August brings the last hurrahs of summer and school starting back. My oldest is a second grader and the youngest is in pre-k. This school year has been a little more challenging with both boys in school. One’s school is in the south part of the town, while the other is closest to our home.
The pre-k program in Dodge City has branched out into one of the elementary schools and has 4 classrooms at one of the oldest schools in town, Sunnyside Elementary. I was curious as to how old the school was, and found varying degrees of when it was constructed. There was an older building prior to what stands now, and I found some black and white photos of it. The current building was constructed in 1956, according to the school district site. It also had the following information:
Located on the very corner of what was once the dividing line between New Spain and the Louisiana Purchase, Sunnyside has a long history in southwest Kansas. Sunnyside Avenue was once an agricultural road from the late 19th century that provided farmers who lived southwest of Dodge City access to the bridge over the Arkansas River, currently located on Second Avenue. The school that sprang up on the street that bears its name is a vibrant and welcoming institution that is prepared to meet the challenge of this still young century.
It just so happens my Dad attended Sunnyside many years ago. I remember him mentioning it at one point. I have a photo I saved of him in grade school, but I can’t seem to find which school it was from. Nonetheless, it’s still a nice thought for the boys to know their Grandpa Orebaugh (who passed last year) went to the same school at some point.
Since the oldest started school I have tried to get a photo of him on the first day holding a chalkboard that says what day it was. Cheesy yes, but it’s important to document. If there’s no photo it didn’t happen, right? I felt like a crappy Mom on Monday because in the rush to get out the door in time for pre-k the youngest got duped on the photo op before school. I made up for it when we got home and took some photos of both boys and some of him by himself.
On the first day of pre-k, after the oldest and I left the youngest at his school, we headed to the other school. On the way he asked about something and our conversation lead to what computers looked like. I turn 40 in October, and often don’t think I’m that old, but a 7 year old does. Anyway, I explained to him when I was in elementary school, we had computers on rolling carts and the students shared them. I even Googled a photo of what the computers looked like. His class has iPads. They’ll never know the great joy it was when it was “Oregon Trail Day” on the computers.
This week on our podcast, HPJ Talk, Associate Editor Jennifer M. Latzke and I discussed first days of school, mostly those first days of our college careers. Listen in to get a little of our insight there. Managing Editor Dave Bergmeier also wrote about the start of school in the editorial for the Aug. 27 issue of the Journal. If you have thoughts or memories from your own school days, don’t be afraid to share them in the comments section below. Here’s to a successful school year!
