Marvin Ward Elementary welcomed students with music on the first day of school

It's Colin Tribby's first year as principal of Marvin Ward Elementary in Forsyth County.  

He's a percussionist and former band director, so it's only fitting that he invited some musical friends to help celebrate the first day of class on Aug. 29. 

The West African drumming group, Carolina Ké, set up right outside of the school's entrance. As children made their way towards the building, they were greeted with the sounds of djembes and dununs.

“It's just always been a part of who I am and what I love, you know, even transferring over to administration in the school system,” Tribby said. "I still like to keep my finger on that pulse, because it's, I think, a great connection for kids.”

Allen Boyd, one of the drummers playing, explained that in West African culture, drumming is central to life. 

"There's a rhythm that is played for every social event. So, the first day of school, same thing," he said. "We use the music and the energy of the drums to bring life and liven it up, and let the kids go into school with some high energy, so that they can start the year off on the right foot."

When Christa Rickard arrived at school with her two sons, she was surprised to hear the music. 

“I love how they have the band here. It's really exciting, and creating an exciting atmosphere for the children to learn,” she said. 

Rickard took a photo of her sons wearing matching button-down shirts in front of a big “Welcome Back Ward Lions” sign. She splurged on their first day of school outfits to celebrate the progress they made last year and in reading camp over the summer. 

“The pandemic kind of got them thrown off a little bit, but they're getting on track and the teachers and principals, everyone is working with the students, you know, it's just getting better,” she said. "Everyone's building. So I'm just really excited. They've been progressing a lot.”

Stella Holmes is a teacher assistant for an exceptional children pre-K class at the school. She spent the morning dancing alongside the drummers and meeting the children before they went inside. 

She says she's looking forward to seeing her students continue to grow. 

“Last year the students came, some of them weren't talking. And they have come back to visit at open house, and they are talking,” she said proudly. "They are hugging. They are doing marvelous things. And I'm just excited. That warms my heart.”

Some school staff said they were just happy to have their students back in the building and see their faces again. 

Edwina Cain is the MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Support) interventionist, which means she serves students that need an extra layer of support within their classroom. 

“I'm just excited because we love our students here at Ward, and it was so awesome to see how excited they were coming in with the drummers,” she said. "We just love to build community here. So I look forward to building that family community and just serving our kids in the best way that they need.”

Nearly 54,000 students went back to class on Monday in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools district.

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.