
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, August 30, 1994                   TAG: 9408310006
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BY BETH MACY
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DAY ONE

There was so much to learn - which school bus to ride, which hook to hang your new Nintendo backpack on, how to check out library books, where to go to the bathroom, which day to wear your Power Rangers tennis shoes for gym class ...

Kindergartener Reed Moeller seemed to master it all on his first day of school Monday at Mountain View Elementary. Unless you count his first encounter with the dreaded chocolate milk carton (he tried to open the non-arrow side first).

``I liked coloring,'' he said during lunch, when he systematically devoured his hot dog - eating the left end, then the right end and finally the ketchup-coated middle, leaving the fruit cocktail and a lone French fry behind.

``I also liked the stories. And rest time. And I liked play time and eating.''

School was pretty much a piece of cake for Reed, beginning with his bowl full of Kix at 6:45 a.m. and ending at 2:15 p.m., when his mom, Aubrey, his third-grader sister, Jessica, and his dog, Dauber, accompanied the content - albeit sleepy - 6-year-old up his North Roanoke County driveway and inside to take a nap.

He didn't cry, as did one of his classmates - intermittently, all day long. And he didn't quiz veteran kindergarten teacher Reba Tillery all morning with the perennial question, ``Is it time for lunch?'' as did several other classmates.

He didn't even have to struggle with the hassle of a broken left arm in a sling, as did classmate Molly Madden, who had to explain for the umpteenth time: ``I tripped over my dog leash, and my dog wasn't even on it.''

There was just one probing issue on Reed Moeller's mind as he packed up his Nintendo backpack with his folder and his two Bearenstain Bear library books, and that was: ``Mrs. Tillery said we could have ice cream but ... there hasn't been any ice cream yet.''

Time ran out on the afternoon ice-cream treat. But there's always tomorrow, Reed and his new friends agreed as they zipped up their bulky backpacks and headed into the maze of school buses, teddy-bear nametags and bus numbers in tow.

``Hey Reed, bye,'' classmate Weston Powell called out, snapping his fingers into a checkmark formation that looked half James Dean, half Bert 'n Ernie.

Reed looked puzzled for a second. Then a look of recognition came over his face. He nodded casually.

So much to learn ...

by CNB