GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — It was an exciting morning for Green Bay students, parents, and teachers as children walked through the doors for their first day of school on Wednesday.
Green Bay Area Public Schools (GBAPS) are excited to welcome students for a brand new school year.
Here is a look at how it looked Wednesday morning at King Elementary school as children were being dropped off by parents and were walking in:
For one student entering the third grade, Molly Sheir said she’s excited to interact with her peers and continue to challenge herself in her educational goals.
“New classmates, new teacher, and that it’s a stem school, so we’ll be learning about math, technology, science, and stuff like that,” Sheir said.
Another student entering 1st grade, Shengyee Lee shares she was feeling a mix of emotions today.
"A bit excited and a bit nervous,” Lee said. “Last night I woke up in the night and I thought it was morning so I dressed up and then I went outside, but it was still night time. So I was like ‘oh, it’s still nighttime, got to go to sleep again,”
The two young girls expressed how they can’t wait to see their friends and share with them what they did this summer.
“We took a trip to Boston and Connecticut because we have a lake house there,” Shier said.
“I did a lot of fun things like well, I went to Florida, I went to Sea World, saw belugas, dolphins, it was my birthday, went to Disney, I got a balloon and we went to a hotel,” Lee said.
For Upton and Jennifer Howard, it was an emotional day for mom and dad as they dropped off their son at school.
“Our son is thrilled, he’s five, he’s going into Kindergarten, he couldn't be more excited,” Jennifer said. “He’s been putting his backpack by the door every night in case he would get called early, so he’s excited.”
“He’s been really anxious, really excited about going,” Upton said.
Along with teachers and staff, Wisconsin’s Governor Tony Evers also was on campus welcoming students and parents for the first day.
“Well I think one of the things that is really important to have him here with kids when they start school is to see the families and understand the impact public education has not only in our community but as a State as whole,” said Stephen Murley, GBAPS Superintendent.
The district’s superintendent, who was also at King Elementary School, expressed how happy he was to see all the smiles on the children's faces.
“Today is a fantastic day, I think it might been the best first day of school I’ve had in my career. The opportunity to have the kids on-site and in-class is just unbelievable,” Murley said. “It’s been a heck of a build-up we’ve spent the entire summer learning from what we went through last year, prepping for not only the classroom and instruction but making sure that students and their families are going to feel safe and secure when they’re in school.”
Superintendent Murley also touched on masks being required in schools.
“The most important thing we can do is get kids in school today and then keep them in school through June and we know that the students that are 12 and under cannot be vaccinated yet, so its one of the small steps we can take to make sure we can get kids in school and keep them in school,” Murley said.
He goes on to reassure families that their children are in good hands.
“I think one of the things we want to make sure they understand is how much time, energy, and effort has been put into preparing for their kids to come back. Whether that’s the instruction performance they’re going to experience or the safety that they’re going to experience when in the classroom,” Murley said.
For Diane Stelmach, King Elementary’s principal, she kicked off her 14th school year there and her 22nd year as an administrator for the district.
“I’m so excited to be back in person today with our kids. This is going to be the best year ever,” Stelmach said. “I think because we were virtual for most of the year last year that this year is going to be even more exciting because we get to make up for the lost time that we had last year. So we’re going to do everything that we can to make it engaging, and fun, and hands-on, and COVID free.”
“I anticipate we will follow whatever the School board recommends, which I’m just happy that we have the kids five days a week and whatever is decided is going to be In the best interest of the students. And we’ll follow that because I want the kids here every day until the end of the school year,” Stelmach said.
She emphasized how much staying in-person is one of her top expectations this school year.
When asked about the district’s upcoming school board meeting on September 13, where the topic of masks will surely be brought up, the principal said she just wants what is best for the children.
“I want to work as hard as we can to make sure that we’re here in-person every day, because there’s nothing that replaces that in-person contact with students so they are feeling as though they have a place, a community that they can come to every day and feel welcomed and accepted. And that learning is accelerated with their classroom teacher,” Stelmach said.
She like many other educators, also reassuring parents their children will be safe.
“They are in fantastic hands, we love the kids and we will do everything that we can to make sure their emotional well-being, as well as their academic well being, is in the best hands possible. We’re going to take care of them because we care about them,” Stelmach said.
