First day of school in Jericho: A bittersweet beginning for high school seniors
Students arrive for the first day of classes at Jericho High School on Wednesday. That school district traditionally is Long Island's first to return from summer break. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Wednesday was full of mixed emotions for Jericho High School seniors: It marked the first day of the 2024-25 academic year in that district, but it was the seniors' last first day, too.
“It's sad, also bittersweet,” said senior Grace Oh, 16. “It’s the last day I’m sticking to a tradition” — the annual return in late August to the school with which she’s become so familiar.
Jericho was the first district on Long Island to begin classes, as it has been for years. The William Floyd district in Suffolk County starts Thursday for its K-9 students, and its higher grades return Friday.
The majority of the Island’s 123 districts, 69 in total, start on Tuesday, after Labor Day. Thirty-seven more start Sept. 4 and 15 others on Sept. 5.
Jericho schools Superintendent Henry Grishman has said the earlier-than-everyone-else tradition allows the district to offer more instructional days — 186 in total, which school officials said benefits students academically and socially.
Brian Cummings, interim co-principal at Jericho High School, greeted students with high-fives Wednesday morning as teens streamed out of yellow buses.
Wednesday was a hot, sunny day with a heat advisory in effect during much of the school day. But that was hardly noticeable for the students in classrooms as the district has air conditioning in all instructional spaces.
This year, Oh and her friend Rachel Lee, 17, are among the seniors who took a new course, “The Pursuit of Happiness - Exploring Mindfulness, Writing, and Literature,” taught by longtime English teacher Patricia Gulitti.
“As a Jericho student, I feel like we are all very under pressure,” said Lee, who is taking five Advanced Placement courses this year in the high-performing district. “As a senior, I feel like I need some time to just reflect on my feelings and emotions.”
Gulitti and Daniel Salzman, a curriculum associate for English Language Arts K-12, said they wanted the course to help students not only write college essays, which is part of the class, but also to gain skills that will prepare them for college and life overall.
“I'm hoping this is a place for students to be intellectually challenged, but also it's like a respite in their day that we can breathe,” Gulitti said.
Security guard Julius Opa greets students on their first day back at Jericho High School.
Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Gulitti, who has taught for more than 31 years and in Jericho for more than 25 years, said the new year will be an exciting one for her as she’s teaching the new course and will be learning along with her students.
While she may be an expert in AP composition, she’s not one in happiness, she told her students Wednesday. Instead, she’s there to pose questions and facilitate discussions.
One topic for Wednesday’s discussion was “beginnings and endings.”
One senior noted how interconnected the two are, as she and her peers are entering their final year of high school but will begin a new chapter in life once they graduate.
“What makes endings so bittersweet?” Gulitti asked.
“You're happy that it happened, but you're sad that it's over,” another student answered.
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
