Getting ready for another school year

By Larry Meyer - Argus Observer
Monday, August 20, 2007 10:48 AM PDT

Amy Anderson’s post is at the front window of the Nyssa Elementary School office where she greets students, parents and visitors to the school,as office manager.

NYSSA - The first friendly smile many students will encounter when they arrive at school this week will be from the school secretary.

One Nyssa School District employee takes that “first-smile” theme seriously. In fact, for Amy Anderson, greeting new and returning students with a smile is just part of a big job that she said she enjoys.

“I love it,” Anderson, starting her 11th year as one of the two office managers at Nyssa Elementary School, said.

She shares office manager duties with Sally Walker.

“It’s very busy,” Anderson said of the first day with students. Even with the early registration program, there are still about 100 students who are unregistered.

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“We try to get kids to the right rooms,” she said. “Buses are one of our biggest issues.”

Anderson said it is often a case of knowing who rides buses, who doesn’t, and keeping track when the normal routine changes and informing the bus drivers.

“We have to know exactly who is going where,” she said. “We haven’t lost a student yet.”

Bus ridership has been increasing, Anderson said.

“Most of our kids ride a bus,” she said.

The office managers sit down with the district transportation supervisor before each school season and begin to compare lists of students and addresses to make sure they match.

“Making out bus schedules is one of the most important parts of our jobs,” Anderson said.

When there is a change regarding a student riding the bus, a tag is issued with instructions printed on the tag that goes with the child, and drivers are notified.

Being able to multi-task is a good thing, Anderson said.

“Talking on the phone, while bandaging a student’s cut — usually doing 15 things at one time,” she said.

Technology has really moved into the job, she said.

One way technology plays a key role is that all the pictures of the students are stored in the computer, so if there is a question, regarding student identification, the issue can be quickly resolved. When asked about what she likes best about her job, Anderson had a quick reply.

“The kids,” she said. “You get to see them as almost babies. We get very attached to them. When your kids move onto middle school you miss them a lot.”

Now an empty-nester, Anderson said, “I get my kid fix at school.”