Written By: Devin Varner, Editor
WELCOME: Principal Hansen initiates the new school year with a few words of wisdom for Poly Bears.
As summer comes to an end, the Riverside Poly High School campus floods with excited staff and students, new and old. Every August, a new school year starts without hesitations, but with each new year comes new expectations and goals from Principal Darel Hansen himself, and this year is no different. According to Hansen, one thing that sets this year apart from last year is the attitude the students and staff have going into it. He explains how “there’s no argument that the last couple years have been extremely tough on everyone and everyone came in with a different mindset.” This new mindset will provide and foster a thriving learning environment after the last couple years of uncertainty. “When we shut things down, sent everybody home and shifted everything to online,” Hansen acknowledges, “there was going to be a negative impact, and we saw it last year.” Due to this set back, Hansen hopes to dedicate this year to “not just catching up but catching up and moving forward.
As for advising this year’s Poly Bears, Hansen encourages the incoming freshmen to dedicate this year to “getting involved with different things and starting to create a culture within their own class with the expectation to do great things,” and for the seniors to “enjoy the moment, enjoy the time, but avoid senioritis.” Remember that there’s still a job to do.” High school is fleeting, so Hansen hopes to ensure that his students are learning, thriving, and making memories that will last a lifetime. In order to help him achieve this, the bear family must help him “create a culture of not just learning, but a culture that embraces all students and really becomes a place everyone wants to be at.”
This school year looks like it’s going to be a promising one, regardless of whatever bumps occur along the way. After the past couple years, Hansen hopes to help the Poly Bears find what was once lost. “My biggest goal is to get things back on track instructionally and start attacking the lost learning, closing that gap of what we lost in those last few years,” explains Hansen. The time has come to make another year a great one, full of fun, memories, and lots of learning. As Hansen puts it: “Enjoy the time but remember we have work to do.”