NATCHEZ — Summer is almost over, or at least the aisles of backpacks and binders in local stores make it seem that way.

Each of the schools in Adams County and Concordia Parish are gearing up to welcome students back to another school year by waxing floors, decorating bulletin boards and even hiring new faculty members and administrators.

Here are some things both parents and students have to look forward to in the coming school year.

Natchez-Adams Schools

School resumes Wednesday for teachers and Aug. 7, for students in the Natchez-Adams School District with a district-wide convocation on Aug. 6.

Superintendent Fred Butcher said the school has made a few curriculum changes to meet the requirements of new rigorous state standards in high school grade levels.

“Students can expect a change in the rigor of their science classrooms,” Butcher said. “The state standards for science have been revised by Mississippi Department of Education, which has a heavy emphasis on the engineering design principles. So, students will engage more in hands-on application.”

Butcher said the elementary schools would experience some changes as well.

“The district received a STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) grant and this year,” he said, “we will integrate STEM principles and exploratory units in our elementary grades throughout the district.”

The district has made two new changes in administration for the 2018 and 2019 school year. Eric Jackson has been promoted from assistant principal to head principal at Natchez High School.

Jackson said he would work closely with Cleveland Moore, the new director of Fallin Career and Technology Center and former assistant principal at Morgantown Middle School.

In addition to maintaining the career and digital media programs, Moore said the center is also working to reestablish childcare services.

“We’re making some modifications to the early childhood area,” Moore said. “We want to receive three to four-year-olds and get that program back up-and-running.”

Butcher offered a few ways students and parents can help the district have a smooth and successful school year.

“We want our students to establish a routine for getting the proper amount of rest, plan homework time … and to see the beginning of this year as a fresh start and opportunity to set personal and academic goals for the school year,” Butcher said. “Be an active participant in the academic setting and assume responsibility for learning.”

He said parents are required to register and use an Active Parent System that will give them real-time access to their child’s grades, discipline and attendance.

He said NHS is the new location for the Parent Center this year, which he encourages district parents to utilize for better access to instructional resources that can be used to support students at home.

Cathedral Schools

Norman Yvon, the Headmaster of Cathedral Schools, said teachers return to work on Wednesday and students begin classes on Aug 6. He also said a few changes have been made in the schools’ personnel.

In addition to welcoming some of the former students at Trinity Episcopal School which closed at the end of the last school year and replacing some retiring faculty members, Yvon said Cathedral is also gaining a new elementary school administrator, Kimberly Burkley.

Yvon said the schools are integrating a new math program and science curriculum, and apart from that their quality instruction hasn’t changed, he said.

Yvon offered a few suggestions for how students and parents can prepare themselves for a successful school year.

“(Students), make sure you’ve got your summer reading done,” he said. “Start getting into that wake and sleep routine before school starts, get a haircut and get uniforms checked.

“Parents can start getting their kids into that routine, set up a place for them to do homework, do some reading every day and talk with kids when they get home. … Ask them about their day and make sure they get their homework done and are ready for the next school day.”

Yvon said he is eagerly awaiting the day students start school again.

“I’m excited about the kids coming back and I’m looking forward to a wonderful school year,” Yvon said. “It’s kind of boring here without them.”

Adams County Christian School

Orientations at Adams County Christian School are Aug. 10, 13 and Aug. 14 for pre-kindergarten, elementary and high school respectively. School begins for all grade levels at ACCS on Aug. 15.

Angela Cotten, elementary principal at ACCS said the school has undergone many new and exciting changes over the summer.

“We’ve got lots of new staff members this year — a lot of new teachers in the elementary,” Cotten said.

She said the fifth and sixth grades will be housed at the elementary multi-purpose building, unlike previous years when the sixth-grade students were in the high school building.

“I’m happy to keep my sixth-graders for another year,” Cotten said.

The athletics department has had a few structural changes as well, including a new inflatable football helmet tunnel for the team to run through on game day.

Cotten said the football field has also received new bleachers and new lockers have been added in the boys’ dressing rooms.

In the high school, Cotten said the school has created a new computer lab. The curriculums in many subjects and grade levels have been updated as well, she said.

“Start getting back into a good bedtime and waking schedule,” Cotten said. “Get school uniforms and make sure that they fit. … Most grades have a summer reading list. … Parents, make sure they’ve done that and stay fresh on math facts.”

Cotten said she is excited to see new and returning students this school year.

“I’m excited,” she said. “We have a lot of new students joining our campus.”

Like Cathedral, ACCS welcomed many new students that were previously enrolled in Trinity Episcopal Day School.

Concordia Parish Schools

Teachers start work at Concordia Parish Schools on Aug. 6, and students resume classes on Aug. 10 with early dismissal at 12:30 p.m. Concordia Parish is changing two administrative positions this school year, said Superintendent Whest Shirley.

The former principal at Ferriday Lower Elementary School, Julia Walker, will be the new principal at Vidalia Upper Elementary School while the former assistant principal at Ferriday Lower Elementary Sandra Burton will take on the role of head principal.

Additionally, the parish has added to and updated its elementary and middle school curriculum.

“We’ll have a new curriculum in our elementary schools called ARC — American Reading Company, and a new math curriculum for the middle school called Agile Minds,” Shirley said.

Cindy Smith, the elementary school director, said teachers participating in the new curriculums would participate in a professional development session next Thursday with ARC coaches supplied to the parish through state grants.

Also, Smith said she is looking forward to incorporating a new social studies curriculum that will add a modern twist to the subject.

“The new social studies curriculum includes a newspaper-like publication rather than the traditional textbook with an online component,” Smith said. “It’s hard to keep social studies or history books current. With this format, it’s easier to keep current events updated.”

Shirley said Parish sports fans could look forward to seeing the “new look” of the football fields in Ferriday and Vidalia.

He said parents who are new to the parish and who have not registered their children yet should do so as soon as possible to give them a smooth start to this school year.

“We always enjoy meeting with our new teachers and new staff, and I’m excited to see those yellow buses rolling out on Aug. 10,” Shirley said.

Delta Charter School

Teachers return to work at Delta Charter School in Ferriday on Aug. 13 and students resume classes on Aug. 16, said Monica Miller, the assistant principal at DCS.

Miller said DCS is hosting an open house from 3 to 5 p.m. on Aug. 14 to give parents and students the opportunity to learn what they can expect this coming school year.

She said DCS faculty have created new rewards for students who score advanced on their end-of-the-year exams, including field trips.

The elementary school principal, Cari Nicholson, said the Accelerated Reader program also is offering bigger rewards this year with the “readers walk of fame.”

“Students receive stars to put on the walk of fame when they reach a higher level point club,” Nicholson said. “Students will walk the red carpet to receive awards at each nine weeks during the honor roll assembly.”

Nicholson said parents could stay updated on their children’s progress by attending events, such as the “Kindergarten BooHoo Breakfast” on Aug. 22, math night in the fall and reading night in the spring.

“Parents can stay involved by signing up for teacher’s remind APP, paying close attention to weekly sign-and-return papers, asking their student(s) what they learned each day and by intently listening to and reading to, and with, (their children) every day and by working on math facts,” Nicholson said.