Private schools ready to open
Published 10:19 pm Saturday, August 20, 2011
Although public schools don’t start up for another two weeks, school buses are going to start making their rounds as the city’s private schools start classes this week.
School will be back in session at Nansemond-Suffolk Academy tomorrow and at First Baptist Christian School on Wednesday.
“We are so excited about school starting,” said Ashley Greene, the communications coordinator at NSA. “It’s been very busy.”
On Monday, about 800 students will report to NSA for preschool to 12th grade.
But for the past couple of weeks, teachers and staff have been working hard to get things ready for the first day.
Greene said she thinks most people don’t realize NSA gets started so much earlier than public schools, which go back Sept. 6.
“I think publicly people think about after Labor Day,” Greene said. “We’re early for even the independent schools.”
She said the school’s staff has been finishing big projects before the students get back.
Greene said the maintenance and housekeeping teams have been working tirelessly to complete repairs.
“They worked magic,” Greene said. “We’ve been working hard to upgrade bathrooms, and we had a lot of work to be done with some drainage.”
NSA also got a technology upgrade this summer, which included streamlining the computer network, upgrading its computers and enhancing the overall technology program.
To help its students get ready for the first day of school, NSA hosted a variety of welcome events for its students last week, including a sixth-grade orientation and a senior night.
“All the students from lower and middle were on campus (this week),” Greene said. “That was really exciting, because the teachers have been here all week gearing up for that.”
Also, the office has been busy with parents and students this week who are trying to get their files in order.
Community relations coordinator Tracie Thorndike said the admissions office has been busy for the past couple of weeks.
“There’s just a lot of paperwork right now,” she said. “We are preparing for a smooth transition for these families coming in.”
Thorndike added, “Our halls have been buzzing all this week and will do so until students report on Monday.”