On Monday, teachers and staff of the Bogalusa City Schools, met in the high school ROTC gym for a back-to-school rally.

The rally featured balloons, a motivational speaker and contests as a way to excite teachers about the coming school year.

The school year began Thursday for students.

After Monday’s rally, Superintendent Toni Breaux said the event went well.

“We had a guest speaker who was dynamic,” Breaux said. “He really inspired teachers and staff to be motivated and he talked about discipline in the schools.”

In addition, the Paper Dolls dance team performed for the staff as did the cheerleaders. However, the show-stopper was a series of staff skits. Each school worked together as a team to come up with someone and the winning school won cases of paper.

Breaux said Central Elementary School won with their dance routine.

“It was like a second line dance,” she said. “They had a skit where they inspired teachers and students and they had chants where they danced down the middle of the floor.”

Breaux said she wanted the event to motivate the employees.

“We want a better year than we’ve ever had,” she said. “We always want motivation.”

Breaux said this year she is so determined that the teachers feel motivated, she’s asking teachers to motivate their colleagues who might be flagging.

“If you see one of our coworkers not being inspired anymore and kind of losing their knack for teaching, then you go up and motivate that person and give that person some good thoughts,” she said.

Breaux said she’s even asking teachers to call her if a teacher seems particularly down, and Breaux said she’d personally motivate them.

The superintendent said it’s important for teachers to be present and pay attention to their students and engage with them.

“I tell teachers, you can be a master in the subject you’re teaching, and you can be a good teacher, but if nobody’s listening and if routines and procedures aren’t in order and kids aren’t paying attention, then your teaching is lost. I don’t care how good of a teacher you are,” she said.

This year also marks the hundredth anniversary of the school district and Breaux said she plans to celebrate that, though she is not yet sure how or when that will happen.