Friends ran to hug each other after months of not seeing one another. Some teachers held back tears of joy as they started another year of learning and creating lasting memories with their students. The excitement was evident across the board Wednesday as schools county-wide began the 2021-22 academic year.
On the Owensboro Catholic Schools K-3 campus, Principal Jim Tinius eagerly welcomed a steady stream of students into the building. He said he’s excited for the children to utilize a new reading program and some exploratory hands-on learning that OCS is introducing this year.
“We had a great year last year and expect to have another great year this year. We’ve made a few changes but a lot of things are going to be the same, and great staff and everybody’s excited and we’re ready to go. We’ve got a great staff. They always just love having the kids in their classroom.”
The staff weren’t the only ones excited, as students happily embraced friends on their way into the building.
“They made a lot of friends last year and maybe they didn’t get to see him as much during the summer as they’d like to,” Tinius said. “It’s neat to see those things that they’re ready to pick back up on those friendships that they made last year.”
At Foust Elementary, students filed out of their cars before they were greeted by a tunnel of familiar faces welcoming them back to school.
Kids came running down the tunnel, many giving Superintendent Dr. Matthew Constant a fist bump on their way in.
Owensboro Public Schools partnered with the local fire department as they stood nearby welcoming the students on their first day to make the students feel safe while arriving at school.
“[Us being here] just gets the kids off to a good start, and making sure they’re not anxious,” Lieutenant David Spaulding said while fist-bumping the students.
At Whitesville Elementary, Principal Tricia Murphy and her staff went all out to create a day the students would remember fondly. After an outdoor assembly full of energy, the classes took turns playing mini-golf in the school’s gym, with a theme of building positive habits.
The assembly was focused on the WES mission statement, which features the three main components of family, leadership, and excellence. Murphy also talked about three symbols that she wanted to encompass this year — an arrow pointing up for growth, a plus sign representing being together, and a heart representing love.
“I think we need the power of memories to happen this year in the most positive ways, and we need people to remember the positive things that we do here every day, not all the rest that’s coming along with this year,” she said.
Officials from OCS, OPS, and Daviess County all gave positive reports Wednesday afternoon, saying the first day went smoothly overall for their respective districts.
Keith Osborne, the Chief Administrative Officer for OCS, said they had 1,254 students in attendance K-12 on Wednesday, compared to 1,216 for 2020-21.
After having to spend much of last year either virtual or in some version of a hybrid instruction model, superintendents Matthew Constant (OPS) and Matt Robbins (DCPS) were grateful to be back in person this year. Both reported strong opening day attendance, with 4,660 students at OPS and 10,424 students at DCPS.
