CCISD students back to school

By LYNETTE SOWELL 

Cove Leader-Press 

The atmosphere was that of a pep rally at Copperas Cove High School on Wednesday morning, as more than 2,300 students began the 2023-2024 school year. 

The Pride of Cove drumline kept the beat, and CCHS athletic teams, dance and cheer, among others, made two lines as they high-fived and welcomed classmates back to school. 

“We do this every year. It’s good for the athletes and it’s good for the other kids,” said CCISD Athletic Director Cari Lowery. “It wakes everybody up. As you can see, a lot of them from the beginning of the line some are nervous and red-faced, and then there’s a high-five and they get into it a little bit more. By the time they get all the way to the end, they are a little bit more ready to go for the day and excited about the year.”

Lowery said every sport represented, band, cheer, dance, JROTC. 

“We are working on our athletes understanding about giving back and it’s not just about them. It’s about, the more they give, the more they get. So it makes for a nice welcome.”

Cari said the welcome was a new thing for last year, and they had coaches cheering. 

The repeat welcome this year is representative of the community. 

“Copperas Cove, Texas is a great little town, and we have great students. We wanted to unite a little bit more instead of everybody doing their own thing. We’re all doing this together.”

The number of incoming freshmen this year is approximately 650, out of an approximate 2300-2400 total enrollment at CCHS. 

In CCISD, enrollment for the first day of school was just shy of 8,200 students on all campuses. 

“This is my fifth year at the high school,” Shuck said. “Being able to see kids from freshman going all the way to senior is a very unique experience, and I’m super excited to have kids come back. The start this morning has been very good.” 

Shuck said on Wednesday, the first day on campus, students and staff alike experienced “Welcome Wednesdays.”

“We have our athletes and cheer and dance to get out there and just welcome students every Wednesday. If you come by any Wednesday, you’re gonna see that at all of our entrances.”

Student organizations are posted by the entryways at the campus, to include student council, HOSA, and DECA. 

“I wish we could do it every single day. But I think anybody who comes in, you get people cheering with you and saying good morning, it’s a good start to your day,” Shuck added. 

As far as any hiccups to the start of the first day, Shuck said, they had very few which he called a testament to the staff at the high school. 

“They’ve done a good job as far as communicating with parents about different things. Some of that is, ‘I thought I completed my registration online and my kid needs a schedule.’ We will double check and make sure they’re not on this list. We have people assigned to check the list and they find, ‘Oh, you’ve already got a schedule. So that means you’ve already fully registered.’ Well,  that’s good news.”

Shuck estimated there were approximately 60 new students that morning and the campus was averaging anywhere from 10 to 15 new students a day for the last two weeks. He said that parents have the ability to get the registration process started online. Although the enrollment numbers are rising, Shuck acknowledged many classes are full and the average class is 25 students. 

Shuck said that the district’s brand-new CTE building is now open and its first students are in class. There will be a ribbon cutting celebration at some point for the facility. 

“It’s great opportunities for kids for welding and construction trades. It’s our showpiece campus. People will go there and they’re going to be amazed at what we do,” he said. “We even had a professor come from one of the universities and they were working with one of our teachers and they were like, ‘This is better than what we have at the university.’ So they’re automatically jealous. We’re thankful for our school board and Dr. Burns for seeing the need and then spending the money to be able to build that for our kids. That’s what it’s all about.”

By LYNETTE SOWELL 

Cove Leader-Press 

The atmosphere was that of a pep rally at Copperas Cove High School on Wednesday morning, as more than 2,300 students began the 2023-2024 school year. 

The Pride of Cove drumline kept the beat, and CCHS athletic teams, dance and cheer, among others, made two lines as they high-fived and welcomed classmates back to school. 

“We do this every year. It’s good for the athletes and it’s good for the other kids,” said CCISD Athletic Director Cari Lowery. “It wakes everybody up. As you can see, a lot of them from the beginning of the line some are nervous and red-faced, and then there’s a high-five and they get into it a little bit more. By the time they get all the way to the end, they are a little bit more ready to go for the day and excited about the year.”

Lowery said every sport represented, band, cheer, dance, JROTC. 

“We are working on our athletes understanding about giving back and it’s not just about them. It’s about, the more they give, the more they get. So it makes for a nice welcome.”

Cari said the welcome was a new thing for last year, and they had coaches cheering. 

The repeat welcome this year is representative of the community. 

“Copperas Cove, Texas is a great little town, and we have great students. We wanted to unite a little bit more instead of everybody doing their own thing. We’re all doing this together.”

The number of incoming freshmen this year is approximately 650, out of an approximate 2300-2400 total enrollment at CCHS. 

In CCISD, enrollment for the first day of school was just shy of 8,200 students on all campuses. 

“This is my fifth year at the high school,” Shuck said. “Being able to see kids from freshman going all the way to senior is a very unique experience, and I’m super excited to have kids come back. The start this morning has been very good.” 

Shuck said on Wednesday, the first day on campus, students and staff alike experienced “Welcome Wednesdays.”

“We have our athletes and cheer and dance to get out there and just welcome students every Wednesday. If you come by any Wednesday, you’re gonna see that at all of our entrances.”

Student organizations are posted by the entryways at the campus, to include student council, HOSA, and DECA. 

“I wish we could do it every single day. But I think anybody who comes in, you get people cheering with you and saying good morning, it’s a good start to your day,” Shuck added. 

As far as any hiccups to the start of the first day, Shuck said, they had very few which he called a testament to the staff at the high school. 

“They’ve done a good job as far as communicating with parents about different things. Some of that is, ‘I thought I completed my registration online and my kid needs a schedule.’ We will double check and make sure they’re not on this list. We have people assigned to check the list and they find, ‘Oh, you’ve already got a schedule. So that means you’ve already fully registered.’ Well,  that’s good news.”

Shuck estimated there were approximately 60 new students that morning and the campus was averaging anywhere from 10 to 15 new students a day for the last two weeks. He said that parents have the ability to get the registration process started online. Although the enrollment numbers are rising, Shuck acknowledged many classes are full and the average class is 25 students. 

Shuck said that the district’s brand-new CTE building is now open and its first students are in class. There will be a ribbon cutting celebration at some point for the facility. 

“It’s great opportunities for kids for welding and construction trades. It’s our showpiece campus. People will go there and they’re going to be amazed at what we do,” he said. “We even had a professor come from one of the universities and they were working with one of our teachers and they were like, ‘This is better than what we have at the university.’ So they’re automatically jealous. We’re thankful for our school board and Dr. Burns for seeing the need and then spending the money to be able to build that for our kids. That’s what it’s all about.”