Thousands of students in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District streamed back into schools on Wednesday, kicking off the start of the new school year.
Wednesday morning found Chip Abolafia speaking into a microphone in Soldotna High School administrative office. Clad in SoHi’s signature navy blue and white, his voice echoed through the school’s lunchroom.
“Welcome back to school,” he said. “Happy first day. This is Mr. Abolafia, your new principal, please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.”
It’s the first day of school for the SoHi stars. But it’s Abolafia’s first day of school, too. He’s new to the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s largest school and was ready to welcome students back to the building.
“They're wonderful students,” he said. “I've seen them the last couple weeks at sporting events, at practices, and they want to come to school. And my goal here is really to make sure that this place remains open to them, that they feel comfortable walking through doors every day.”
Down the hall, Lana Strouse is starting her eighth year in the school’s student nutrition department. She knows a lot of the faces in the halls because both her children are students at SoHi.
“I love feeding the kids,” she said. “So seeing them all here is really cool. A lot of new faces, but they were all smiling this morning.”
Strouse’s daughter is a freshman, and she says she’s looking forward to the next four years.
“What I look forward to is to make sure that every belly is full and they eat what they need,” she said.
The student drop off line is bustling at Redoubt Elementary School, just across Justin Maile Field from SoHi.
Near the school entrance, Raleigh West is getting supplies together with his mom and sister. He’s going into sixth grade at Redoubt, and he says there’s a lot he’s excited about.
“Meeting new people in the school and figuring out where I'm supposed to be going to right now,” he said. “So, pretty much, yeah, and seeing old friends.”
But West says this first day of school is also bittersweet.
“The sad thing is this year's my last year here, and I'm a bit excited because, well, new year, but also a little bit sad because, well, next I'll be going all the way over there,” he said.
Ayden Cunningham is also going into sixth grade. Like West, he’s looking forward to an exciting year with teacher Christopher Parrish.
“I'm excited because I got in the class with my favorite teacher and my friends,” he said.
Cunningham’s especially excited about going on field trips.
“Yeah, I'm looking forward to — they said there's a lot of field trips,” he said. “One almost every month, I'm pretty sure.”
Jason Williams is Redoubt’s principal. He estimates hundreds of families attended the school’s Tuesday night open house, and says staff morale is high. The school’s theme this year is positivity and Williams says staff will be focused on positive behavior intervention and support for students.
“I just kind of read the situation and kind of help make them feel as comfortable as possible, because, you know, we were all there once,” he said. “So, you know, you get those first day jitters, and we just want to make kids as comfortable as possible and just let them know this is a positive place for them to be.”
Back at SoHi, principal Abolafia said he’s no stranger to those feelings of anxiety on the first day of school. To students dealing with their own first day jitters, he says it’s important they know they’re not alone.
“Even if this is your first day, you've never been to SoHi before, you're brand new to town, just realize that you have a lot of caring adults that are here,” he said. “Talk to us. We'll find you. We will see you. And there's nothing to fear. There's a little just first day nerves, but it's going to get better. You're going to meet plenty of wonderful people here at the school, and we're glad to have you.”
KPBSD’s districtwide calendar, updated school bus routes and other back-to-school information can be accessed on the district’s website at kpbsd.org.
