News
Back to School Jitters
Contributed by Bobbie F., HCES Parent
"As our family prepares for the first day of school tomorrow, I can’t help but think back to this time last year, when we were new to Holy Comforter. If you are like me, you knew Holy Comforter was the right school for your child(ren) the first moment you stepped on campus to take a tour. Yet the joy and excitement of knowing your kids are in the perfect place doesn’t preclude you or them from experiencing jitters and fears about their first day.
"As our family prepares for the first day of school tomorrow, I can’t help but think back to this time last year, when we were new to Holy Comforter. If you are like me, you knew Holy Comforter was the right school for your child(ren) the first moment you stepped on campus to take a tour. Yet the joy and excitement of knowing your kids are in the perfect place doesn’t preclude you or them from experiencing jitters and fears about their first day.
As the beginning of the new school year approached, and we were ordering uniforms, buying supplies and finishing summer work, I could tell that my children were anticipating their very first day at Holy Comforter in different ways. My oldest daughter, who by nature is a social butterfly, couldn’t wait to
meet her teachers and make new friends. My younger daughter I could tell had mixed feelings. She was going into it with a positive attitude, but I sensed she was still a little uncertain. My son, however, was reserved and noticeably very nervous. He is a creature of habit and fears the unknown.
I’ve heard it said many times that parents feel what their children are feeling, but multiplied. Well, I felt that way on our first day. The entire day I kept imagining what each was doing and how they were feeling – excited for my daughters and nervous for my son, but multiplied. I couldn’t wait to pick them
up, in part to settle my own nerves, but mostly to hear about their day. What I remember most about that day is how each went into school with different dispositions - excited, hesitant or nervous; but all came out of school with the same response – beaming smiles, radiating joy, and saying they couldn’t wait to go back the next day. At that moment, all of my nerves, excitement and
fears dissolved into tears of joy. I knew then, on that very first day of school, Holy Comforter was our new home, and it was a good one.
I imagine tomorrow will be easier for the three who now know Holy Comforter to be a safe, warm and fun learning environment, but my fourth child will be new this year. I can sense his nerves building like my older son’s last year. However, this time I know what the outcome will be. I know that he will love
his teachers because they will love him. I know that he will make new friends because the children and families at Holy Comforter are so incredibly welcoming and inclusive. As one recent high school graduate and HCES alumna recently told me, 'Holy Comforter is a magical place.' It truly is, and I am so
grateful we get to be a part of this blessed community."
Holy Comforter Episcopal School is a top-rated private, Episcopal, coed school for PreK-8th Grade students located in Tallahassee, Florida.
