What a Way to Start the New Year: Lockdown at 5 schools adds to the excitement

The first day of school brought the expected lines of traffic and excited children and parents back to local schools yesterday. It also brought the unexpected -- a lockdown of five schools for 90 minutes after a bank robbery.

Mount Tabor High, Jefferson Middle, Speas Elementary, Meadowlark Middle and Meadowlark Elementary schools were locked down for about 11/2 hours because of a robbery at the First Citizens Bank near the intersection of Peace Haven and Robinhood roads.

Winston-Salem police Capt. David Clayton said that the robber, who was armed with a knife, was last seen running behind a medical office on Peace Haven Road. Although he wasn't spotted near any of the schools, they were locked down because of their proximity to the site of the robbery.

The schools went into lockdown about 9:15 a.m. and reopened about 10:45 a.m., said Theo Helm, a spokesman for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.

"They don't let anybody in or off campus," during a lockdown, Helm said. "Obviously the safety of our students comes first. It's not a normal day, anyway, because it's the first day."

Although administrators and teachers knew about the lockdown, he said, kindergartners and other students may not have been aware of it.

Elsewhere, excitement was particularly high at the three new schools that opened yesterday.

At Caleb's Creek Elementary, parents Courtney and Patrick Miller parked and walked in with their two children.

"We can't miss the first day," Courtney Miller said.

As a fourth-grader, Abbey was a first-day veteran. For kindergartner Charlie -- equipped with a Superman backpack and a Superman lunchbox -- it was a brand-new experience in a brand-new school.

When asked whether he already knows everything there is to know, Charlie turned to his father and said, "Do I?"

"Almost," Patrick Miller said. "Sometimes you think you do."

Lots of other parents also accompanied their children into the school. Principal Judy Jones was outside to greet everyone.

"It's a wonderful day for us," Jones said.

Kernersville police were directing traffic at the main road, and several members of the school staff were directing traffic on the school grounds. Dressed in an orange-and-yellow reflective vest, guidance counselor Barbara Nieters said that it was a given that the first day would be a bit chaotic but that she couldn't be happier.

"It's a very positive environment," she said. "It's very contagious."

She turned to call to a student who was running toward the building.

"Walk, sweetheart," she said.

Before parents headed inside with their children, many stopped to have their children pose underneath the arch topped with the school's name.

Inside, parents were taking pictures and more pictures. On her way out, Terry Kowalski estimated that she had taken 20 or 30 of her fourth-grade daughter, Madison. Pausing to think back on the morning and the pictures that she took of her daughter getting ready and eating breakfast, Kowalski adjusted her estimate.

"I just counted the ones here," she said. "Forty if we count them."

Jennifer McKaughan said that her third-grade twins, Nathan and Addison, were both excited and nervous. The nervous part came from having to learn their way around somewhere new.

"It's hard to get used to," Addison said.

Before heading to the cafeteria for a meeting of all the kindergarten students and their parents, kindergartner Eddie Washington Jr. and his family stopped by his classroom to drop off his personal supplies and the big box of facial tissue that he was donating to the classroom.

His father -- Eddie Sr. -- was impressed.

"Great school -- a top-of-the-line facility," he said. "I can't wait for them to take advantage of all this technology.''

Opening day had its snafus, of course. Missing keys had to be found. Traffic backed up. But that went more smoothly than they thought it might, said Lt. Ken W. Gamble, who will become chief of the Kernersville Police Department next week when Chief Neal Stockton retires.

Yesterday, workers were still taking care of finishing touches. Landscapers were outside putting down pine needles around trees, and, in the halls, men on ladders had removed ceiling tiles and were working up above with only their bodies visible.

In the media center, media coordinator Holly DuBois and others were shelving 5,000 brand-new books. Computers and other equipment will be arriving later in the week.

Members of the school staff weren't given access to the building until Wednesday.

"They have done an amazing job getting the school ready for the first day," Gamble said.

■ Kim Underwood can be reached at 727-7389 or at kunderwood@wsjournal.com.

■ Journal reporter Paul Garber contributed to this story.