After weeks of empty halls, Coppell High School is alive again Wednesday, bustling with students rushing to classes.
“I love the first day of school,” Principal Laura Springer said, “I love to students coming back in the building and getting a chance to see students dressed up and ready to meet your friends again.”
Although CHS largely complied with its traditional first day routine, there were some changes between students figuring out their classes, classroom icebreaker activities, and FISH and GRIT presentations.
These changes included notifying students about the new tardy policy and their connection to the returning semester exams. This new tardy policy keeps most aspects of its predecessor, but has one unique catch. Nine tardies will equal a full unexcused absence, and three unexcused absences will prevent students from opting out of any semester exams. This policy goes into effect starting next week.
“It seems like a good thing to prevent student absences,” junior Aashrith Kattamudi said.
Additionally, Tuesday was also the first full school day for new CHS faculty members, including AP Psychology teacher Nathan Allison, who previously taught Honors World History and World Geography at Flower Mound Marcus High School for 18 years, with Coppell being his first move away.
“Being able to have that fresh feeling again and being in a new place reminded me of when I first started teaching,” Allison said.
Allison noted that Coppell is especially different in its emphasis on fostering relationships in order to build a sense of community.
“In Coppell, it’s really at the heart of how this whole district functions,” Allison said, “It is expected of every teacher to take time to know their students and know what is going on, which is focused on so much because they know you cannot teach unless you do that.”
Looking forward, Allison sees this year as an opportunity to grow.
“I hope this year helps me reach more and become a better educator,” Allison said.
Springer echoes a similar voice, but to students, looking forward to their accomplishments.
“You all are involved in many things from fine arts to athletics and academics with all the different programs we have here,” Springer said. “I’m looking forward to watching you all grow up and become beautiful young people.”
Follow Yug (@YugTalukdar) and @CHSCampusNews on X.
