 8 o'clock today his hat was
knocked from his head by a skillfully
yph ha
angrily to find the culprit scores of
grinning youngsters eyed him with de-
f1ance. His nicely cleaned floors will
have to be cleaned oftener after today.
trace of Young Washington for nine
months to come.
Sizing Up Teacher.
But 1t is not very hard to go back to
school If one is going to have an espe-
cially nice teacher. So many very little
folks who faced the forbidding school
doors for the first time this morning went
home at noon today as fast as they could
ris or Miss Smith or Miss Whoever 1t
Was can be. One first grade teacher
solved the hard problem of getting her
fiOck at its ease this morning by telling
them all the wonderful story of how the
elephant got its trunk. This story Is one
of Rudyard Kipling's. and is in the class
with the worst of nature fakes. but it is
all about how crocodile seized the
smudgy nose of baby elephant and
pulled 1t out about six feet. AS she
talked she drew pictures. and every one
Of the thirty some small mouths in her
class was agape with wonder, astonish-
ment and delight.
1t would be a grand thing to know as
much about things as teacher does.
Baltimore Biscuit Firm HIT hv Fire