At some grade levels, the new year means major transition. As Lenihan Intermediate School Superintendent Kyle Young noted, fifth grade is the first time what will eventually become the entire graduating class is together in the same building.

“Everybody loves the summer break and the refresh, but there’s always a buzz here in the building right now as we’re excited to get back and connect with our kids again,” he said. “That’s always the most important thing is just making that connection and putting (kids) in a good position to be successful.”

Young felt that events like Back to School Night serve a vital purpose in kick-starting the learning process and making students and teachers alike more comfortable as they prepare to spend a lot of time together.

“It’s just an opportunity to make a quick connection and get excited. Our teachers show our kids how excited they are to have them in their class and hopefully kind of ease some of the nerves,” he said. “They all come over here in fourth grade and get a tour of the building and see everything, but now it becomes real and so that anxiety can kind of build up over the summer. This is an opportunity to come in with their families and say ‘Hey, this place isn’t so scary.'”

Marisol Salazar, right, and her children Victoria, left, and Joseph, center, pose for a photo during Back to School Night at Fisher Elementary on Monday. Victoria is entering third grade, and Joseph will be a freshman in high school.

Jackson Godfrey, who is heading into sixth grade at Lenihan, said the highlight of his summer was going fly fishing in Colorado, and although he’s sad summer break is over, he’s happy to meet his three teachers and learn “all new different stuff but in a different way,” as his mother put it.

One of his classmates and friends, Abby Chua, who took a trip to Disneyland over the summer, was more talkative as she offered her outlook on the upcoming school year.

“I’m really excited that I get to meet new people, but I also get some of my old friends in my class,” she said. “It’s amazing (to be here). It’s really fun.”

Over at Fisher Elementary, students and staff were experiencing that same bittersweet feeling of summer ending and a new year starting. Victoria Salazar, who will be a third grader in Mrs. Albee’s class, said she couldn’t wait to meet her new teacher.

Her older brother Joseph, who will be a freshman at MHS, had a different take when asked what he was most looking forward to.

Students walk the halls of Marshalltown High School during Back to School Night on Monday.

“The weekends,” he said.

MHS Principal Jacque Wyant was standing near the main entrance and welcomed her incoming students and teachers back into the building Monday night, and she finds herself optimistic about the year ahead.

“When I came back (on) the first day with teachers on Thursday, that was my 33rd year starting school. And I was just as excited starting school in 2023 as I was as a new teacher in 1991,” Wyant said. “What’s always exciting about the beginning of a school year is the amount of hope that kids and families come in (with), and then I really look forward to the collaboration.”

She added that she likes to be out in the hallways and ask students and families how she can assist them, and they’re often surprised to find out she’s the principal.

“I want families to know that we’re here to help them,” Wyant said.

While the football field renovation project will probably be the most noticeable change on the high school campus this year, Wyant is also looking forward to potential improvements for the Career Technical Education (CTE) offerings as well as expanding food science and science labs.

“I’m pretty excited about that growth because the enrollment in those areas is exploding right now, and I think it matches the workforce,” she said. “When we talk about postsecondary education, it’s not always about going to a four-year school or even a two-year school. Sometimes it’s getting a certificate or diploma in a trade to just better position yourself within that trade for advancement and other opportunities to make more money.”

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.