Concord Students Head Back-To-School On Monday

CONCORD, NH — Vacation is over for Concord students but school officials learned a bit the week before during the first full week of students back inside classrooms, full time, since March 2020.

The week of April 19, most SAU 8 students were in school for the first full week in more than a year. Most students who were fully remote students are still fully remote with most hybrid students back in class.

Michael Reardon, the principal of Concord High School, said things were pretty smooth getting back into the swing of things.

"Frankly, I figured the first few days would be a bit messy, but that has not been the case thus far," he said. "Kids fell into the day's rhythm almost immediately."

The school has three commons that used to be filled with old metal lockers that were cleared out and available for lunch, he said. It "continues to be difficult (impossible?) to maintain spacing as kids pass between classes but overall things have gone quite well."

Paulette Fitzgerald, the principal of Rundlett Middle School, also said the return was great — comparing it to the building coming back to life.

"The students were really excited to see friends and our planning paid off," she said. "Arrival and dismissal had some minor delays, but overall pretty darn smooth."

Some students had to "picnic (without ants)" in the school's new activity room but some extra tables were ordered to extend lunch. Some students confirmed a few parent complaints that children were eating on the floor on Monday. But by Tuesday, there were extra chairs and tables, the students confirmed.

"(They) were really great sports about that," she said.

Rundlett students were "pretty great" with their masks and social distancing in classrooms. It was also spirit week at the school, organized by the student council, and Fitzgerald called it a success.

"I agree with Mike that maintaining social distancing parameters in the hallways is tough — but the students respond to reminders," she added.

New Hampshire SAS Testing will start this week and the schools are adjusting their schedules to accommodate the testing.

It is also Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week this week. Parents interested in giving a teacher or staff member a shoutout can email messages to glc2020@sau8.org.

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