Excitement marks first day at Sidway Elementary School

Story and photos by Senior Contributing Writer Alice Gerard

Excitement was in the air on Sept. 3 at Sidway Elementary School for students, parents, grandparents, teachers – and for Principal Stephanie Anderson, who is beginning her second year at the school.

“My excitement level on a scale of 1 to 10 is probably at a 15,” Anderson said. “Last night, I didn’t sleep at all. I had my own personal case of first-day jitters. There’s something magical that happens here at Sidway on the very first day of school.

“We got a lot done over the summer. But just being able to open the doors and having our hallways filled with the little voices and the pitter patter of feet and the laughs and the friendships that are going to be formed is something that’s really, really magical.”

Physical education teacher Sam Tuttle, who greeted students at the door with high fives as their parents dropped them off, said, “I’m just excited to have all the kids back in school, seeing some familiar faces and getting a good start to the new school year.”

Gianna said her daughter, Giavanna, had been looking forward to her first day of school “all summer long. She loves math. She’s multiplying in first grade. Actually, in kindergarten. She cannot wait to learn new things in math. She was practicing this morning.”

“We have two kids going to school for their first day of school today,” said Giavanna’s father, Mike. “The oldest one is at Huth, and our middle kid is in her last year here at Sidway. Both of our kids are very excited. Our youngest doesn’t get to go to school for another two days. She is going to nursery school.”

“It’s so exciting that they could start their learning year and meet new friends,” Gianna said.

“What makes me really happy is they’re excited for school,” said Mary Jo, Giavanna’s grandmother. “They’re excited to see their friends and their teachers. It’s fun. A new year. Summer’s great, but it gets stagnant. They want to be with their friends. They need that regimen.

“I love Sidway,” Gianna said. “I feel very comfortable that she’s with these amazing teachers. It’s the best school. If they could just stay here until 12^th grade, it would be great.”

Families wait for the Sidway doors to open for the 2026-27 school year.

Physical education teacher Sam Tuttle waits to greet students.

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Tuttle, who has been teaching at Sidway since January, said his plans are to “Get (the children) moving, get them excited for physical activity, introduce them to some new games and activities and, hopefully, that carries on when they’re outside of school and when they’re at home.”

To accomplish that and to make sure that all children feel included, Tuttle said, “I think we use a big variety of different equipment, give the kids options. I do something I call challenge by choice, giving the kids the options to challenge themselves with different types of equipment when we’re doing an activity. We’re making it so every kid, no matter their skill level or experience, has success.”

Anderson said, “It is a magical place. That’s what I was told when I first came on board (one year ago). It’s just something you have to experience. You really can’t put it into words. Just seeing the little faces coming through the building, dressed in their best with their little backpacks and their name tags. Seeing the excitement and also the nervousness on the parents’ faces. For our UPKers and our kindergarteners, this is really the first time that the parents don’t really know what their kids are going to be doing for six-and-a-half hours of the day. Just building those connections right from the first day. I love being out in front of our building at arrival and building those relationships and making those connections and seeing all those faces.

“I have a lot of hopes (for the school year). My hope is that students today who are feeling very nervous, by the end of this week, are going to feel very comfortable, that they’re going to feel safe, they’re going to feel like they’re nurtured, they’re going to feel loved. That’s my short-term hope. Overall, for the school year, I just want our kids to thrive. I want our kids to learn. I want our kids to grow. We’re only going to be able to do that if we work together as a team. Parents, community members, teachers, myself. If we’re all working together for the best of the children, we’re going to succeed.”

“I love it (at Sidway),” Tuttle said. “It is a great place. The staff and faculty here always make everybody feel welcome. Everyone’s always got a big smile on their faces. It’s very welcoming and empowering. It’s a community here. It’s been great.”

Families began visiting Sidway a few days before school began. On Sept. 1, Sidway held an open house, which Anderson described as “following the traditional form.” The next day was supply drop-off day. Anderson pointed out that there are a few changes at Sidway. One of them is “a couple of new staff faces. One thing that we did new this year for supply drop off was we added in bus education for our kindergarten students. So, that was new, which I think was important, that this year, all first-grade classrooms are on the second floor.

“That’s where the big kids are.”

Anderson added that she wanted to thank “the Board of Education and Dr. (Brian) Graham for giving me the opportunity to be here for my second year, which is super exciting. I’m really looking forward to it. I would like to thank our families for trusting us and building that partnership and helping their kiddos be the best that they can be. I would like to thank my staff and my students because we’re all here for them.”