The first day of school!

It’s that time of year Newberry County … The first day of school! A new school year that comes with new teachers, for some a new school and for many a new year to make new friends. If you haven’t already, be sure to read my story with Interim Superintendent Dr. Chan Anderson about some of his goals for the school year. His key priorities this year are safety and growth. Echoing what Dr. Anderson said, it’s important that parents give the faculty and staff at our schools a little grace as they get students where they need to be especially in the next few days.

As they say when it comes to traffic on the interstate, pack your patience. Procedures are in place for a reason: to keep everyone safe. So if you have to sit and wait in the car line longer, don’t worry. Traffic WILL get better and flow easier. If you’re anything like my mom was, bring a book along to read while you wait. Or a crossword puzzle. Or, since it’s 2025, play on your phone or scroll through TikTok while you wait.

For the students, I hope this is the best year ever for you! Once upon a time, I was in your shoes. I was the kid who actually looked forward to the first day of school. I got to pick out a book bag and all kinds of cool school supplies. That’s probably why I love buying stationary now …

I also loved meeting my teachers and seeing if any of my friends were in the same classes as me. And I loved learning new things! And I hope that all students, regardless of whether you’re in elementary or high school, take this year as an opportunity to learn as much as possible this year. Make new friends, study hard and make sure you treat everyone with kindness and respect.

In saying that, we’d love to see your first day of school photos to be featured in next week’s edition of The Newberry Observer. I’ll be at a few schools this morning taking photos for that same edition so feel free to share them with me by emailing photos to [email protected]. Deadline to submit photos will be Monday by 3 p.m.

Have a great year everyone!