By Sandy Hodgson – Erie, Colorado … We survived our first day of school. If truth be told, I survived the first day of school. I think my students did too. Since I’m teaching fifth and sixth grade this year, some of my students were in my room last year, so they knew what to expect. Others were new to my classroom but not to the school. Others were new altogether.
It always feels “new” to me, even though I have been doing this for 17 plus years. I work and plan during the summer and think I am ahead of the game, and then August 1 comes around and panic strikes. There aren’t enough hours in the day (or night) to get everything done. Ready or not, the first day arrives, and it’s GO time. My stress headache started around two in the morning and by 6:00 a.m. I was on my way to school for final preparations.
Students arrive and know the drill. Put your supplies away, wash your hands, and make sure your mask covers your nose and mouth. When you’ve spent most of the summer wild and free, our masks are confining and sweltering. Mask acne is returning. It’s the same song, second verse, from our experience last year. But we were glad to be back together again.
Throughout the day, I watched my students form new friendships and ask questions as they learned about each other. Students who began the day very timid and quiet started to warm up, laugh and smile. They didn’t do any math, science, or social studies, but they learned a lot. They learned it’s important to be quiet when another person is talking. They learned they were going to be big buddies with the preschoolers and pre-kindergartners. They learned it’s very hot outside in August, but they could take their masks off.
I learned a lot too. I learned I needed way fewer activities than my lesson plans outlined. I learned my students didn’t sleep well either, the night before the first day. I learned that figuring out a locker combination and practicing over and over can be so much fun. I learned that stress headaches go away when you see that everything is going to be okay (Excedrin helps too!).
Best of all, as more than 100 students, plus staff, and pastors gathered on the soccer field for an all-school prayer, I learned that God is with me. God is with us. As a student in first and second grade said, “I love this school! It’s way better than I expected. I can’t wait to come back tomorrow.”
I agree!
Editor’s Note: Recently, Vista Ridge Academy was featured in an article in the Raised in the Rockies: Back to School Issue, entitled The Difference that Faith (p.20). https://www.dailycamera.com/2021/07/26/raised-in-the-rockies-fall-2021/
–Sandy Hodgson is teaching principal at Vista Ridge Academy; photo supplied
