Back-to-school jitters were compounded Thursday as severe weather and rumors of a funnel cloud placed several Liberty County schools on lockdown during open houses.
Deputy Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Conley said all schools went into lockdown as soon as they received a call about a National Weather Service tornado warning and reported activity, and the lockdowns lasted about 35 minutes.
The tornado never materialized, but the weather did cause traffic stand-stills on area roads.
“We had absolutely nothing to indicate anything other than the usual limbs being down and such,” Liberty County Emergency Management Agency Director Mike Hodges said.
“I’ve been in the county for more than 20 years and we’ve never had this happen,” fourth-grade teacher Victoria Funston said as crowds regrouped at Joseph Martin Elementary. “Never a dull moment.”
To accommodate the delay, some schools remained open after the events were slated to end at 6 p.m.
“We are aware that some parents could not get to all of the schools due to the weather and traffic issues,” Conley said Friday. “Our principals are working with parents and accommodating their needs on a case-by-case basis.”
Huddled in a Joseph Martin Elementary school hallway, parent Michelle Wilkins said she was concerned about getting her seventh-grade daughter, Denijah Wilkins, to Midway Middle School in time.
Wilkins’ third-grader, Dayahna Wilkins, had just met her teachers for the year and said she is excited to return to school and art classes, her favorite subject.
Dayahna’s least favorite thing about starting school? Going to bed early.
“We always go to sleep at 9:30,” Dayahna said.  
“In the summer,” her mother added, explaining that she began putting Dayahna to bed at 8 p.m. last week to get back into the school routine.
“It’s another journey, third grade, just seeing them grow up and mature …,” Wilkins said. “[The school year] just came really fast.”
Huddled in the same hallway, kindergarten teacher Samantha Smith said the start of the year is always a crazy time for her students.
“They’re all missing mamas and hugging and crying, until they sit down and listen to a story,” she said. The first week for Smith’s kindergarteners will include games and music to help the children acclimate.
She also gave her students a homework assignment for the weekend: creating an “All About Me” book they can use to share with their teacher and classmates and look at when they’re feeling homesick.
At Bradwell Institute, three freshmen girls who attended Snelson-Golden Middle School together scoped out the renovated campus.
“It’s like starting kindergarten all over, … got to meet new people, … don’t know where I’m going,” Africa Walker said while friends Cekoya Billings and Antazhanii Jones laughed.
Billings said her older sister attended the school, so it is a bit familiar — but it was not recently enough to overcome the school’s changed appearance.
Nearby, Bradwell computer teacher Ken Griffin said it was nice to have a new facility and to see the students after a summer off.
“It’s interesting to see the kids coming through, new and old, and interesting to see how they’ve changed over the summer,” he said. “From what I’ve seen so far, the kids seem to be pretty excited.”