News

August 23, 2018 Celebrations

Liberty welcomes back students

Red CarpetThere was a red carpet entrance with Sioux City teachers acting as paparazzi by taking pictures of entering pupils, and lots of other ways the first day of school dawned on Thursday in Northwest Iowa.

The red carpet treatment at Liberty Elementary School in Sioux City also involved teachers asking young students for autographs, high-fiving them and ringing bells as they entered the main entrance. A huge gathering of pupils gave the flash mob treatment as the recent hit song “Best Day of My Life” by American Authors played.

“Today we just wanted our kids to be the stars of the show,” Principal Stacie Henderson said.

Henderson said the goal was to show students how excited school personnel were to begin the new year, and to make the pupils feel valued and comfortable, which she said makes them more likely to learn well than if feeling disaffected.

“What students see, feel and hear on Day One is crucial for Days Two to 180,” Henderson said.

“Our goal is to make the school a place kids want to be.”

View the full story from the Sioux City Journal
by Bret Hayworth