SPOKANE -- It was back to the classroom for thousands of kids in Spokane, and at one school it was a day of firsts. Not just for students, but teachers and even principals. The first day of school at Roosevelt Elementary held new possibilities for both 5-year-old Evy and 5-year-old Jaden, as well as kindergarten teacher Mrs. W. It's really Mrs. Wellsandt, but that's a little too tough for her 5-year-olds. 23 of them to be exact. Alone for the first time in their life. "They're new to everything, they're excited but shy," says Mrs. Wellsandt. If you ask Evy what she's excited about -- it's the first day of school outfit, "mom picked it out yesterday, there's kittens on my shoes." Jaden tells us what a big kid he is now that he's in school. We asked if he missed his mom, his reply, "no, ready to go to school." That's exactly what new Roosevelt Elementary School principle Matthew Henshaw wants to hear as he walks through the school introducing himself.
He's been in education for 11-years, most recently as an assistant principal. "I didn't feel nervous, I guess excited is the real world," says Henshaw. As for Mrs. Wellsandt, she's been a first grade teacher in Pullman for 2-years, so this is a new school, a new grade and one more thing, just she got married just five days before starting class. They had to skip the honeymoon but Wellsandt says there will be time for that later.
