Seguin ISD families encouraged to utilize patience as students head back to school

District officials also warning about safety on local streets

(Seguin) – As students head back to class, Seguin ISD families and the community are being reminded of a pair of important items – patience and safety.

Sean Hoffmann, the chief communications officer for the Seguin ISD, says the first obvious sign that school is back in session will be the traffic. Hoffmann says folks are being asked to slow down, start early and watch out for students and those large yellow school buses.

“It’s always a learning experience for everyone on the first day of school. We have families that are new to the community. We have new educators in our schools as well and so we just ask for patience and grace all around really from our families, from our teachers – have that patience for our bus drivers. Many are going to be on their routes for the first time or they are working with families, ensuring that we are getting the kids on the buses. They might have to stop and wait a few minutes for the kids to get to a bus stop so there will be a little bit of play, so we ask for patience, again, for our bus drivers and transportation department staff. The same thing goes for the afternoon during drop off when we drop students off. Again, we will be working through a few kinks this week with the hope that we get all of our students home safely and in a timely manner,” said Hoffmann. Hoffmann says being vigilant while on the road is not only important this week but all year long.

“Also, I want to send a reminder out that we do have students who are riding bikes to school, students who walk to school. We will have more vehicles on the streets because parents will be dropping their students off and picking them up from school so again, patience is going to go a long way and again, having our community when they are out on the roads just to be vigilant and keep in mind, there will be extra traffic,” said Hoffmann. Patience, pg. 3

First Day, continued.

Described “as good medicine” for those in the school, Doc. Brown shared his experiences as an at-risk student and how because of empathy shown by each one of those positions posted at a campus, was able to muster up confidence leading to graduation and now of course his success as a motivational speaker, psychologist, businessman and as an “edu-tainer.”

Gutierrez says not only was he inspired by Doc Brown, but he felt that everyone in the district needed to hear or be reminded of his words.

“For us to just take a moment to reflect on ourselves and just all the weight that we carry so that we can be at our best for our students but to also think about others and the weight that they carry whether it’s our colleague or students, everybody is carrying an invisible backpack. We’ve got to think about that as our students are returning back to us. Many of our students are dealing with a lot of issues whether it’s at home, whether it’s social media, social pressures -- we have

Patience, continued.

Hoffmann also adds that like every district, there will be things that need a little ironing out. He says that’s when patience will be key.

“The best advice if parents or guardians have questions, comments, or concerns about any of our operations, the best bet is to contact the school first and foremost. A lot of times, that issue can be solved by to just remember to take a minute to reflect on what everyone else is going through,” said Gutierrez. that child’s campus. In some cases, for example, if it is directly related to transportation, the school can facilitate that conversation between our transportation and that parent or that guardian,” said Hoffmann.

Not only did Doc. Brown encourage educators but he also reminded them of compassion fatigue, their role as a servant leader and more importantly, the need to have selfawareness when it comes to taking care of themselves and their homes as the school year progresses.

As this new school year takes off, Gutierrez also reminds Seguin ISD families of their role to help each student do their best and be their best.

“This is not just the role of educators and our staff to educate our students. It takes a village. So, we are looking forward to continuing to strengthen the partnership that we have with our parents this upcoming school year,” said Gutierrez.

Meanwhile the youngest of students enrolled in the Seguin ISD will have to wait a couple of more days to begin school. Pre-k students at Ball Early Childhood Center will begin their new school year on Wednesday.

Local students also headed back today include Southwest Preparatory School and St. James Catholic School.

Drivers today are also reminded that school zones are going back into effect. Seguin Police Department Officers will continue to have watchful eyes in and around local campuses.

They are also reminded to never pass a school bus when its red lights are flashing and to always maintain a safe distance when following them throughout the area.

District officials encourage families to check the website of their child’s respective school and/ or social media pages for daily updates, important reminders or changes and for fun photos of their back-to-school experience.