POCATELLO — The new school year started for Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 students Monday, and for many, the first day of classes was “chalk-full” of first-time experiences.

Several schools throughout the district started a new tradition by hosting massive back-to-school parties, which included live DJs, free doughnuts, and meet-and-greets with Idaho State University student athletes. Additionally, residents at two local assisted living centers joined in on the back-to-school festivities, and a first-year principal now has that first-day notch in her career yardstick.

“This morning was such a great experience,” fifth-year principal at Alameda Middle School Brandon Vaughan said about his school’s early morning party before school started. “We had one member of our staff who has been working in education for 36 years say this was the best first day that he has ever had.”

Before hundreds of Alameda Middle School students grades six through eight, many of whom had never before owned a locker or class schedule, embarked on their first day of classes for the 2019-20 school year, school administrators had orchestrated its first ever before-school party that included live music, free doughnuts and a custom head-in-the-hole photo board.

And many of the installations or businesses to participate were either Alameda Middle School alumni, live in the surrounding neighborhood or have children of their own currently attending the school, Vaughan said.

“There were tons of kids, parents and educators out in front of the school mingling, interacting and getting to know each other,” Vaughan said. “Everybody that was involved was part of the Alameda family. We had a huge sign and photo frame from Sign Gypsies, Rueben and Romen Barela of Donut Bros were there giving out doughnuts and they are Alameda kids and Deloy Stuart from Stuart’s Media Group, who lives by the school, was deejaying the event all morning.”

Moreover, Unforgettable Events donated a large balloon arch of the school’s colors, yellow and blue, and members of the ISU men’s basketball team were in attendance to welcome students on their first day.

“We’ve never had a celebration like this before,” Vaughan said. “We always focus on relationships among our students, staff and community. When we have big celebrations like this it’s good to have our kids practice doing the right thing, looking after one another and making the right decisions.”

At Greenacres Elementary School, kindergartners up to students in fifth grade participated in an indoor parade throughout the halls of the school, where about 50 members of various ISU athletic programs and parents congratulated and high-fived the learners as they made their way to this year’s first school assembly, according to fifth-year principal Janelle Armstrong.

Though Greenacres hosted a similar event for the first day last year, Armstrong said there wasn’t nearly as many student athletes or parents, adding that this year was the first appearance of ISU’s Benny the Bengal.

“The kids absolutely loved him,” Armstrong said about the attendance of ISU’s furriest hype-man. “Our goal is to engage the community in supporting the education of our learners, so we loved seeing the support of our community from Idaho State today.”

Armstrong said she was in awe by the sheer number of student athletes who greeted students at Greenacres Monday, but it was the interactions among two student groups at the school that moved her the most.

“We have three special programs in my building where we house children with fairly significant disabilities,” Armstrong said. “The parade can be overwhelming for them because of how loud it is, but we saw kids all along the way helping and noticing that there were kids struggling with that. They took them by the hand and really showed them it was going to be okay and that they had a friend by their side. The same thing happened again at recess.”

While the first day of school is typically one intended to introduce students to each other and their faculty counterparts in a fun and interactive way, it wouldn’t be the same without words of advice from those who have already earned their degrees. On Monday, that advice came from some who had graduated long before many of the parents of today’s students had even been born.

Several residents from Quinn Meadows Rehabilitation and Care Center and Copper Summit Assisted Living decided to join the festivities for their first time by sharing their own “back-to-school” photos with a little bit of advice for the students of today. Savannah Morrissey, an administrator at Copper Summit, said the center thought up the idea after seeing many of the back-to-school photos from other districts circulating online and figured they could put to good use all the wisdom contained within the elderly population at its centers.

A 91-year-old man named Roy who graduated in 1946 says his best piece of advice is to tell jokes, of which his favorite is, “What do you call a three-humped camel? Pregnant.” And Deon, who jokingly wrote her age as 100 on her back-to-school plaque says her best piece of advice, in her teacher’s voice, is, “Get your work done.”

Monday wasn’t just a day of firsts for students. Amy Bowie had taught at the high-school level for 18 years and was a middle school principal assistant for four years before she became the principal of Irving Middle School in April. Monday was quite a different experience than in years prior, she said.

“By the time students get to high school, the first day runs a little more smoothly because kids are used to changing classes and opening their lockers,” Bowie said. “For middle school, the first day is always just a little bit chaotic. Kids are unsure, nervous and not used to transitioning classes. I would say that I am extremely excited that the staff at my school are so cognizant of student needs. I feel like today went very well.”

School District 25 spokeswoman Courtney Fisher said she was blown away by the various ways schools welcomed their students back for another year of instruction. And although the events had the purpose of welcoming learners throughout the district back to school, she said they were also meant to incentivize students to maintain proper attendance throughout the school year, which is a district priority for the 2019-20 school year.

With the theme “Every Day Matters,” Fisher said the district’s goal is to encourage parents to prioritize their child’s attendance which should in turn reduce the amount of absences in this upcoming school year.

”Good attendance is a habit we should build from the first day of school until the last day of school,” Fisher said. “We know the best learning happens when our learners feel safe and welcome, and it was exciting to see our school communities kick-off the school year with a message that every day matters.”