Kindergarten students get a chance to check out the playground equipment at Sam Adams Elementary following their orientation tour. (Leader photo/SCOTT NOVAK)

For the second straight year, Sam Adams Elementary held its kindergarten orientation this week.

According to Principal Dee Voss, switching to an orientation just prior to the start of school helps both the students and the parents ease some of the anxieties.

“We chose to do a kindergarten orientation just before school starts so the kids can see the building,” she said. “We take them on a tour, we go on a bus, we have a snack in the cafeteria and then I open up the playground so they can go out and play.

“This way they don’t feel so nervous the first day of school.”

Voss said that when she was put in charge of kindergarten, she wanted to do things a bit differently.

“If you do it closer to when school begins, the kids are not as nervous to come here because it’s such a big building. So, I just focus on where they are going to be — the kindergarten/first grade wing. We show them a classroom and we show them what the cubbies (storage area) are like. Otherwise, the whole thing can just get overwhelming.”

While on the tour, parents are given information about the technology that Sam Adams uses during the school year as well as the safety equipment that has been installed in the building.

“I answer questions for them so that they’re all familiar with all we have. That way it’s not as nerve wracking for all the parents,” Voss said. “I usually take three children and their guardians with them.”

Voss feels that the smaller groups allow both students and parents a chance to ask questions without being intimidated.

The students and parents will be back in the building Sept. 3 for open house. Classes begin for the Cassopolis School District Sept. 4.

Class times have changed for the 2013-14 school year. Classes at Sam Adams will begin at 7:45 a.m. and conclude at 2:52 p.m.