Grapeland Sandies Start a New School Year
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
GRAPELAND – The Grapeland Independent School District (GISD) welcomed students back to school Wednesday, Aug. 17. Teachers and administrators had already been working hard on new learning techniques and revising security protocols.
Finally, the kids themselves made their entrance into schools to begin the new year. At Grapeland Elementary, Principal Cassie Satterwhite has a long history with GISD. Satterwhite graduated from Grapeland High School in 2006. She has worked as an educator for 14 years – seven of those in Grapeland – and the last six as Elementary School Principal.
Satterwhite herself is excited some of the children just beginning their school careers when she became principal, are now moving to higher grades, and in a few years, will be graduating high school.
“So my pre-K kids that I started with are in fifth grade this year,” Satterwhite said. “It’s really nice because you build relationships from when they start in pre-K and you build them every year.”
Asked how the first day back in class was going, Satterwhite said, “So smooth! We have some awesome parents that watched our posts online about our staggered start – so our parking lot wasn’t just jam-packed. Everything’s going great!”
In Kelly Parker’s fifth-grade class, the students were busy working on reading. The 17-year veteran said fifth grade is an important year for students.
“They are the leaders on campus,” Parker explained. “We want to see lots of growth this year. We are looking for a lot of improvement over last year. The kids are awesome; they’re excited to be here – they are already working hard.”
Principal Satterwhite also showed off the new music room where a class was learning the basics of classroom etiquette before they get into the notes and scales.
“We are excited to start a music program this year,” Satterwhite explained. “To get our kids singing. Research shows that it helps with math.”
At the high school, first-year principal Aimee Johnson was working with her staff to iron the bugs of any first day.
“My computer in my classroom just died,” exclaimed one teacher. Johnson was soon on the job to make sure the problem was handled.
Johnson worked for many years in both Palestine and Elkhart before coming to Grapeland. She explained how the security measures now mandated by the State of Texas have taken some time to plan and implement and make sure the children are safe. Visitors must enter at only one door and be given permission before they can come on campus. Doors to classrooms are locked individually.
Johnson said she feels at home working in Grapeland, which is so similar to Elkhart where she grew up.
“It’s nice,” Johnson said. “Because we share very similar values. Our kids mean everything to us. In a bigger school, I would still see kids every day I didn’t know. I don’t like that. I like to know my teachers and my kids. It means something.”
Just a few doors down the hall a veteran of the Messenger’s pages worked quietly in his classroom between teaching periods. Principal Johnson joked the new high school history teacher had tried to escape but they had caught him in time. The beloved Will Johnson said the first day brought good results and sore feet.
“I really enjoyed the first day,” Will said. “The students are getting used to the new rules and regulations just like some of the teachers – myself included. It’s going smooth!”
The students in Mrs. Elizabeth Brown’s Spanish II class were busy listening to Spanish language recordings after finishing their first assignment for the year. Tenth-grader Brianna Smith missed sleeping in, but said Spanish II will help improve her abilities to speak the Español.
“It is important to learn Spanish,” Smith said. “Especially since we are so close to the border. It’s always good to know a second language. It will give you a lot of job opportunities when you are older.”
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
