Portales schools in session

PNT staff writer

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New outfits, new teachers, new classes, new school year.

link Eric Norwood Jr.: Portales News-Tribune

Students at Lindsey-Steiner Elementary file out to their buses Tuesday after school.

Portales students in grades third through 12th headed back to school on Tuesday, and many were experiencing something new.

Ashley Ray, a teacher at Valencia Elementary, is new to Portales and fourth grade.

“I taught third grade in Lubbock for three years and Las Cruces for two, but this district is the most like family,” Ray said.

That’s because a lot of residents are family.

Steve and Sandra Harris, husband and wife and principals of Portales Junior High and Valencia Elementary respectively, both reported to work today.

“Everything is running smoothly, and the children have been very respectful,” Sandra Harris said.

Steve Harris made known his expectations of his junior high students.

“We want our students to work to their full potential,” he said.

Eighth-grader Berenice Navarrete said her goal this year is to get good grades, though she admits she was a little nervous for the first day.

“I didn’t get much sleep last night,” Navarrete said.

link Eric Norwood Jr.: Portales News-Tribune

Ernesto Armendariz and his daughter Zaylin stroll across the parking lot Tuesday at Lindsey-Steiner School to pick up his other daughter, Emily.

Students weren’t the only ones nervous.

“It was a little nerve-wracking meeting all my colleagues last week, but today has been real exciting and it’s been fun meeting all of my students,” said Amber Tomas, in her first year at teaching English and history at Portales Junior High. She worked as a substitute last year.

Meanwhile at Lindsey-Steiner Elementary, sixth-grade teacher Shayne Lopez had a positive report from the first day.

“Today was great,” Lopez said. “The students were well-prepared and eager to learn.”

Another sixth-grade teacher, Belynn Pierce, echoed her statement.

“It was a phenomenal,” Pierce said. “The students seem like they are going to be awesome.”

As the students filled the cafeteria to catch buses home at Steiner, all were paying attention and following directions from teachers and principal Eric Segovia.

At Portales High School, everything was on the up and up.

“It’s been wonderful,” said Ruth Chavez, longtime physical education teacher and volleyball coach. “It always exciting to come back the first day and see all the new freshman coming in. It’s good to see all the old students too; everything seems to be going great.”

The older students even seem to be warming up to the freshmen already.

“Our junior class has been getting really close,” junior Brooke Lopez said. “We want to be the class where everyone is, ‘Hey we want to be like them.’ But the freshman class seems real cool too.”

link Eric Norwood Jr.: Portales News-Tribune

Juniors Nathan Gandara, left, Michael Koester, center, and Jonathan Bryan finish lunch on the first day of school Tuesday at Portales High.