🗞️ A record 168 kids got a Bright Beginning from the Kernersville YMCA

🗞️ Kathleen Kearney is Glenn High School's new athletic director

🗞️ A new gymnastics center just opened in Kernersville

🗞️ A back-to-school read: one writer's first day, decades later

🌤 Hot today, cooler weekend | High: 91°F | Low: 71°F

One more hot, sticky day to close out the week, with highs near 91 and a heat index that can still push toward the upper 90s, so keep the water handy and take it easy in the afternoon. A stray thunderstorm is possible late in the day. The good news: real relief arrives for the weekend, with more comfortable temperatures and lower humidity just in time for the Honeybee Festival on Saturday.

Here is the kind of story that makes you proud of this town.

The Kernersville Family YMCA just held its 27th annual Bright Beginnings event, and it was the biggest one yet, serving 168 local students, the most ever. The program pairs children in need with volunteers for a personalized shopping trip, sending each kid off to the new school year with new clothes, a new pair of athletic shoes, and a backpack stuffed with grade-appropriate supplies. More than 200 volunteers, board members, staff and community partners pitched in to make the day happen. "Seeing the smiles on the faces of so many children, families, volunteers, and community partners throughout the day was truly inspiring," said Adam Cardwell, the Y's executive director.

The need is real. Across Northwest North Carolina, about one in four children lives in poverty and more than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, so those first-day jitters can come with real financial stress for families. Bright Beginnings helps kids walk in with confidence and dignity, which is no small thing.

It truly took a village. Presenting sponsor Brightspeed and a long list of partners chipped in, including Fleet Feet Winston-Salem, which fitted every child for new shoes; the Kiwanis Club of Kernersville, which gave each child a book; The Way Fellowship, which fed everyone; plus Kernersville Police and Fire Rescue (with Sparky the Fire Dog), High Point University and its mascot Prowler, Novant Health, and Savage Roasters Coffee. A big thank-you to co-chairs Taylor Mabe and Whitney Hunter and everyone who gave their time. This is our community at its very best.

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Kernersville's other big high school has a new AD, too, and she is a familiar face on campus.

Kathleen Kearney was officially named athletic director at Glenn High School last week. A math and pre-calculus teacher at Glenn for 10 years, she spent the past two as assistant AD, learning the ropes from longtime AD Joe McCormick, who retired after 27 years at the school (13 of them as AD) and is now the AD at Triad Baptist Christian Academy. "I have been working with Joe as his assistant the past two years, and he has been getting me ready," Kearney said. "I am excited for this to be the next part of my career."

Kearney knows Glenn well. She coached junior varsity and assistant varsity basketball for six years and assisted with volleyball for three before stepping into administration. A Michigan native and Lake Superior State University grad, she came south for a teaching job, landed in Kernersville, and never looked back. "I absolutely love it here," she said. "I hate the snow, and I am a warm-weather girl."

Her goals are straightforward: hold student-athletes to a high standard, support the coaches, and get Glenn's teams back on the winning side. With mentors like McCormick and former longtime AD Marty Stanley just a phone call away, she is set up to succeed. Congratulations, and go Bobcats.

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Got a little one who loves to tumble? There is a new place in town for them.

Phoenix Gymnastics Training Center celebrated its grand opening this month at 1128 Snow Bridge Lane, with a ribbon-cutting on July 31 and an open house that let families meet the coaches and tour the gym. The center runs a full slate of programs: preschool gymnastics for ages 18 months to 4 years, recreational gymnastics and tumbling for ages 5 to 18, team camps, after-school care, and open gym.

The coaching pedigree here is serious. Phoenix is co-owned by Chris Young, described as the most decorated gymnast in North Carolina history, a two-time U.S. National Team member, 1999 World Team member and a 2000 Olympic trials competitor, along with Vanessa Banks, Trey Brown and Jake Vanezke. The staff includes recent state Compulsory Coaches of the Year, and the gym is already home to competitive USA Gymnastics teams for both boys and girls, with 19 athletes earning spots on the North Carolina Elite Team for the coming season.

Whether your kid is chasing medals or just needs to burn off some energy, it is great to see this kind of youth sports option land right here in Kernersville. You can learn more about classes and schedules on their website.

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Here is something a little different to end on: a short, lovely piece of writing worth a couple of quiet minutes.

As students head back to class, Winston-Salem Journal reporter John Deem revisits his own first day of high school, a mile-long walk to Waite High in Toledo, Ohio, decades ago. It is a tender, honest reflection on that awkward, in-between age: an unsure 14-year-old finding comfort in the present, shooting baskets in the alley, playing imaginary ballgames in a tiny backyard, and slowly figuring out who he was becoming. "I always think of that boy when I see students going back to school," he writes. "I miss him more every year."

We loved it because it is the kind of writing that makes you remember your own first-day nerves, and maybe look a little more kindly on the nervous kids walking into our schools this month. Give it a read, and maybe share your own first-day memory with the young person in your life.

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