Thomasville Co. students, parents and staff ready to start a great new school year

THOMASVILLE, Fla. (WCTV) - It is that time of the year again. School is back, starting next week for Thomas County students getting a foot in the door of their new schools at the open house.

Excitement can be felt from parents, students and staff at Garrison Pilcher Elementary. They all say they cannot wait to kick off the new year on Monday.

“How are you feeling? Excited,” First grader Blakeley Powers said.

For the incoming first grader Powers, the open house was a great glance at a new school year.

We asked Powers what was in the classroom that was so cool about it. “My desk. My pencils, my cubbies,” Powers said.

For her mother, like many other parents at Garrison Pilcher elementary, the open house was a great chance to ask questions and come to terms with their little ones moving up a grade.

“We’re very excited. It’s kind of bittersweet because we got here so fast, but we are very excited for first grade,” Powers’ mother said.

Just days before the new school year kicks off, parents, students, teachers and staff got to meet each other, setting the tone for what officials said is going to be a great year.

“Our teachers have worked very hard this summer. We had a lot of trainings, lots of meetings and we’ve actually had two weeks of pre-planning,” Principal Amy Tyson said.

Principal Tyson said those extra days of planning have been vital for teachers to make sure they are providing the best school experience possible.

Kylene Vanheiningen, a veteran teacher, said Georgia implemented a new, more rigorous math standard. However, she said she’s confident students and staff will be able to tackle all the changes of a new school year together.

“All of our students are coming to a brand-new school, so even today they’ve been really scared and really nervous,” Vanheiningen said. “But once they come in and see the classroom and realize they have friends in here and see some familiar faces, they get a little bit more excited.”

Garrison Pilcher held an open house for second graders on Aug. 4, along with the Thomasville City schools’ open houses scheduled for the rest of the week. The first day of school officially kicks off Aug. 8, 2022.

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