I've done ice skating, roller blading and I also roller skate (I play roller derby)
I would get a multi-impact helmet if you're planning on doing lessons, a hockey helmet works great! I can't begin to tell you how often that saves my head from when I've been hit very hard.
Knee-pads are always good, when you fall, you tend to take a knee to get back up to keep skating, it's nice to be able to push off on that knee without hurting it. I would suggest hitting up vv boutique for a set. Honestly, I wear my roller derby pads every time I hit the ice.. my knees are important to me, so protecting them is important.
Form is important, bend your knees and just keep skating. I taught myself how to ice skate at 16, you're getting lessons, and it'll be fun. Another big thing is to learn how to fall properly, if you can get the muscle memory to fall right, recovering is just that much faster.
hope this helps!
I like things with wheels.