OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — On Thursday morning, Papillion La Vista Community Schools welcomed kids back for the first day of classes. Principal of Patriot Elementary, Matt Hilderbrand said seeing kids ready for school, in their backpacks and walking the halls is the highlight of his day.
"Honestly it’s a chill of excitement our theme this year is roar with pride, its nice to restore some of that community building and prideful activities w have with our kids," Hilderbrand said.
Hilderbrand says the school is doing what they can to keep students safe while still having a great school year.
"We’re really excited some of the things we’ve typically done in the past we’re able to do again this year but we also have a lot of our safety precautions still in place to make sure we’re taking care of our kids the best we can. Our teachers have done a great job preparing physical spaces, we’ve got hand sanitizer stations in each classroom and just making the most of all our physical space to welcome them back," Hilderbrand said.
This year, as they roar with pride, Hilderbrand wants the Lions to form deeper connections.
"Bringing our kids to the carpet, engaging kids in morning circles, engaging in socio-emotional learning with them and just in being able to make that deeper connection with them, forming relationships in a way that just represents who we are as a school," Hilerbrand said.
Families are happy their students are back in the classroom and are excited to see. what the year brings.
"I’m just excited for them to get a new routine down, coming into school and meeting their friends and getting back into school subjects and see where their interests are this year," Amanda Simpson, a parent of two Patriot Elementary students said.
