A special Villager supplement.
Back to School

Hello to friends, gym, reading and ‘yelling teachers’

Joshua Acevedo, 9, from Bayridge, Brooklyn, entering fourth grade at P.S. 185. (With dad, Tony Adonado)

Best part of summer: “Going to the beach and vacation — I go to Coney Island and Disney World and stuff.”

Are you looking forward to going back to school? “Yeah, so I can play with my best friends and to get smarter.”

Favorite subject: “My favorite subject is gym because we play basketball and we play lots of physical games.”

Favorite teacher: “I like all my teachers, except second grade because my teacher was very grouchy. They make me laugh sometimes and they are very nice.”

Career goal: “There are lots of things that I want to be when I grow up — either a baseball or basketball player.”


Jasmine Darwish, 7, from Flushing, Queens, entering third grade at P.S. 219.

Best part of summer: “My favorite part in the summer was when me and my family go out. We have so much fun.”

Are you excited about going back to school? “Yes, because I love school and I always think about it. I learn new things.”

Favorite subject: “Reading, because when I read it gives me some ideas of maybe how I learn. My favorite book is ‘Nap Time, Lap Time,’ about animals, where they live and sleep and what they do.”

Favorite teacher: “Ms. Malik, math — because she is kind and she helps me when I have trouble with math.”

Career goal: “I want to be a doctor for little kids.”


Hanan Lane, 9, from Greenwich Village, entering fourth grade at P.S. 41. (With mom, Jill Lane)

Best part of summer: “My favorite thing is that I get to visit my relatives in Vermont. I swim at my aunt’s pool and I go to the petting farm and I just get to hang out with my brother and my dad.”

Are you happy to be going back to school? “Yes. In the summer it’s kind of boring, but I’m kind of nervous about going back to school since it’s my first time at a new school. I was in Spain and I went to a British school for one year.”

Favorite subject: “Reading and math — before they started having us learn times tables.”

Career goal: “I wanna have a job where I can travel a bit and be able to travel with my friends and family.” (Mom: “I like that idea, I hope I’m included.” Both giggle.)


Mateusz Musial, 13, from Greenpoint, Brooklyn, entering eighth grade at “St. Stan’s” (St. Stanislaus).

Best part of the summer: “We went Upstate to a resort with a lot of kids my age. We went for three weeks.”

Are you looking forward to school? “Summer ended too fast, but I’m anxious to go back to school — back to friends and yelling teachers.”

Favorite subject: “Science and social studies/history. I’m interested in the human body.”

Favorite teacher: “Ms. Ronnie, because she is my science teacher and because she makes the subject a fun one.”

Career goal: “I want to be a dentist or doctor, something like that.”