Albuquerque Public Schools
Festive Welcome Sets Joyful Tone at Dolores Gonzales Elementary
School staff greet students with music, dancing and balloons to kick off a memorable first day.
The energy and excitement emanating from Dolores Gonzales Elementary School’s front courtyard last Thursday was so strong that 4-year-old Mireya Contreras Gonzalez wanted to join her two older sisters at the school, even though her first day of preschool was still four days away.
Mireya’s sisters – fourth-grader Isabella and second-grader Graciela – and the school’s other first through fifth graders were greeted with balloons, lively music and dancing, courtesy of the school’s staff, who lined up on either side of the walkway to welcome students back on the first day of school.
One staffer played the drums to tunes from Selena as Principal Parisa Asgharzadeh and several staff members shook maracas and danced to the beat. Students grinned from ear to ear with several of them breaking out into a jig themselves.
“We want to make it memorable. We want to make it a space where they're happy and excited and want to be here so that they take that energy and carry it through the school year,” the principal said. “We want to welcome families and make sure that they see us having fun, see us lined up, see our rich culture.”
Asgharzadeh said this is the second year her school has welcomed students this way, noting that her staff loves doing it.
Eric Contreras said the warm welcome exemplifies why his daughters love going to school there.
“It definitely sets the stage for the year and for every day,” he said. “It just makes them want to come. They’re excited to be here.”
He praised the school’s teachers, saying they have “really good connections with the kids.”
“The teachers are amazing,” Contreras added. “They make the day go quick. By the time we pick them up, it's like, ‘Do we really have to go home?’”
He said his daughter Mireya has been eager to join her sisters at the school.
“Seeing her sisters come every day, she's like, when do I start?”