We were in the Greater Plains sixthgrade
wing after school, and my 5-year-old
daughter, Allie, was begging for a glimpse
of her older sister’s classroom.
“Please, can I see it?” she asked, tugging
on my hand. “I just want to see the
castle.”
We peeked in to see the medieval transformation
the sixth-graders had created,
with coats of arms, tapestries and paper
“stones” lining the walls, and a cardboard
dungeon, church and
watchtower big enough
for kids to climb inside.
It was magical even
to me; I couldn’t imagine
how it would look
to a little kid stealing a
glimpse of the glamorous
big-kid world.
With a kindergartner
and a sixth-grader, I see
both ends, every day.
This year has been the
only time my two girls
will ever be in the same
school, and the brief
convergence is extraspecial
because Greater
Plains was my elementary
school, too.
There is a unique relationship between
the little kids and the big kids. At
playtime, the kindergartners re-enact the
recent sixth-grade play, reciting the oneliners
they remember; singing snippets of
the songs. In the hallways and after school,
the sixth-graders give hugs and high-fives
to the kindergartners they know.
Their worlds are so different, yet they
are united by the shared experience of
hearing the same morning announcements
on the PA, smelling the same chicken
nuggets at lunchtime, meeting the same
visitors at school assemblies.
Abby and Allie ride the bus together,
pass each other in the hall and see each
other at major school events, such as last
week’s Field Day on the playground. When
Allie bumped her teeth in gym class and
was rushed, crying and bleeding, to the
nurse’s office, word quickly got back to
Abby from a classmate who happened to
be passing by.
I will never forget the image of the two
of them after school, walking out the front
door with packs on their backs, holding
hands.
___
On a much larger scale, everyone in the
large and loyal Greater Plains family is
connected on some level through shared
experience. I’ve run into many other parent-
alumni, some of whom specifically
bought houses in the West End so their
kids could attend the same school they did.
We also have four teachers who are GPS
grads. Vicki Lyall, who joined the Greater
Plains faculty as a first-grade teacher last
fall, said she is thrilled to be back at her
old school.
“On occasion, I walk down the halls of
Greater Plains and flashback to one of the
many happy experiences I had as a child
growing up in the 1970s. These include art
classes with Mrs. Morris, stories read by
Mrs. Rees in the library and intramural
sports with my third-grade teacher, Mr.
Byrnes. I can still hear Miss Fraats, my
second-grade teacher, read, `Some pig!’
from `Charlotte’s Web.’ And who can forget
Mrs. Minette? She was that perfect teacher
who made learning fun and engaging. … I
wanted to be just like her!
“While much has changed since those
days of overhead projectors and filmstrips,
some things remain the same. “The
playground may have new play structures,
but the spaciousness of the grounds is
what I like most about it,” Lyall said. “I
particularly loved the big, old oak tree. I
can recall spotting an indigo bunting there
on my way to the nature trail.”
Though none of the teachers I remember
is still at Greater Plains, some remain
involved with the school.
One greets families at kindergarten
registration; another accompanies the
choir on the piano during concerts. During
a recent experience as a parent volunteer,
I worked side-by-side with my former
librarian.
___
In a few days, Abby will graduate from
sixth grade. I know that the closing of
this window is the first step in a larger
distance that will come between my girls,
at least for a while, as Abby enters a new
phase of life, in a new school building,
leaving her sister behind.
I take consolation in the knowledge
that, even though they’ll no longer be
together, they will still share experiences.
Abby will relate to Allie’s Greater Plains
milestones, remembering what it was like
to camp out in the gym during the Read &
Sleep, write a fifth-grade state report and
serve on the safety patrol.
Hopefully, the things they have shared
and the memories they have made will
continue to connect them, just as they have
connected so many other members of the
Greater Plains extended family over the
years.
___
Lisa Miller is a freelance writer who
lives in Oneonta. She can be reached at
lisamiller44@hotmail.com.
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