By Tyler Dahlgren

The gymnasium lights cut to black when the clock struck 1:30 last Wednesday afternoon, prompting 270 glowstick-wielding Loomis Wolves to fall silent–at least for a moment.

Then the music piped in, and the students erupted. They danced and laughed their way through a couple of songs, ringing in the new school year the only way Loomis Wolves know how.

“We want them to feel like coming back to school is a celebration,” said Title 1 teacher Kum Schukar, one of the primary planners of what has become a tradition at Loomis. “Starting the year with a big kick-off just gives you a little boost of momentum.”

This wasn’t your ordinary, run-of-the-mill first day of school. It was, as Schukar accurately described, a day-long celebration. The pep rally, where kindergarten students were welcomed and the Class of 2026 was recognized, was the perfect exclamation point to the perfect day.

“By doing what we do, it kind of lights a fire underneath the kids,” said elementary resource teacher Jackie Johnson. “It gets us excited and gets our momentum going for the rest of the year. It does that for us teachers, too.”

These celebrations started five years ago, when the Loomis staff wanted to do something special for students returning to the building for the first time since the pandemic. Every year since, they’ve rolled out the red carpet for their students.

“We want our kids to know that everybody here cares about them and wants them to do well and be successful,” said Nate Weaver, who is in his second year as superintendent after serving the previous six as principal. “When they look around and see everybody participating and everybody sharing that excitement, they know that we’re all in their corner.”

Last year, the theme for the first day of school party was all things Western, complete with hay bales, saddles and everything in between. The year before that, the party was fair-themed, with bumper cars and ferris wheel baskets to boot. This year, the Sunshine Committee, which focuses on hospitality and staff and student morale, opted for a “Glow!” theme. They’ll come back to the theme on random days throughout the year, whenever they feel the school could use a bright boost.

“We have a couple of staff members that really take it and go above and beyond,” Weaver said. “They think of stuff that I’d never think of. The school year is long, so we’re just trying to make it as fun as possible.”

Math intervention teacher (and Nate’s wife) Kristin Weaver is on the committee, and spent the day handing out popsicles and coordinating class photos in front of a big mural in the gym that the committee constructed.

“We want the first day of school to be memorable for the kids,” she said. “We always pick a fun theme they can get involved in, and it makes their first day back go pretty fast.”

The students get a kick out of the Sunshine Committee’s creations, too.

“All the teachers here are really creative,” said sixth grade student Raya Payton. “They like decorating and making it special for us, which makes it a lot of fun.”

Kids love summer vacation, and, in other places, it’d take a lot of arm-twisting to get them to admit that they’re excited about the first day of school. In Loomis, that’s not so much the case.

“Everybody’s happy to be back,” said principal Jeff Ellsworth. “We have some kids who might come in saying they don’t want to be here, but it doesn’t take long before they have a big smile on their face. They don’t mean it.”

In this small village west of Holdrege, the school is the center of everything.

“Our school district and our community are both full of great people who love Loomis and bleed green,” said Schukar.

The kids, Ellsworth explained, are the core of the community.

“They’re in tune with everybody,” he continued. “They look up to those high school kids. When we get to the sports season, everybody’s there. It’s always packed and the younger kids are there cheering on the high schoolers. It’s just a big, happy family.”

Nolan Benjamin can speak to that. The 2020 Loomis graduate is starting his career as a teacher and a coach here, back at a place that he’s proud to call home.

“The people are what make this place so special,” he said. “The people I get to work with now, and the ones I got to learn from and who taught me as a student, are just really great.”

Eighth-grader Ayla Westerbuhr came to Loomis last year from a different school district. When asked what makes her new district special, she takes a break from her popsicle and looks around, as if the answer is pretty obvious.

“It’s very welcoming here in Loomis,” said Ayla. “It’s really small, so everybody really knows each other. The teachers are really welcoming. The Wolf Pack has been so nice to me.”

Brinley Wood, Ayla’s friend and a fellow eight-grader, echoed what her principal said.

“It’s just a really fun school with a family atmosphere,” said Wood.

The pep rally wrapped up with relay races, 18-year-old seniors bouncing balloons and running right alongside five-year-old kindergarteners, a heartwarming sight unique to small districts like Loomis.

“Those little kids look up to the big kids, and I think the big kids really enjoy being in that peer model role,” said Johnson, who was born and raised and has spent her entire career in Loomis. “I love the school. I love the community. I know the kids and their families. Teaching here just makes me feel like I make a difference, like I’m helping the kids grow day by day.”

Because it's always in the back of their minds, said Schukar, planning for next year’s back-to-school bash has already begun. There’s a lot of days between then and now, a lot of memories to be made.

“I love all the people in our school,” said sixth-grader Aspyn Weeder. “We’re all excited to be here.”

The students are back. 

At Loomis, they can’t do anything but smile.