For the Haywood High School Class of 2023, today was the beginning of the end.

As ominous as that sounds, the feelings on display by the senior class as they walked into Haywood High School for their last first day as students were quite the opposite.

Led by a Brownsville Police patrol car, members of the Class of ‘23 honked their horns, flashed their lights, and (safely) leaned out of their car windows as they waved at the faculty and staff who waited to greet them.

Nearly every aspect in the world of education is bookended – a beginning and an end.  School years are ritualistic in that regard.  Athletic seasons are the same.  And, today, a group of students who had experienced 12 other first days of school experienced their last first day this morning.

In eight short months, we’ll watch these students walk across the stage at LZ Hurley field as they close out the final chapter of their time in Haywood County Schools.  In between now and then, however, we’ll observe them excel on the athletic fields and courts.  We’ll see them on stage in a theater production or watch them lead on Student Council.  We’ll see them learning in class and help them decide on postsecondary options.  And, just as they filed into Haywood High School today, we’ll watch them file out of the football field after they’ve thrown their graduation caps into the air. 

Senior years are often the most special time of a student’s educational career.  Let’s all join together in supporting these students this year and make sure their senior year lives up to their expectations.