Dist. 303 parents, teachers excited as new school year unfolds

Wild Rose Elementary School kindergarten teacher Katherine Thompson is excited to be able to spend more time with her students this school year.

Because of the pandemic, kindergarten was only offered as half day for the 2020-2021 school year.

“I’m so excited for a little bit of normalcy,” Thompson said as she greeted her students on Wednesday, the first day of classes for Dist. 303 students. “I have my kids all day this year after I only had them for two hours and 15 minutes last year. So now they really get to dive deep into the curriculum and do what kindergartners are meant to do. Last year was tough, but we got through it.”

Later in the day, a handful of schools in the district did experience power outages after strong storms moved through the area. Fortunately, the outages were short lived.

Former St. Charles School Board President Nick Manheim was also happy that this school year is more normal than the beginning of last school year. His son is starting first grade at Wild Rose.

“I’m excited that they’re getting the full day back,” he said. “I’m excited that they get a little bit of normalcy back.”

Sharon and Jorge Nava were also upbeat as they brought their child Nari, 5, to Wild Rose for her first day of kindergarten.

“We’re excited about her starting kindergarten in general,” Sharon Nava said. “And we’re excited about her being with other kids.”

She admitted though, she is concerned about the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. Her daughter is 5 years old and not yet eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

“We’re glad that the governor put in the mask mandate,” Nava said. “We’re happy with that.”

In the face of a surging number of COVID-19 cases caused by the highly transmissible delta variant, Gov. JB Pritzker’s issued an executive order mandating that masks be worn indoors by all teachers, staff, students and visitors, regardless of vaccination status.

Carol Smith, director of communications and community relations for Dist. 303, said if a student does not have a mask, one will be provided.

“Each school is equipped to handle any issues that may arise on a case-by-case basis,” Smith said.

Maya Collins’ daughter Nicole also started kindergarten on Wednesday.

“She’s been at home with me for the past year due to COVID,” Collins said. “She’s ready to learn and she’s ready to make new friends.”

Smith said she was pleased with how the first day of school went.

“Children were happy to be back at school, teachers were thrilled to see their students and parents were appreciative of the staff members’ efforts,” Smith said.