Wake County teachers ready for first day of school

WAKE COUNTY (WTVD) -- Even teachers are not immune to back-to-school jitters.

At Hortons Creek Elementary School in Cary, teachers aren't just getting ready to welcome new students, they're getting ready to begin the year in a brand new school.

Teachers have spent the two weeks leading up to the start of school decorating their new classrooms in the two-story, more than 100,000 square foot building.

Kim Collins will begin her 15th year of teaching on Monday and she said her first day will look a lot like her third graders'.

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"You can't sleep the night before," she said. "You are all excited. You lay out your clothes. You pack your lunch so you're on time."

On Friday, parents and students dropped by the school for a chance to meet the teachers.

"It makes me not as nervous," said Bria Cofield, who will teach two groups of 30 fifth graders in english and social studies. "It makes me more excited for the things that are coming for them."

Whether they're getting students ready for middle school or guiding them through the next grade level, educators are ready to do what they do best and help grow young minds.

"It just begins to blossom," Collins said of her students' confidence by the end of the school year. "They just become independent learners."