Newton Municipal School District teachers got ready for the new school year Wednesday with a Back-to-School Breakfast and Pep rally in the Newton High School Auditorium.
Teachers and administrators arriving at the school were treated to mini-muffins, fresh fruit and granola by the Newton Chamber of Commerce, munching on the breakfast and catching up with each other while waiting for the pep rally to kick off.
“We’re going back to school,” Yolanda Magee, a 6th grade teacher, said. “We’re excited!”
After breakfast, NMSD staff gathered in the auditorium to meet their new superintendent, Dr. Glenda Nickson, who welcomed them back for another year.
“I welcome you to inspire hope, not only in yourselves and in your coworkers, but in your children. I welcome you to instill love in each and everyone you come in contact with,” Nickson said. “I welcome you this year to offer an endless supply of influence on your students, so they can continue to be creative.”
Nickson told the gathered teachers they would need to bring passion, hard work and cooperation to Newton Municipal School District. By working together, helping and supporting each other and always working to inspire and instruct the students, she said the district could and would give all students the tools to succeed.
“All children, all students, not half of them, not two-thirds, not just the tall ones or the short ones, but all students will graduate from this great district college or career ready,” she said.
After spending a month meeting the district staff, teachers and the community, Nickson said she could see how the residents of Newton rallied behind and supported their children’s education. She tasked the teachers and staff with keeping that trust and honoring their mission of providing a quality education for all the district students.
Nickson encouraged the teachers to be tenacious in pursuing goals, to imagine the impossible and then try to reach it and to not only educate students but inspire them to reach heights they may not think possible.
Remember, she said, “be a tiger.”
