What a New School Year Means
By Emma Risinger
That time of year has come around again; a new school year has just begun. When thinking of back to school, one thing that may come to mind is a clean, new pair of school shoes. We all fill many “pairs of shoes” throughout the academic year. Maybe a student, a teacher, a friend, a performer, or an athlete. New shoes can symbolize a new year and a new beginning. This fresh start may mean new friends, classes, and teachers; a chance to excel in sports and activities; or an opportunity to take on more responsibility. What does a new school year mean to you?
“It means that everybody is excited to come back because it’s a fresh start. For me, it means that I don’t have to do my summer job, and I can actually teach, which is way better. So I’m excited about that, and simply, I love fall,” say Mr. Les Piper, seventh and eighth grade science and basic biology teacher.
A new school year is different for newer teachers. “I think mainly it has been students, but also, for me, it’s my second year here, so (I’m) learning a lot from last year and implementing it over into this year,” says Ms. Kylie Mosel who teaches seventh and ninth grade English. “I also think it means a lot, for teachers especially, changing anything with curriculum or implementing, changing new things. Honestly just a lot of having the new students and changing curriculum.”
Senior Jackson Zimmerman remarks that a new year is, “A new chance to start over. Whether that would be with teachers or fellow students, and it’s also a chance to make new experiences.”
To junior Ava Knox, “A new school year to me means another year of taking classes that are preparing me for my career choice, and not only that but a year closer to graduating.”
Sharing a similar thought process, “The new school is like a fresh coat of paint,” says Rylee Altwine, a sophomore. “It means to me that you get new opportunities. You get to learn about new things and even better you get to be in new classes and maybe with new people you don't really talk to.”
“A new school year is a new chance to learn and see your friends again,” comments Maxwell Weber, a freshman.
Parker Gaes, an eighth grader says, “I look forward to making new friends and getting more active in sports.”
To seventh grader Gia Nygren, a new year means, “You can start over on your grades and be a new person and maybe if you weren’t friends with other people, you could start making more friends.”
Whether it's new friends, a fresh start, growing opportunities, a change of pace, or the changing of the seasons, a new school year can signify different things to different people. Even something, perhaps not so simple, as a new pair of shoes.
