Back to school for WPUSD students

On Tuesday morning, Scott M. Leaman Elementary School officially opened its doors for the first time to an unfamiliar sight for a school opening, as students wore masks, socially distanced and media crews covered the school grounds. The school is at 1200 Brentford Circle, Lincoln Crossing. This is what a school opening looks like during a pandemic. As reopenings occur across Western Placer Unified School District parents, students and teachers hope that these openings mark a return to a time before COVID-19. While the morning was still new and the sun's golden light illuminated the shining new hallways of the school, district Superintendent Scott Leaman, whose name the school bears, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to properly open the school. Teachers, school board trustees, district employees and school Principal Reno Penders listened while socially distancing themselves and wearing masks in the campus' common area. At 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, the first chime of the bell brought excitement for all on campus as Leaman cut the ribbon at the school gate and officially let students come back to a school campus for the first time in six months. The school welcomed back 400 students and teachers said they felt prepared to keep their students safe throughout the shortened school day. Sixteen-year elementary school teacher Terri Schreiber said there are some nerves with having to learn how to navigate a new school but is prepared. "Our jobs are really hard without the kids here in person and so I am very excited for them being here today," Schreiber said. "I think the district has done a great job trying to keep us safe, the students and making sure we are all ready and have what we need." Music played and teachers celebrated the return of their students as they walked through the balloon-covered front gate with their new first-day-of school clothes, shoes and individualized masks. "I am actually really excited because when I was watching the school being built, it was really cool and I am really excited with how it turned out," fifth-grade student Lilly Morre said. "It isn't like the other schools because it is really happy and I am really excited." For parents, this moment of having their children go back to school was not only a return to normal for their children but also their lives. "So now for us, mom and dad now have some time where we can actually get some work done at home without the kiddos," parent Ken Howell said. "The kiddos can see their friends and have a little sense of normalcy from what they have been experiencing over the last six months." Leaman Elementary will be the district's first Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics elementary school. "So as COVID restrictions get a little bit looser, we have which is called 'Project Lead the Way,' which is really critical thinking and hands-on learning," Penders said. As the world tries to solve the COVID-19 pandemic, it could serve as a greater critical thinking and problem-solving lesson for students. "I think it is a great time because it inspires kids to be the next great world leaders of whatever craziness happens in the future," Penders said. Tuesday had many familiar moments: students had their first day of school photos taken, friends said hi to one another, students met their teacher for the first time but with an overhanging abundance for safety and caution.