Back To School: Coweta County students start Aug. 6
By REBECCA LEFTWICHrebecca@newnan.com
Lightning bugs are still glowing but the Fourth of July has come and gone, so it’s time to shop for new pencil boxes and gear up for the 2012-13 school year.
Pre-planning for all teachers in the Coweta County School System (CCSS) begins on Wednesday, Aug. 1, and students head back Aug. 6.
“My favorite part of back to school is meeting new students and welcoming back students who were with us last year,” said Dr. Jan Franks, who has been principal at Arnall Middle School for five years.
Franks advises parents to relax as they get their children ready for the start of school and to let school staff to help ease the transition, especially for students new to middle school. She said the more at ease the parents are, the less anxious their children will be about starting school.
“My advice to parents is to breathe,” Franks said. “We understand they may have anxieties of their child beginning a new school or at a new level. We are here to help in this transition.”
“Learning how to successfully navigate these types of changes instill a level of confidence in their child and this confidence will lay the foundation as their child transitions to high school which will be here in a blink of an eye,” Franks added.
Parents and students are welcome to visit schools for orientation Friday, Aug. 3. Teachers will not be available for formal conferences, but administrators say plenty of staff will be on hand to answer questions and welcome students back.
“My favorite part of back to school time is meeting and greeting the students and parents during orientation,” said Melissa Wimbush, principal at Evans Middle School. “I always enjoy listening to the summer vacation stories.”
Wimbush said talking with their children is the best way for parents to help prepare them for a new school year.
“Begin now having discussions about ways to have a successful school year,” she said. “Talk about expectations, set goals together, and emphasize the value of learning by encouraging their children to do their very best.”
Orientation times are:
• All middle schools, 10 a.m.-noon
• All elementary schools, noon- 2 p.m.
• All high schools, 2-4 p.m.
“I love the excitement that is in the air at school on that first morning,” said Evan Horton, who is in his first year as principal of East Coweta High School. To get ready for the return of students, Horton said, “Our administrative team has been meeting throughout the summer to analyze our school achievement data, develop our school improvement plan and goals and to develop our professional learning goals for the upcoming year.”
Goal-setting also is a priority for Dr. Therese Redekopp, principal of Northgate High School.
“Each year, I look forward to setting goals to make the school year even better than the one before,” said Redekopp, who is in her 10th year at Northgate.
To smooth the transition for parents and students, information about transportation, registration and after-school programs also will be made available.
School bus routes for the new year soon will be posted on www.cowetaschools.org , and routes also will be posted on the Newnan Times-Herald website at www.times-herald.com . A representative of the transportation department will be available at each school during the Aug. 3 orientations and on the first day of school to provide information on bus routes.
Parents who wish to sign their children up for the Coweta County School System’s (CCSS) tuition-based After School Program will be able to do so Aug. 2-3. The program is filled on a space-available basis.
New students are registered at the Registration Center, which is located at 167 Werz industrial Drive in Newnan, off the Millard Farmer Industrial Boulevard/ Highway 34 bypass near Bullsboro Drive. To register a child for school, contact the Central Registration Center at 770-554-5551 for an appointment.
More information about registration and printable registration forms can be found online at www.cowetaschools.org/registration .
A student must attend the school in the district in which his or her residence is located. To find out which elementary, middle and high school districts serve an address, call the Coweta County School System Transportation Department at 770-254-2820.
