Twin-dergarten takeover at Colonial School District

Colonial School District’s kindergarten teachers will be seeing double this year, with 17 sets of twins entering school for the 2023-24 school year.

Ridge Park Elementary School leads the pack with seven pairs, Whitemarsh Elementary School will welcome six sets of siblings, and Plymouth Elementary will greet four. This is the highest number of twins in a single class in recent Colonial School District history.

Twin-dergarten will begin for this unique group of students on Monday, Sept. 11, following a week of kindergarten orientation activities. While the first day of kindergarten can sometimes be anxiety-inducing for young children, having a built-in buddy along on the first day of school is one of the benefits for these incoming twin-dergarteners. Many of the children reported that having someone who is always around is one of the things they like best about being a twin.

“We always have each other,” said Chloe and Audrey Ugas, who will be attending Ridge Park Elementary School.  

Brothers Tyler and Michael Notarianni, who will go to Plymouth, agreed, saying they like having a “built-in best friend.” Corinne and Julia Longwell, future Whitemarsh students, said being a twin means “always having someone to be there for you.”

Charlotte Dorman, who will attend Ridge Park, noted, “I get to hug my brother any time I want.”

Mairead Higgins, who will attend Whitemarsh, loves being a twin because her brother, Michael, “does nice things for her.” Eloise Fuga, who will also attend Whitemarsh, likes being a twin for slightly different reasons.

“I get to trade Pokemon cards every day, and I always have someone to play with,” she said. 

Her brother Roman added, “I have a best friend forever and I like to play with her at the pool.”

The twin-dergarteners also expressed a lot of excitement about the coming school year. They are looking forward to playing on the playground, learning subjects such as math, reading, and science, and riding the bus. Eloise said she’s excited she won’t have to observe “rest time.” Most of all, the soon-to-be students can’t wait to meet their teachers and classmates.

“We’re excited to make a lot of new friends,” said Alexander and Aiden Gambale.