The school year got off to a successful start on Aug. 8 – including a rolling out of the “red carpet” at Van Allen Elementary. Students lined up to enter their classrooms, with parents and Principal Julio Zambrano wishing them well and others enjoyed running along the red carpet that welcomed them back to class. Second grader Lainie Harris also provided a colorful Van Allen Viking mascot cutout along the red carpet for kids to pose with for first day photos. District Superintendent Ron Costa said there were “few, if any, hiccups” for the start-up and overall district enrollment is up by more than 40 students.