How was your first day back-to-school?
Back-to-School week is generally exciting and full of surprises. On the first Tuesday back to school for faculty and staff, the East Coast experienced a 5.8 magnitude earthquake. Not something most Virginia Beach teachers have experienced. The floor rippled under my feet, my desk swayed, and the window blinds clacked together. Everyone had “what was THAT?” looks on their faces, immediately followed with, “Was that an EARTHQUAKE?” None the less, the school was clean, posters were up, books were on desks — the school was ready for students to come back by Wednesday afternoon.
By Thursday afternoon, faculty and staff were packing books and computers in plastic, picking everything up off the floor, turning off electricity, and wishing to go to their own homes to prepare for a possible hit by Hurricane Irene. One block from the Atlantic Ocean, the school was cancelled for Friday and Monday (the students’ first day back).
I am happy to write that power outages and damages were minimal. Back-to-School for students went well. They were excited to help unwrap and unpack. Just in case we felt a little too complacent, we lost electricity on Friday. No one blinked an eye; the students were old hands by now. Our first week back with students was exciting and full of surprises.
- Hurricane Irene damages Virginia Beach Fishing Pier located one block from school.
Cross referenced: Selig’s Shining Stars
