On Tuesday, September 3, we welcomed over 5,500 students back to school throughout Isle of Wight County. It was great to see so many smiling faces on both the students and staff as I visited schools.
Smithfield High and Windsor High hosted an "UnFirst Day". Students actually attended both their first and second semester for about 15 minutes. The teachers had team-building activities planned as the the students learned more about their teacher and each other as they immediately began work on building relationships. The day ended with a Pep Rally to kick off the new school year!
Several schools had groups of community members joining in on the welcome back festivities. Westside Elementary had members from First Gravel Hill Baptist Church who joined with teachers to greet students with smiles and applause as they headed to class.
Hardy Elementary also had numerous groups on hand to welcome
students back to school, including several retired teachers from Hardy,
Little
Zion Church Men's ministry, Smithfield Christian
Church and the Hardy PTA. The PTA hosted a "Boo-Hoo" breakfast for
parents and volunteers.
Members from the Sheriff's Office also joined in on the celebrations at many of our schools. At Georgie Tyler Middle, Dairy Queen and Community Electric participated in the festivities.
We
did have an issue with water at Windsor Elementary which left the school without water in the bathrooms. We elected to move the students to GTMS so they would have access to toileting facilities. Teachers did a
fabulous job of welcoming the children back to school and keeping them focused
throughout the end of the day.
Then, of course, we had an unexpected day off today due to Hurricane Dorian.
In spite of those two issues, it has been an incredible first week of school.
I hope you will continue to follow my blog. Each Friday, I'll share insights about issues and events related to the school division.
A big Thank You to our teachers, administrators, and families for your assistance with a smooth start to the school year. And as Dorian heads out to sea, enjoy your weekend and enjoy a few pictures below from the first week.
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| Windsor High |
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| Smithfield High |
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| Smithfield Middle |
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| Georgie Tyler Middle |
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| Westside Elementary |
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| Windsor Elementary |
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| Hardy Elementary |
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| Carrollton Elementary |
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| Carrsville Elementary |
