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With school starting less than a week from now, elementary school teachers are busy whipping their classrooms into shape and getting the last few things ironed out so that the beginning of school can go as smoothly as possible.

In Ridgeview Elementary School, Debbie Bergmann gets ready to teach her first year of first grade. She has taught a different grade every year now for four years.

"Last year, I taught second," Bergmann said with a laugh. "This year, they ran out of enrollment so I was moved to first grade."

Running out of enrollment means that there were not enough children in second grade so someone needed to switch to teaching to another grade. And that someone was Bergmann.

"The kids are so excited (when school starts)," she said, "It's really infectious."

To help children and their parents settle in Bergmann starts the year off with a bulletin board full of pictures of herself at varying points during her life.

"It helps parents leave their children when they see -- oh! She has her own children," Bergmann said of parents who might have a hard time leaving their children on the first day of class.

At the more expansive Sunset Elementary School, librarian and computer teacher Judy Muldoon has been preparing since the beginning of August for the new school year.

"We have been asked if we live here?" Muldoon said of the strange questions that are asked by children at the beginning of school.

Muldoon has been teaching school for six years. In her computer class, she teaches keyboarding skills, Internet exploration and presentation skills, among other topics.

"Just about anything you need to know about computers," Muldoon said.

The best part of starting school again for her is seeing the new children and children she has taught before.

"Seeing the progression of the kids, what they do in one year is amazing," Muldoon said. "The worst part is seeing them walk out the door after fourth grade."

On top of the hill, East Elementary School also is full of teachers getting ready for the first day of the school year. Kelly McLaughlin, a new mother, is getting ready to teach her seventh year of first grade.

Among the questions that McLaughlin is plied with at the beginning of a new school year, is if the children get to eat lunch twice and when they get to go home.

"They are happy to be there (at the elementary school) for the first 10 minutes and then they are ready to go home," McLaughlin said.

She said she is "thrilled" that the district gets an additional 20 minutes this year.

"It just gives me more time to teach what the state and school district mandates," she said.

But the most exciting thing for McLaughlin is watching the growth of the children throughout the year.

"It is amazing, especially in first grade," McLaughlin said, beaming, "They learn everything from their zip code to tying their shoes. The children go from being very dependent to becoming independent and gaining confidence that they can make good decisions."