Temple Elementary School students are pictured Tuesday morning on the first day of class this school year. Principal Holly Hannon and Superintendent Stephen Penhollow greeted the students getting off the bus. P-J photos by Katrina Fuller

Districts across Chautauqua County opened its doors to students Tuesday for the first day back to class this school year.

Sporting back-to-school fashion and a desire to learn, students climbed off the buses and into their educational havens. Spirits were especially bright at Temple Elementary School, part of the Falconer Central School District, as Principal Holly Hannon and Superintendent Stephen Penhollow greeted students as they walked in.

“We’re just extremely excited to be back and to have our kids back in school,” Penhollow said. “We were extremely fortunate last year to get our kids back K through fifth-grade all year long. We’re prepared, we’re ready and we’re looking forward to getting the year started.”

Penhollow said the district has a great team “working together to get our kids here safely, learning and having fun.”

“As all kids should be,” he said.

Temple Elementary School students are pictured Tuesday morning on the first day of class this school year. Principal Holly Hannon and Superintendent Stephen Penhollow greeted the students getting off the bus. P-J photos by Katrina Fuller

A similar scene greeted students at Fenner Elementary School in Falconer as Principal Gary Gilbert greeted students and directed them to their classrooms. Gilbert said the elementary school staff and faculty are prepared for the school year and are excited to have the students back.

“We’ve done a lot of work and we’re ready to rock and roll,” Gilbert said. “The kids are excited, and it’s nice to have kids back in the school. We’ve been through this all before, so we’re ready to go because we were in school full-session last year. It’s nothing new to us.”

Gilbert said his favorite thing about the first day of school is seeing the kids again and having people in the halls. “Over the summer, it’s only a few of us here at school, so it’s nice to have everybody back,” he said.

Clymer Central School Superintendent Beth Olson said the first day was “relatively smooth.”

“We’ve done this before — we were in person all day last year, and it’s gone without a hick-up,” Olson said. “I touched base with all the classes this morning, and (the kids) are overwhelmingly happy to be back.”

Principal Gary Gilbert is pictured with students Tuesday morning at Fenner Elementary in Falconer.

She said the mask mandate passed down from New York state has changed the masking policy at the school, providing for fewer masking breaks.

“That was a change to our plan, even the plan we presented on Aug. 26,” Olson said. “We planned to reopen as we had last year, and had to change based on the mandates.”

Olson said she enjoys the first day of school because of all the new school supplies, the students’ new outfits and the general excitement of the day.

“It’s a new beginning for everybody,” she said. “This is the safest place for (students) to be, and we’re making connections with our kids every day. We’re going to continue to grow the whole child both academically, socially and emotionally.”

Bemus Point Superintendent Joseph Reyda said the district has also gotten off to a great start. Reyda said the biggest change is having the high school students back full-time.

“We’re so incredibly thankful that at Maple Grove we’ve been able to bring back all of our students, and for the very first time in over a year now, we have all of our junior and senior students back in the same building,” Reyda said. “It’s absolutely wonderful.”

He said the district is working hard to make sure “school is a safe place for both our students and our teachers.”

“That’s our first priority,” Reyda said.

He said the current schedule will be easier for both students and staff and will make the scheduling less confusing. Previously, Maple Grove did a staggered schedule with students attending on Monday through Tuesday, and Thursday through Friday.

“It was a very complicated schedule, so the fact that that has gone away has made things a lot easier now,” Reyda said.

He said his favorite part of getting back to school is watching students getting back together.

“I truly enjoy hearing the kids reconnecting with one another,” Reyda said. “They bring a tremendous amount of energy and enthusiasm, from our elementary students all the way up to our senior class. I never get tired of an opening day.”