Just after the sun peaked over the horizon, the doors opened to East Central Elementary School welcoming familiar faces and new students for the 2021-2022 school year.
Dr. Wesley Styles, school principal, enlisted the help of Rome City Schools’ favorite cheerleader-in-chief, Willie the Wolf, to pose for pictures with students. EC’s faculty and staff were on hand to answer questions and help ease the anxiety for youngsters who may have the first-day jitters.
Carter Griffin is starting Kindergarten this year. He held tight to his mother, Ashley, as he waited to cross the bus lanes. When asked what he was most excited about, he gave an answer common to the youngest Wolves in the Pack.
“I can’t wait to get on the playground,” said Carter.
With a focus on instruction, Dr. Styles said that there will also be a healthy dose of sliding and swinging on the playground.
“I think everyone is excited about the opportunity to have a little more sense of normalcy,” said Dr. Styles. “Obviously, we are still taking precautions and we are working to keep everyone safe. Last year, we were really focused on COVID and just trying to make it through the school year. Now, we are excited to focus more on academics and academic achievement.”
Dr. Styles said over the last two days, he has asked his teachers to concentrate on instruction.
“I am glad we had our Meet the Teacher event early because it required our faculty to get their rooms ready ahead of time. So, those extra days for instructional focus really helped us to hit the ground running. Our numbers are up this year, so we are also thrilled to welcome a lot of new faces,” Dr. Styles said. “This is going to be a great school year.”
Go Wolves!!!
