Get ready: School starts soon

For many of us it probably seems like “just yesterday” when Franklin County and Russellville City Schools let out for the summer. The past two months have been filled with family vacations, athletic camps, community events, pool parties and more as our students, teachers and administrators have enjoyed a little extra time outside the classroom.

But as The Byrds and the Bible so eloquently put it, to everything there is a season – turn turn turn – and the school season is upon us. In less than three weeks, that all-important first day of school will welcome both returning students and new Pre-K/kindergarteners to the land of learning.

We’re sure the reactions to this realization range from excitement to dread – among the students as well as their teachers. It can be hard to say goodbye to the sweet golden days of summer, when we all have time to take an extra breath, lounge late on the porch with just one more ice cream bar and watch as everything slips by slowly. On the other hand, the return of school can bring a delightful sense of anticipation and a relief at the thought of returning to schedule and routine.

Whatever your personal reaction, we’d like to encourage you to take advantage of the final few days of summer vacation.

Dust off that summer bucket list you eagerly made at the end of May. Have you gone to that drive-in movie? Hosted a slip-n-slide in the back yard? Gotten together with family for a Saturday cookout? Now is the time.

It’s not that you can’t do any of these things when school is back in session – after all, summer lasts roughly until Thanksgiving and sometimes beyond here in Alabama – but there’s just something about those lazy days when the school doors are closed. Bedtimes are suspended and the word homework has almost lost its meaning.

Make these finals days of summer break memorable. Pack them full of everything that makes summer vacation such a treasured time.

We know our local teachers and administrators are already hard at work planning their lessons, organizing their schedules and ensuring a bright year of top-notch education for Franklin students. The first day of school will be here before we know it.