Lee County School District welcomes students back for first day of 2022-23 school year
Aug. 4—MOOREVILLE — Hundreds of sixth through eighth grade students returned to Mooreville Middle School students crowded through the doors on Thursday morning as the Lee County School District's 2022-23 school year began.
Pat Comer, Mooreville Middle School principal, said he and his staff are excited to welcome students back to school. He said they expect to have a good year.
"If we have high expectations for our students, then our students will strive to achieve those expectations and make us a better school, and in turn, a better community," Comer said.
His No. 1 goal for the year is to maintain a safe and secure school. While every school's mission is to educate students, Comer said security must come first so that students will be ready and able to learn.
Parker Smith, an eighth grader at Mooreville Middle, said he's not ready to be back in school and wants summer back, but enjoyed seeing all of his friends again Thursday.
He's looking forward to the "new responsibilities, new people and new experiences" that a grade change brings, along with moving on to high school next year.
Della Rea Hussey, another eighth grade student, said it felt good to be back at school after a long summer.
She's looking forward to excelling in classes and earning good grades.
Despite any lingering first-day jitters, both Smith and Hussey say they are excited for sports this year. Smith plays basketball, football and baseball. Hussey is a member of the basketball, cheerleading and cross country teams.
Kathy Collier, an eighth grade science teacher at Mooreville, is entering her fifth year as a teacher at Mooreville and her 29th year overall as an educator.
It was wonderful to have students back on campus Thursday, she said. No matter how many times she experiences it, the first of the year is always exciting.
She has two goals this year: student safety, both in her classroom and across campus, and achievement. She wants to ensure her students reach their potential.
On the same day Collier began her 29th year, eighth grade Mississippi studies/geography teacher Hallie Brown began her first.
A 2017 graduate of Mooreville High School, Brown said her first day went better than she'd expected.
"I had jitters at first, but luckily I had a really good first period that made me feel comfortable," Brown said.
She hopes to inspire a love for history among her students this year.
"So many students think it's boring and I want to change that," Brown said. "There's so much rich history that we're going to talk about that they need to know and I want them to be able to enjoy it."
