Back to School: Making Memories
It’s that time of year again; school is back! It will be mixed emotions for some, but excitement for many. After traveling to all three schools during Meet the Teachers week and the first day of school, what did I find? Overwhelming excitement and happiness by students, teachers and parents. It’s been a long, hot, dry summer filled with many relaxing and some lazy days, trips to the lake, road trips to visit relatives, fishing, boating and sports for some, others may have enjoyed a summer
of just hanging with friendsplaying video games or visiting the water park. Whatever your summer included, it included making great memories.
School memories always seem that much more exciting and memorable. These are the memories that last a lifetime, these are the friends you make that will be your confidantes and companions through thick and thin. These years will go quick and what we are left with will fill our memories with happiness in the years to come. There are the late-night football games under the Friday Night Lights, arm and arm with friends, family and your community, cheering on our much-loved Cubs, halftime comes and out comes the proudly marching Pride of Olney High School Marching Band. They steal the show with their masterful skill of instrument and marching, and as you look around you can see the pride in the eyes of the community as the band plays on. There will be many academic competitions for Olney ISD to build on its successes from previous years - crowning new academic stars. Olney FFA will be commanding attention at the Young County Junior Livestock Show, proudly parading their goats, cows, pigs and other livestock, but also showing off the skill only FFA members from a rural community can obtain. There will be plenty of road trips to watch our Cub and Lady Cubs play basketball, football, volleyball, One Act Play as well as plethora of other school activities. With each event those memories stack up to daydream over in years to come. Before you know it, school is out and the cycle continues as seniors depart for bigger and brighter things and little ones enter their new adventure: school!
Parents, teachers and students gathered over the second week of August for back-to-school events like Meet the Teachers and of course that first day of school. School principals gave their insights on the return to school.
Gunter Rodriguez, Principal of Olney Elementary said the new school year offers to promise of a new start.“I think overall, the last couple of years in public education have been difficult because of the pandemic and things like that, but we’re really excited about putting all that behind us and moving forward,” he said. “Our theme for the year here is that Olney Elementary School is rising to outrageous good news. We want to find good news, wherever it’s in the building, outside of the building, in our community and our children. We want to find good news and celebrate those things. We’re very excited about that. I’m excited about the new staff that we have. They’re very capable people and it’s going to be a great addition to our school system. We’re ready to have a great year.”
Ed Berngen, principal of Olney Junior High, also has high hopes for the new year.“I’m really excited to work with the staff here at Olney Junior High and they are great, great people and they’re in the kid business,” Mr. Berngen said.
Brianne Brock, principal for Olney High School said before the first bell at OHS, that “you can tell there’s a buzz of excitement from the kids being here this morning.”
“Everybody’s excited to be back,” she said. “We’re excited to get the school year started.” Good luck to all the students and teachers this year, start making your memories!