For parents and students in Sedona and the Verde Valley, this week is big news as kids begin returning to school.
Growing up in the Phoenix area, our schools got out at the end of May; we had June and July and most of August to hang out and goof off, sprinkled with organized activities like summer camps in Prescott or on Mingus Mountain, trips to waterparks, lots and lots of summer reading, summer movie releases and generally forgetting everything we learned in the spring. Once August arrived, the countdown to our last few weeks began.
Perhaps because we did forget lots of what we learned the spring prior, and because August was spent reteaching the previous May, most districts in Arizona moved up their calendars over the decades so that kids graduate a bit sooner, but also start school way sooner. In the Sedona-Oak Creek School District, kids will be going back to school on Thursday, Aug. 6. Sedona Charter School kids return on Wednesday, Aug. 5. The Camp Verde, Mingus Union and Cottonwood-Oak Creek school districts all started a bit earlier.
We’ll be running photos of their returns to school or first day so readers can vicariously relive those moments with their own kids.
For parents and children, the last two weeks have been a crunch period before school as stores are stocked with school supplies, new clothes and backpacks. An old JanSport used to last several years and get passed down, and we rarely had many choices other than about 12 colors. The options now are wide-ranging and mind-numbing. Not all kids and parents in Sedona and the Verde Valley have the resources for backpacks, clothes or classroom supplies, so if you’re out and of the mind to help a local student in need, buy one, contact West Sedona School, Sedona Red Rock High School or a local charter school, ask what they need and donate. Keep an eye out for any community nonprofit collecting school supplies or school clothes and donate what you can offer.
If you want to help in other ways, but don’t have kids in school anymore and are looking to help students after they graduate, start thinking now about setting up a scholarship through the Arizona Community Foundation of Sedona. You can tailor these to reflect your values and interests so that students who share them get a little bit of help as they move onto college or the job market.
One of the most important aspects of preparing children for school is re-establishing routines. During summer break, schedules become lax, with late nights and irregular meal times. As the school year approaches, gradually reintroduce structure and routine, with a consistent bedtime and wake-up time to regulate sleep patterns. Get back into a morning routine now to make the transition smoother. Lay out clothes the night before in the days before school begins and pack backpacks with supplies.
If you’re not a parent, or don’t have any kids anymore, just be aware if you’re out on Sedona’s roads: The turns off of State Route 89A onto Soldier Pass Road and Posse Grounds Road are busy between 8 and 9 a.m. and just before 3 p.m., so drive through those areas with caution, as parents are focused on picking up or dropping off their kids and may not have their eyes on the road, or are navigating into the turn lanes, sometimes last-minute if traffic is thick.
Also be cautious around Upper Red Rock Loop Road, where parents may be turning to take the kids to Sedona Red Rock High School. Many of those drivers are teens who may have freshly earned their driver’s licenses.
Thursday is going to be a big day for Sedona kids, but also for parents. Our twins are beginning pre-kindergarten at West Sedona School, where they’ll be joining their third-grade sister. They’re all very excited, as any parent can imagine. The twins have watched our daughter go off to school with me every morning and now they get to do the same and see what happens when they go all day.
We encourage a positive attitude toward going to school, making clear that it’s a good place to be, learning new things. Hopefully all three have that same attitude as the years march on. If I can offer any advice for the school year to come, it’s this: Make sure your kids see school not as an obligation, but as a fun place with new ideas; it may keep them interested in their academics and may smooth out the rough spots and anxieties as they come.
