MRH Elementary Welcomes Families to 2011-12 School Year

Students and parents gathered at on Thursday for a back-to-school social that featured teacher introductions and classroom tours.

Zachary Johnson will attend MRH Elementary for the first time this year as a second-grader. He came to the social with his mom, Melissa Reel, and his dad, Steve Johnson.

Inside the school, Principal Tony Arnold greeted the family before they toured teacher Julie Sullivan's classroom.

"You guys are going to love it here, it's great," Arnold told them.

Family members congregated in the school's lobby with plastic bags bearing paper towels, tissues and binders. A table accompanied by a bouquet of red, green, blue and purple balloons held sheets with students' names. A sign directed parents to indicate their children's attendance using a highlighter.

Briana Smith will be a sixth-grader at the school. She said she is most looking forward to her teacher and to "being in the same class as most of my friends."

She attended Thursday's social with her dad, Daron Scates.

Kristen Johnson and her son, Carlos, also were among Thursday's visitors. They came to drop off Carlos' school supplies.

During the 2010-11 academic year, the elementary school enrolled 365 students and had a student-to-classroom teacher ratio of 14 to one, a year-in-review pamphlet from the states.

Editor's note: Look for more back-to-school coverage from the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District next week. Parents, you can share photos of your kids as they head out the door for the first day of school by emailing nate.birt@patch.com.