Missy Vollmers unpacked paper bags, glue sticks and crayons from two cardboard boxes.

Eventually 40 kindergarten students, split among a morning and afternoon class, will turn the supplies into paper turkeys, hula dancers and puppets.

"This is like Christmas for me," she said, as she unpacked the boxes.

She is a kindergarten teacher at Centennial Elementary School. She started getting ready for the first day of school at the beginning of August. Classes begin in Bismarck Public Schools on Aug. 27.

Getting ready for school involves her own list to check off before the big day. Although her students have supply lists, she buys extras.

"By December, they (the crayons) are as dull as can be," she said. The glue sticks also run out early because her students push a little extra hard to help the glue stick.

Over the years, she refined her set-up routine. The three tools most useful are scissors, a paper cutter and stapler, she said. It helps to cut out all the papers with her students' names and put them on the cubbyholes, name tags, clothes pins and other spots where she needs their names.

She gets excited for the first day of school each year, "the excitement of the kids," she said. "I'm nervous, too."

Sometimes she gets a child who is crying and it can cause a chain reaction. She also sees parents leaving their children with her and they're upset, too. She'll have a box of tissues by the door to dry up the tears.

To prepare for the first day, she recommends a good night's sleep followed by a good breakfast. Parents also should get their kids excited about school and stay positive about it when dropping them off. It's also important to let the children know where they'll be picked up after school, she said.

Vollmers is preparing for her own son's first day of school this year. He will attend Centennial, but in the other kindergarten teacher's classroom.

"I'm his mom, not his teacher," she said. "Yet, I'm going to get to see him in the hallway."

Classes also start Aug. 27 in Mandan Public Schools. Classes start Monday at United Tribes Technical College, Monday evening at Bismarck State College and Wednesday at Shiloh Christian School. The University of Mary starts Aug. 29. St. Mary's Central High School classes started Thursday.

Several BSC offices will be open from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday so students can buy books, pay tuition, get their student ID cards and handle other college business. Offices that will be open Sunday afternoon are student records, financial aid, business and the computer center in Schafer Hall; Campus Information Center in the Jack Science Center; bookstore and snack bar in the Student Union; and the library.

Students who have rooms in the residence halls will move in between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday. Bookstore hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@;bismarck tribune.com.)