The shuffle of hundreds of little feet, the chatter of students and teachers, the squeals of reunited friends – and a few wails and tears from first-day jitters – filled the halls on the first day of school Tuesday at Needham Elementary.
Needham students discussed their favorite thing about summer, and what they’re most excited for now that they’re back to school.
Jolene Martin, 5, said her favorite summer memory was camping in Yellowstone National Park. For some parts of her camping trip she was sick, “but for some camping I was with my mom, and some camping I was with my cousin,” she said, grinning ear to ear.
When asked what she was most excited about for back to school time, she gave a resounding, “Being in kindergarten!”
Third graders and good friends Harper Powell and Quinn Robertson said they most enjoyed their travels over the summer. Powell went on a Disney cruise, and Robertson visited San Francisco.
Powell and Robertson are both most excited to do lots of reading this year in school.
Oisin Garvey, 7, said his favorite part about summer was spending time with his family. Hopping back into math lessons is what’s got him excited about back to school this year.
Garvey’s friend Charlie Rod, also 7, echoed Garvey about enjoying spending time with his family over the summer, and said his favorite part about back to school is getting to hang out with his teachers and classmates.
Eduardo Jimenez, 7, said spending time at the pool was a highlight of his summer. And Jimenez’s favorite part of being back to school is ... being back to school!
Addi Lucero, 8 enjoyed playing softball over the summer with the Durango Danger team, and is most excited to meet and spend time with her new teacher.
Second grade teacher Justin Ngo – called Mr. J by his students – said he finally feels like he’s found his sea legs this year, after three years of teaching.
“I finally feel like I have it down,” he said. “I just love the creativity of the job, (and) figuring out the best ways to support my students.”
This year, Needham got an updated motto for the first time in nearly a decade: “Excellence in action, every day.” This mission, said Principal Riley Alderton, means teachers and staff members being centrally focused on making sure students are getting everything they need.
“The thing I reiterate with my staff is that arriving here and operating with an attitude of excellence means bringing your very best every day for the kids,” he said.
Alderton’s favorite part of summer was going to Telluride for his fourth grade child’s baseball tournament.
Alderton, who has been principal at Needham for seven years, said seeing all the kids and how they’ve grown and evolved year-to-year is his favorite part of back to school.
“The unique gift of elementary school is you get to see kids grow up,” he said. “The fifth graders this year were preschoolers when I started here. You get to see them grow and change and learn things and mature. It’s always fun on the first day seeing who lost teeth and dyed their hair and (got) new clothes.”
“I think everybody can look back on their life and going to school and remember the excitement and the jitters on the first day,” Alderton said.
epond@durangoherald.com
