GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska (KSNB) – The school day has now officially begun for all Grand Island Public Schools students.
For students in grades 1 to 5 in the district, their first day of school began on Thursday morning.
At Howard Elementary School, staff began the day by greeting students and parents as they entered the school. They then provided the children with breakfast, followed by an assembly in the gymnasium.
At the assembly, the children were sorted according to their classrooms and teachers, a list of expectations for the children at their schools was drawn up and, at the end, a pledge of allegiance was taken.
Principal Jessica Schroeder said the first day of school was the culmination of a lot of work that took place over the spring and summer.
“We start preparing as early as April and in May we do some reflections,” Schroeder said. “Teachers talk about what went really well and what were maybe challenges. Then our leadership team comes together and we look at the reflections and make decisions about, ‘Okay, what do we need to focus on? What do we need to adjust? What routines or procedures need to be put in place?'”
Schroeder also said that the best thing about the first day of school was seeing the smiling faces of the children when they came back to school.
“Just the excitement,” Schroeder said. “It’s the new year, so everyone’s coming in fresh and excited to start the year and learn. The teachers are excited to meet the new students in their classrooms and build those relationships and make those connections.”
The first day of school also brings a lot of nervousness among students, as they may be spending an extended period of time away from their parents for the first time.
Schroeder said they are ready to help these students with the staff and training they have available.
“We’ve deployed a lot of support staff to welcome them into the building,” Schroeder said. “They get breakfast and then they get to see their friends and then we really just work on building connections and those relationships in the classroom. There’s no heavy academic material for the first couple of days, we really just want to get to know who they are and then they get to get to know who their teacher is and make them feel comfortable.”
Looking ahead, Schroeder hopes the staff and the 480 preschool and kindergarten students can build stronger relationships by the end of the 2024-25 school year.
“I hope we can learn and grow and be the best we can be,” Schroeder said.
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