Special First
Day Issue
ECHOES
Issue 1 | Volume 114 August 2014
The Independent Voice of Abraham Lincoln High School | Council Bluffs, Iowa | ALechoes.com
School kicking off before holiday Photo taken by Tanner Hochsetler
Nathan Vorce
Co-Editor in Chief
Dani Rambo
Opinion Editor The summer has been no longer than usual, but due to a late last day of school, classes have started today, Aug. 28, later than almost all the other schools in the area. Students and staff believe the late start is due to Iowa wishing for schools to start after the Iowa State Fair ends, which was held this year from Aug. 7-17. According to iowastatefair.org, Iowa state law requires that classes begin no earlier than the calendar week of Sept. 1, unless Sept. 1 falls on a Sunday. In that case, schools
can begin any day the week before the 1st. School districts can avoid this by filling out a waiver and submitting it to the Iowa Board of Education. Council Bluffs Community School District starts the week before Labor Day. With the later start, teachers do have more of an advantage by getting prepared for the new year and cleaning up their room to welcome their students. “The later start has given me more time to prepare for this year, get in a few training sessions and clean up my room a bit,” reading teacher Libby Foster said. “The downfall to starting school later is worrying
about my family and making sure they are taken care of for school or daycare.” Foster said that starting
many kids have checked out and it becomes harder to bring back kids’ focus after Memorial Day. By then kids
“With the later start, it has opened up my schedule more, since I am super busy in August.” -Sarah Widick, junior earlier is beneficial for kids because by mid-May,
are more concerned about summer, that school is no
longer a concern. One of the pros about a later start is now more people are able to attend the Iowa State fair and enjoy time with families. Before, attending was a problem since the fair started about the same time as school was about to begin. For one student in particular, the later start for school has helped her out more for getting ready for the year. “With the later start it has opened up my schedule more since I am super busy in August,” junior Sarah Widick said. “Although getting out later messed me up a little since I am more used to getting out in May,
not June.” Administrators have also noticed positive changes in the school board pushing back the first day, benefiting students both in school activities, as well as outside of school. “I’ve noticed kids are getting in more activity practice, and the kids also have an opportunity to work more to support their families,” Principal Todd Barnett said. Although the first day has created quite a bit of stress for some people, others are thankful for the extra time given to prepare for the upcoming year and what seems like more time for summer.
Students and staff give advice to upcoming freshmen “Get involved, try new things. Step outside of your comfort zones.” -Michael McLaughlin, Assistant Principal
ALECHOES.com
Upcoming Events
“Don’t stress, have fun.” - Karlie Petersen, junior
Sept. 1
Labor Day
“Choose the right people to be friends with.” - Addie McClain, junior
Sept. 4:
Schedule correction sheets due
Sept. 20 :
Homecoming 8-11:00pm $10 tickets