You’re off to great places. Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!
~ Dr. Seuss
A mother walks her daughter to the first day of school at Valley View Elementary on Monday morning.
By Mary O’KEEFE
he first week of school has begun for the Glendale Unified School District and for many students construction will be part of their back to school welcome.
Relocations of bungalows and new buildings at La Crescenta and Fremont elementary schools and Crescenta Valley High School are all part of the Measure S bond money dedicated to school improvements. Although it has not been a full week yet, the construction is creating few issues for students.
“As for construction, it doesn’t really play a role in disrupting my education in any other period than my economics,” said Alex Khazhakyan, a CVHS senior. “My teacher must stop presenting because no one can hear him over the exasperating noise. [But] so far it hasn’t been too bad.”
It is a concern, he added, having to work around the noise while continuing to retain the information presented.
The cycle of education begins for many students as a stressful event –leaving mom and dad to enter the academic world on their own. And as anyone can attest who was at their child’s first day of school, it is just as stressful for parents to let go of their little one’s hand as they walk into that building that will be their home away from home for the next seven years. The cycle ebbs and flows, as witnessed when new seventh graders enter Rosemont Middle School – they’re comforted seeing old friends and excited about making new ones.
Then it is that final journey to high school where, for many, school gets serious. College, trade school and the future is on the minds of many who enter the high school doors for the first time. For seniors it is a mix of the stress of college and the excitement of free periods.
“For the time being senior year has been treating me fairly well in terms of scheduling and free time since I am able to leave by lunch time. Having that freedom feels so great and I actually have time to relax and get all my work done without having to worry about it getting in the way of my sleep,” Khazhakyan said. “I also have one of my closest friends in three of my classes, which I am so thankful for.”
However the stress of the future is never far from his mind.
“It has only been three days, but I can already feel the pressure of standardized testing and college applications around the corner. I feel as if it is going to be an insurmountable amount of stress once all that kicks into play. But I’ll just take it step by step and ease my way into it instead of procrastinating like I normally would.”
The district has made it easier for parents to complete forms by offering them online, assuring that they are returned to the school in a timely manner.
Parents can update or prepare the parent connect and emergency contact information and sign up for free or reduced lunch online as well at www.gusd.net.
Parents and students can also support their school by joining the PTA and PTSA online on their school’s website. There are also forms in the school’s offices.
School is about education but it is also about the friends made along the way, something not lost on Khazhakyan.
“I really am enjoying my senior year so far and I’m thankful I have such sweet friends to share my last year of high school with,” he said. “It has been a long ride and they have been by my side the whole way. It feels very good knowing I get to finish my last year of high school with the guys who have been able to deal with me for so long.”
One of the best ways for parents to discover what to expect for the upcoming school year is at the Back to School events. Below is a list of Back to School dates and times:
Clark Magnet High School, Aug. 31 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Crescenta Valley High School, Aug. 31 at 5:30 p.m.
Daily High School, Sept. 8 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Rosemont Middle School, Aug. 11 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Elementary Schools:
Dunsmore, Aug. 25 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Fremont, Aug. 18 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for fourth to sixth grades and from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for kindergarten to third grades.
La Crescenta, Aug. 18 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Lincoln, Aug. 18 at 6:30 p.m.
Monte Vista, Aug. 18 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Mountain Avenue, Aug. 18 form 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Valley View, Aug. 18 from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. for kindergarten to third grades and from 7:05 p.m. to 7:35 p.m. for fourth to sixth grades
College View, Aug. 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Cloud Preschool EELP, Aug. 31 at 10 a.m. Room 1 and Sept. 1 at 10 a.m. in Room 2
Cloud Preschool Special Education, Aug. 31 from 6:15 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Building A Solid Future added by CV Weekly on
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