Classrooms filled with students looking around, and nervous butterflies fill the pit of your stomach. Eyes scanning the new classrooms and faces, hopeful to see a friend. This is not a normal Monday at Davie High School: this is the first day of a new school year, a fresh start for all the students and teachers. Was your English teacher going to be strict, or your math seating chart straight out of your nightmares? Completely caught up in your ocean of flowing thoughts, you are startled by the bell ringing. There’s no turning back now.
On August 25, Davie County High School started the first day of its new school year, marking the beginning of a week that signified many new changes in both the school and the lives of students. This year, one of the most noticeable shifts has come with the introduction of a new principal, Cynthia Stone, who comes to the high school after being the principal at South Davie Middle School. In addition to Stone, a number of departments have hired new teachers, three in English alone.
Each new year marks a transition for students from one grade to another, and for many seniors, the first day, and the first week by extension, was bittersweet, marking the beginning of the end. With many seniors being given the opportunity to have fewer than four periods or be mainly at Davidson-Davie Community College (DDCC), some have come into this final year of high school with schedules that look quite different than before. Alyssa Marion is one such senior. Her first day of classes begins with an annual back-to-school picture, the last one on her childhood front porch. This year, her only class on campus is Teaching as a Profession, so she has a late start and shows up at Davie at the beginning of the second period. After that class, she heads home to work on her online classes.
“Senior year is bittersweet—it’s sad that this year will be my last year with all of my friends, and there are so many memories I’ve made here, but I’m so excited to see all of the achievements I’ve made through the years and can’t wait for something new to come!”
On the other end of high school, the sophomores are just getting started. Sophomores have to have all four classes, but are finally venturing out of the freshman hallway. For sophomore Rachel Starkey, this year is filled with new challenges. Taking different AP and Honors classes is an intimidating experience, yet it somehow still seems familiar.
“My first impression of sophomore year was decent,” Starkey shares. “I wouldn’t say my nerves were nearly as bad as freshman year, and I was pretty confident in going back.”
For many seniors, the year didn’t start on Monday morning; it started the day before at senior sunrise. The seniors met up on the hill next to the bus lot and watched the sunrise. Taking pictures and reminiscing about the past three years was a bittersweet start for many.
“Initially, I didn’t want to go to senior sunrise. It was too early, but as I thought it over, I realized that this may be the last year that I see a lot of these people,” shares senior Bryson Lantz. “This is why I chose to go, and despite waking up late plus getting my feet soaked, it was very enjoyable, and a great way to start senior year.”
When the bell rings to signal the end of the first week, most students leave with thoughts filling their heads about what’s to come. Rushing out the doors to the bus or car lot, the student body is filled with chatter discussing this new chapter, an image that will be repeated every Friday until this year comes to a close, one that will be full of changes, but maybe not quite as scary as it may have seemed on the first day.
