Senior Ashlee Kothenbeutel gets out of her car and slings her bulging backpack across her shoulder. As she stumbles across the student parking lot, she drops her field hockey jersey she has been carrying. When she bends down to pick it up, her calculator tumbles to the ground and bounces in front of an oncoming car. The driver stops the car in time for Kothenbeutel to scoop up her calculator and walk toward the school. Shrugging, she credits it to bad luck on the first day of school.

Going back to school can be crazy. Some students may have a memorable start to a new school year or may feel overwhelmed with the traditions of a brand new school. Other students, however, may encounter exciting surprises that come with the start of school.

Senior Ashley Schwartz had a memorable trip to school on the first day when she got pulled over by a police officer for speeding. “I was on my way to school … and then I was going 50 in a 30 school zone, and then I got pulled over,” she said. After receiving a warning, Schwartz finally arrived at school, only to discover that her parking spot was taken, “so that was frustrating too,” she said.

After being pulled over and then spilling her iced coffee, Schwartz was tardy to school and marked unexcused late on the first day. ”Yeah, the school year, that’s probably how it’s going to go,” she said. “[I will be] flustered, but I think [the school year] will be good too.”

Freshman Robert Wilson also had a memorable and startling experience during his first week of school. Wilson wasn’t sure what to expect when Fine Arts and Social Studies teacher Bob Schick started singing “It’s Thursday” while playing his guitar and walking down the hallway. “I was just at my locker putting away my books … and I hear a guitar down the hallway, and it startled me, and I hear everyone yell ‘it’s Thursday,’” he said.

Although Wilson admits he was scared at first, “I realized everybody knows this. Okay, I’ll just join in,” he said. Being new to the school, Wilson didn’t know of this weekly tradition. “This is different. Nothing like this ever happened at Saint Margaret,” he said.

In addition, transfer student junior Francesca Capizzi, also had an exciting surprise on her first day. She decided to audition for the fall production “Grease.” “I was really excited just to do another show because it’s been a little while,” she said. After callbacks on Wednesday, Capizzi learned that she was cast as the star of the show, Sandy Olsson. “I’m very excited about it,” she said.

While she was anxious to start at a new school, the people and environment of the play helped her to gain confidence. “It was overwhelming for like the first two days, just getting acclimated and like learning the ropes, but once I got into callbacks, that’s when I started to feel comfortable … people started welcoming me,” she said. “I felt more confident that this was a good decision.”

In the end, returning to school may be nerve-wracking for some and exciting for others. From being pulled over on the first day to learning you’re the star of the school play, the first week back rarely contains a dull moment.

Taylor Bynion is the Copy Chief for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.