Northern Utah educators welcome kids with fun, fanfare on first day of school
Principal Rachel Alberts carries the American flag up to Snow Horse Elementary School in Kaysville after riding in on horseback with custodian Rusty Smith on the first day of school on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. School staff kicked off the new year with music, dancing and decorations at a brief outdoor assembly.
Students at Snow Horse Elementary School in Kaysville enter the front doors at the start of the first day of school on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. Students at Davis School District started classes on Wednesday.
Teachers and staff at Snow Horse Elementary School perform a song and dance for students on the first day of school on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. Principal Rachel Alberts said the staff tries to do a fun event or performance to welcome students back from summer each year.
Students at Snow Horse Elementary School in Kaysville recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of the first day of school on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. Students at Davis School District started classes on Wednesday. Students at Ogden and Weber schools returned earlier in the week.
Snow Horse Elementary School custodian Rusty Smith rides up to the Kaysville school on horseback at the start of the first day of school Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. School staff kicked off the new year with music, dancing and decorations at a brief outdoor assembly.
KAYSVILLE — Snow Horse Elementary School couldn’t start the school year without — of course — horses.
Students sat eagerly outside the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 23, and watched as head custodian Rusty Smith and Principal Rachel Alberts rode the American flag in on horseback.
The fun didn’t stop there.
After saying the Pledge of Allegiance, Rachel gave a speech about how far she and her staff are willing to go for their students and then launched into a re-worked version of ”How Far I’ll Go” from the Disney movie ”Moana.” The performance was complete with live instruments, singing and a choreographed dance.
“See the badge on my shirt that says yes, I’m a teacher, well no one knows how deep that goes,” sang Assistant Principal Michelle Gibby.
Alberts said she and her teachers danced to Justin Timberlake’s ”Can’t Stop the Feeling” to kick off the 2016-17 school year because a boundary adjustment brought numerous new faces to the school.
“We wanted students on the very first day to feel welcome, that this is a happy place,” she said.
It was only supposed to be a one-time thing, but students started asking what their plans were for next time and Alberts knew they had to step up their game.
I had some great teachers in elementary school but they never did anything like this! #education #utah @DavisSchools pic.twitter.com/lIeQygSdi5
— Anna Burleson (@AnnagatorB) August 23, 2017
Snow Horse is just one of several Davis School District elementary schools welcoming students back with pageantry and splendor.
Whitesides Elementary School planned to treat the first day of school like New Year’s Day.
In an interview Tuesday, Aug. 22, Assistant Principal Joni Slater said the idea came from visiting the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, over the summer, where students are always welcomed with a massive party.
“We wanted to bring something extra to our school and ignite their passion and get them reenergized,” Slater said.
Whitesides students were going to be greeted with a New Year’s banner and balloons. Happy New Year hats and noisemakers were going to be distributed while the local fire station crew and Layton Police Department members greeted students.
The school’s wolverine mascot was also slated to be a part of the celebration as students went inside, only to be surprised with a teacher flash mob to ”Celebration” by Kool and the Gang.
A new year countdown kicked off the beginning of the new school year before students went to class.
“We know there’s a Happy New Year in January, but for kids it rings a little more true when it’s back to school, so we thought we would capitalize on that excitement and use that as our theme,” Slater said.
District spokeswoman Shauna Lund said individual schools come up with their own first day of school ideas.
“It is used as a great way to establish that sense of community on the first day, and because we want school to be a great experience for students and parents, what better way to do it than on the first day of school,” she said.
Lund has heard of over-the-top back-to-school events happening well before she started working at the district eight years ago. She said the fanfare is usually limited to elementary schools because junior high and high schools have back-to-school nights for incoming students during the summer.
Principal Don Beatty at Fremont Elementary School has been doing a red carpet-themed back to school for about 20 years.
“The notion behind it is keeping the focus on who is the most important — the stars of the school — the kids,” he said.
On Wednesday, a real red carpet guided students into the school as their parents stood behind velvet ropes and took photos, acting as paparazzi. Beatty said district officials and teachers were also scheduled to attend and shake students’ hands.
“I think a lot of kids set their clothes out and get all exited for the first day, but then they show up to this dark school and I thought, what a let down,” Beatty said. “We needed to do something to rise to their expectations.”
Foxboro Elementary School administrators and teachers were dressed as superheros in line with the school’s theme of ‘Helping Each Other Reach Our Dreams,’ or HERO.”
“Our school is kind of decorated with a hero theme, and I and the assistant principal will be wearing capes tomorrow,” Principal Kevin Prusse said Tuesday. “I’ve got a Superman cape, and she’s got a Wonder Woman.”
Antelope Elementary School also welcomed their students like celebrities with a Hollywood Walk of Fame, as the school’s theme for the year is “Lights, Camera, Action! Ready to Learn.”
Principal Jennie DeFriez said this is the first year they’ve done something this extravagant, and the goal is to get the community more involved in the school.
“And we just want to treat them to that experience of how important they are to us and how much they mean to us,” DeFriez said in reference to her students. “They’re the stars of the school.”
Lund said other Utah school districts do a variety of back-to-school events, but in the Davis School District, some schools are a little more low key and have teachers stand on the playground with signs to show students where to go.
“They meet on the playground before going into the school and classrooms, and typically the principal will do a big welcome and then they’ll enter into school,” she said.
Lund also attributed the welcoming nature of the back-to-school events to Superintendent Reid Newey, who came to the district in December 2016.
“He has really encouraged every principal to be greeting students not just on the first day, but every day, to have that face-to-face interaction with students,” she said. “It’s part of creating that welcoming culture so kids feel like school is a great place to be.”
Contact education reporter Anna Burleson at aburleson@standard.net. Follow her on Twitter at @AnnagatorB or like her on Facebook at Facebook.com/BurlesonReports.
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