The sun still rose behind rural Southside School when parents arrived to drop off their children for the first day of school.
The rural campus–located off Southside Road, across the street from orchards and rolling, brown hills—is home to about 240 students, including a single class of eighth graders that will move to San Benito High School next fall.
Most students already knew their teachers since the small K-8 campus has just nine of them, explained Eric Johnson, the principal and superintendent.
“Most kids, after they’ve been here a year, know all the teachers,” Johnson said. “It’s not so much the surprise of a new teacher but there is the surprise of a new class, a new desk.”
As Hollister resident Blake Abercrombie, 9, headed to his first day of fourth-grade classes, he looked forward to participating in the science fair this year, a benefit that came with his new grade level, he said.
“My favorite subject is probably either spelling or math,” he said.
“Oh, that’s a new one,” said his mother, Wendy. “Math being his favorite subject is new.”
Blake Abercrombie has attended Southside since kindergarten, so he already knew the school’s instructors, his mother explained.
“There’s only one teacher per grade, so they grow up with them,” she said.
Wendy Abercrombie, a seventh and eighth grade teacher at the school, knows firsthand the bond that forms between students and their instructors. She also had her own expectations for the new school year.
“I think I’m looking forward to watching the eighth graders grow and turn into high schoolers,” she said.
For Hollister resident Lauren Scott, who stood next to a line of backpacks on the asphalt and watched her daughter play, the day was a bit more emotional. Scott’s daughter, Siena, 4, was starting transitional kindergarten, a class for those yet to meet the age requirements for kindergarten.
“I’m nervous for her,” she said, as she held her toddler, Beau, 2, and looked toward the playground. “And I haven’t been like that since I’ve been in school.”
Scott’s older brothers attended this school in the 1980s, about the time that the campus picked its bulldog mascot and campus colors, she said. They now live in Los Angeles, Scott said.
“So they are excited that she’s going here,” Scott said. “It’s like a new generation.”
Along the side of the school, another mother, Season Contreras, watched as her children, Emilie and William, caught up with friends. Emilie, 9, looked forward to having new teachers this year, the student said. The fifth grader also happily anticipated being in two classrooms during the school day, a perk that went with her new grade level, she said. Her brother, William, 11, was focused on the social side of returning to school.
“I’m excited to see all my friends again,” he said.
They greeted the early morning with carefully coordinated outfits and new backpacks that spelled out their names.
“It’s exciting. They were really excited,” said their mom. “They were up early.”
