In Plymouth, just over 7000, students say goodbye to summer, and start school Wednesday—the first day for grades 1 thru 12. Kindergarten begins Thursday and pre-school after Labor Day. But for 771 teachers, 37 of them new to Plymouth schools, the school year began on Monday, with a rousing opening day celebration at North High School.
WATD’s Bobbi Clark has more…
The theme for this year’s kick-start to the school year is THE POWER OF YET. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Chris Campbell explains that the reasoning behind it came from the students:
“Every spring, we ask our students, what should the theme for next year be? What do you want to encourage our students, our staff, our community to understand what’s important? And, of the 122 submissions we had, we had 45 that had to do with resilience, perseverance, accepting challenges, understanding that you’re not supposed to know something before you’re taught it.”
And Dr. Campbell says further that…
“…education is a journey it’s not a destination, and we’re always trying to inspire to be better at what we’re doing, and, you know—we’re not there yet.”
The highly sought after Dr. Gary E. Maestas Inspiration Awards represent a long-time highlight of the opening day celebration.
Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, Dr. Erik Cioffi explains that the recipients are nominated by their peers:
“Yes, 100%. Everybody who is employed has the opportunity to nominate someone. There’s so many deserving candidates. We just try to capture each year four people that best represent the incoming year. So that’s how we landed on these inspirational award winners—and we look forward to seeing this process each year.”
And the staff members honored are teachers: Scott Pease, Kerri Miller, Allison Shaver and custodian Bubba Lane.
In Plymouth, Bobbi Clark, WATD News.
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