As school starts to get rolling, something that can be often overlooked by students is the preparation and way teachers start the year. Many teachers prepare weeks before the first day, keeping inventory, ordering supplies, setting up lesson plans, and organizing their rooms. I talked to a couple of teachers, administrators, and staff to see what they do to begin the year, and how much each one differs.
Velita Rholl has been teaching AP human geography for 10 years now, and also is the head of the student government and helps set up the freshman only day. Her preparation for class is pretty easy, she said, with all she had to do was send her copies to the print shop in August, so they aren’t too overwhelmed at the beginning of the year, as well as slightly tweaking a lesson.
It wasn’t always like that, Rholl said. “I was in the classroom until 9 p.m,” she said, referring to her 1st year teaching. Her early years would be hectic and scattered, especially her second and third years, where she had to rework all of her earlier lessons that didn’t work out the way she planned. Now that Rholl has found her stride, she has had an easy start.
Upstairs, going into his fourth year teaching English 1 and third year of AP Seminar, Michael Larsen has had an easier start as well. He said throughout June and July, he doesn’t think about school, and when August rolls around he puts it into the back of his mind. About a week before school, Larsen goes in and sets up his room, gets supplies ready, and talks to Jill Derryberry to plan out AP Seminar lessons.
Because he teaches English 1, Larsen needs to get the new students used to the school, and used to English at Hellgate. Because everyone has to take it, Larsen uses his English 1 class, especially at the beginning, to get students used to the new schedule and see where their English level is at.
Starting her third year at Hellgate, Hannah Pepper teaches Chemistry and Earth & Space Science. Over the summer, Pepper took two online college courses on teaching, organized her room, and painted her wall. Because they are constantly using supplies, she doesn’t supply everything all at once. Supplies that are used are often supplied throughout the year, as labs and classes keep rolling.
In terms of freshmen – similarly to Larsen – Pepper gets her students used to the new high school schedule. Her younger classes are much more structured with things such as seating charts and warm ups, just to get freshman familiar with high school without jumping into anything super different.
Judson Miller has been the principal at Hellgate High School for 10 years now and has been very busy for the beginning of the year. Miller has a year-long contract, meaning he technically has to work all throughout the summer. During the summer, Miller works on setting up budgets, hiring staff, and planning teacher training. He works on making sure every teacher has what they need, and everyone has school information that they can use.
Miller brought back the “Back to School Pizza Party” to smooth the transition into the start of school and to get new students and parents used to the big change. As one of the faces of the school, Miller needs to present himself to the students. To do this, he said he goes to events, subs for classes, and occasionally will hang out in the halls to get to know the students.
Ashley Wineman has been one of the school librarians for two years now, previously teaching English 2 and IB English Year 1. The librarians primarily work on checking out computers, setting up for library orientation and booking spaces for teachers. Inventory is taken twice each year, with the first one starting the week of Sept. 15.
Wineman, who was actively working on a list of students who hadn’t turned in a Chromebook from the prior year, commented on the shortage of Chromebooks at the beginning of the year, saying how the district buys and sends the computers, and enough were not sent. She said that they were in constant communication with the district to get it figured out. She also mentioned that they would do certain things, such as her list, to help get more computers that were possibly taken and not returned.
This is a busy, and important time of year, for both students and staff, and is nice when it is rolling smoothly. The preparation and time teachers and staff take to start their classes is very important to making sure that their class and the school runs smoothly for the rest of the year.
