When Nelson Elementary School opens up for Meet and Greet Day on Aug. 9, Cierra Papillion will be ready. The first- grade teacher spent Wednesday morning setting up her classroom library and laying out things for her new students to take home that day.

She’s anticipating that many of them will have the jitters as the first day of school approaches. That’s why each one will be getting a bag of “magic confetti” to sprinkle underneath their pillow the night before the first day of school. They’ll also get a poem to read to help calm their nerves.

Each student will also receive a welcome-to-first- grade bracelet and a message that “Our class is a family.” Papillion also has a book in her room by that same name by author Shannon Olsen that the students will become familiar with.

Now in her fourth year of teaching, Papillion said discipline has never been a problem in her classes.

“First, I like to form a relationship with each student. I let them know they are loved. I tell them, ‘I need you as much as you need me,’” she said. “If there is an issue, I sit down with the student and say, “Let’s talk about this to see how we can make things better.”

The first day of school for Nelson Elementary students in grades K-5 is Friday, Aug. 11. Pre-K students begin Aug. 15.