School Days

Somehow, the new school year is only a few short days away. Gosh, the summer just flies right on by, doesn’t it? It still feels like summer in this Alabama heat, but the easygoing nature of summer is coming to an end as fall and its schedules creep their way in.

I really love summertime with all of its holidays and trips and days by the pool, but fall is pretty easy to love, too, once you get into the swing of it. But, we have to get into the swing of it and that’s tough because, well, back-to-school is full of all things new. It’s hard to get into the swing of a whole new thing.

What will the teacher be like? Will they be kind and patient and encouraging? Will they be heavy on homework or more focused on working hard during the day?

Will there be friends in the classroom? Familiar faces to ease this transition into a new and more challenging grade?

What time do we need to start the day now? A new route, bus, or new school altogether really changes the morning routine.

Pack a lunch or buy a lunch? Where to sit and what to wear?

New schedules, friends, clothes, shoes, bedtimes, and haircuts. Not only are kids embarking on a new school year, but they are likely starting the first practices of fall sports and extracurriculars, as well. New coaches, teams, practices, cleats, and plays. But, once we get past the first few weeks of August, we will ease into it. The new will become more routine. More natural. We will be able to anticipate and prepare more easily, and our days won’t feel as rushed. We will find our stride just as September and the comfort of fall begins to show itself. Once the wind begins to cool just a tad, we will be in the swing of it.

And it will feel so good.

Best of luck on a smooth and easy First Day of School!

Alana Smith is a boy mom (ages 8 and 3), nurse anesthetist, and writer in Birmingham. She shares her writing at Holy Moly Motherhood (on Facebook and Instagram), where she tackles all things motherhood and marriage.

Hoover Superintendent Announces Retirement

Hoover City Schools Superintendent Dr. Dee O. Fowler officially announced his retirement to the Hoover Board of Education, effective September 30. The search for a new superintendent is underway.

New Principals for OMMS and Inverness

Shelby County Schools announced that Sandy Evers has been named principal of Oak Mountain Middle School. She has served as assistant principal of Oak Mountain High School since 2017 and brings 27 years of education experience. Evers holds a bachelor’s degree in sports science from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in education and instructional leadership certification from the University of Montevallo. Brooke Dunham is the new principal of Inverness Elementary School. She attended Inverness Elementary beginning with second grade and is a member of the second graduating class of Oak Mountain High School. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Belmont University and a master’s degree in instructional leadership from Samford University. Prior to this position, Dunham taught for 16 years at Chelsea Park Elementary and served as assistant principal at Helena Elementary School.

Volleyball Team Earns Honors

The 2022-2023 Shades Valley High School Lady Mounties Volleyball Team received the prestigious USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award, as well as the honor roll distinction, ranking in the top 20% of team GPAs.

JeffCo Schools Announce Principals

Jefferson County Schools are welcoming three new principals this academic year.

Pam Dennis

Corner High School

Ryan Griffin

Mount Olive Elementary School

Jessica Hahn

Irondale Community School

New Principal at Hoover High School

The Hoover Board of Education approved the hiring of Hoover High School’s new principal, former Hoover High School Assistant Principal Jennifer Hogan. Hogan replaces John Montgomery, who retired. He was an administrator at Hoover High School for 12 years and spent the last four-and-a-half as principal. Hogan has spent 27 years in education as a teacher, coach, principal, and assistant principal at various local school districts. She was named the 2018 Alabama Secondary Assistant Principal of the Year and was selected as one of three finalists for NASSP 2018 National Assistant Principal of the Year. Hogan received her BS in Education from Samford University, her Master’s Degree in Education Administration from University of Montevallo, and a Ed.S. in Education Leadership from Samford University. She is currently a doctoral candidate at Samford.

I’m warning you beforehand, what I’m about to say is going to seem utterly ridiculous: My mother once told me that I could conquer the world if I ate a decent breakfast. The whole world. All because of breakfast.

See? I tried to warn you.

Anyway, to this very day I’m still not sure how this meal can make conquering the world possible, but my mother never lies.

I remember the day she told me, I was having a devastating morning. I was about to take an entrance exam into the sixth grade. And this was a big deal because earlier that year, I’d failed fifthgrade—which drained my confidence and made me feel about as useful as a white crayon.

But getting back to breakfast.

Mama made the greasiest meal. Three eggs, cooked in fat from a Maxwell House can, bacon, potatoes, grits, and toast hearty enough to sand the hull of a battleship.

I passed my test. I made it to the next grade. And eventually, my confidence began to improve.

Thusly—and I’ve always wanted to use that word—I can only assume that breakfast played an important role in my sixth grade success.

Since then, I’ve always believed in the first daily meal. I ate a good breakfast the day I got married. A big one. That day, the waitress kept bringing me plates of pancakes.

“You must be starving, honey,” she said. I smiled. “Thusly,” said I.

But I was only nervous-eating. Truth told, they weren’t even good pancakes—the blueberries tasted like freeze-dried goat pellets. IHOP, I’m looking at you.

I also ate a big breakfast the day I got fired. My boss called me into his office and chewed me a new nose-hole. He said things so hateful I can still remember them. I quietly walked out of his office before he finished speaking.

I went to eat breakfast. I read the paper, I watched the sunrise. I had one of the best

CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 mornings I’ve had in years.

So I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I suppose it’s because I come from country people, and rural people are full of homespun ideas that sound silly to city ears.

My ancestors believed in smearing thick butter on toast, and in farm eggs. And they believed in the sacredness of early hours. They believed in breakfasts.

My granddaddy ate brains and eggs for breakfast. My old man ate potted meat and leftover liverwurst. I eat Peanut Butter Captain Crunch and M&Ms. But it’s all the same.

To my forbears, it was the moment before the day had been written. And nobody knows what kind of day it will be. It was a day without any mistakes in it.

There are lots of possibilities for today. Today could be boring. It could be mediocre. It could be crummy.

Or…