The start of a new school year always seems to bring something fresh and exciting.

A new outfit, a new teacher, a new schedule … and for some, a totally new campus.

El Portal Middle School will welcome its first group of Panthers to sixth grade, Escalon High School will likewise see an influx of new Cougars entering ninth grade. And the local elementary schools will bring in a brand-new class of kindergarten (and in some cases, transitional kindergarten) students ready to begin their educational journey.

As is typical, multiple improvements and upgrades have been made on local campuses as well, getting them all ready for another year.

Though I have been in California for 30 years now, it still is sometimes difficult to wrap my head around starting school in August. Early August.

Back in my school days, we finished the year in late June and went back to class after Labor Day. So to me, summer was the final week of June, all of July, all of August, and a tiny bit of September. By the time our school started back, in upstate New York, the weather had turned slightly cooler. Unless we had an Indian Summer where the temperatures spiked in September, you could count on cool mornings and chilly evenings. Labor Day weekend was the last big family time, then it was back to the books.

And even though Escalon’s 2023 graduations were the first couple of days in June, it just seems like the summer is too short. Probably some of the kids think so, too.

Hopefully, they got in plenty of fun, whether it was camping, traveling, water sports; there’s no shortage of activities.

I do look forward to getting back to the ‘grind’ – so to speak – with my days and nights soon to be filled with school-centered activities, high school sports and more. We will see the start of a brand-new fall sport, Girls Flag Football, and that is something that will be incredibly fun to cover. In the past, the girls played Powder Puff, one game a year, often during Homecoming Week, but this will be a Section-sanctioned sport.

I ran in to a dad with his future flag football player over the weekend; the young athlete was looking for cleats while I was looking for a new pair of sturdy sneakers for my Friday night stints on the football sidelines. Need to stay comfortable while logging all those steps.

Summer went quickly, there’s no denying that. Speaking with varsity football head coach Andrew Beam, he noted that it was ‘amazing’ that the new season, the new school year, is here already.

There are some stories that unfolded this summer that I haven’t even had the opportunity to get written for the paper yet; I thought it would be a slower time and I could fit in some unique stories. They are still on the drawing board, but will be told.

Among them are some happenings at the city level, a new animal adoption program, the growth of the police department’s Explorer program, and – most recently – the fun gathering of The Little Chefs program participants, who met for a reunion on Aug. 5.

So, as we look to start a new school year, it’s a good feeling to know that there will be lots of stories to share in the weeks to come.

Marg Jackson is editor of The Oakdale Leader, The Escalon Times and The Riverbank News. She may be reached at mjackson@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 209-847-3021.