They traded in their bicycle rides to local pools for a return to the classroom.

Buses pulled up to school buildings on Monday, a sign that the school year is back in session for many area school districts.

For students, it was a day to re-acclimate themselves with friends and teachers they haven’t seen since early June.

Everything went fine on the first day in the Northern Lehigh School District, according to Superintendent Matthew J. Link.

“After wrapping up three days of teacher professional development for our teachers and support staff last week, the positive energy kept rolling right into the first day of school for our students today,” Link said. “Transportation went better than expected for the first day of school, and students seemed genuinely happy to see their friends and reconnect with their teachers.

“Overall, I am very happy with the start of the new school year.”

Panther Valley

Panther Valley students returned for the 2022-23 school year on Monday.

Panther Valley Elementary had 630 students enrolled as of the first day. Teachers dined in a faculty room renovated thanks to a grant from Lowe’s.

The district debuted a new pre-k counts program in Coaldale, in partnership with Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers.

The district also added a second family development specialist, in partnership with St. Luke’s. The position was first introduced at the elementary school last year.

Pleasant Valley

The beginning of school brought several changes to the Pleasant Valley School District. Now there are two co-principals at the high school with a roundabout in full construction mode in front of the building.

The elementary, intermediate and middle schools have seen their fair share of changes as well with the grade realignment. Third grade moved to the intermediate school, and sixth grade moved to the middle school. Plus, the intermediate school has a new assistant principal, Timothy McCutchan.

At the school board meeting on Thursday, the principals were happy to announce that their enrollment numbers are going up, and it isn’t just because of the grade realignments. The district is seeing students return from the cyber charter schools.

Roger Pomposello, the principal at PVES, said they have 293 kindergarten students this year, and despite losing third grade, they still have a total of 900 students. That is 45 more students than they had in Kindergarten through second grade at the beginning of school last year.

Kendal Askins, the principal at PVIS, didn’t mention the enrollment numbers, but the school stands to gain at least 298 students just from the movement of third grade to its building.

Jason Van Voorhis, the principal at PVMS, said they jumped from 600 students last year to 980 this year. That is an additional 380 students, which is more than the 278 students who were in fifth grade last year and now sixth grade at the middle school.

“The kids are coming back,” Van Voorhis said.

Even the high school touted more students. The high school finished out last year with 1,197 students. Now, it is up to 1,400 students, said Jonathan Ayre, one of the co-principals. Brian Boylan is the other co-principal.

Marian

Summer vacation for most students at Marian Catholic High School and St. Jerome Regional School ended Monday.

It was the first day of class for the St. Jerome student body, and a day of orientation for freshman at Marian.

“The first day of school has gone on without a hitch, as we had our freshmen day today to allow them to get acclimated with the building and their schedules without the bustle of upperclassmen in the building,” said Michael Brennan, Marian’s head of school.

When classes resume for all, students will have the opportunity to take advantage of a new, expanded dual enrollment partnership with Lehigh Carbon Community College. It will be offered both online and in-person, Brennan said.

“We are also continuing our focus on mental health through our Aveidum program and our student support center,” Brennan added. “It has truly been one of the highlights of our school in the last year, to focus on mental health and student well-being.”

Marian has 246 students enrolled, up from the 232 of the last school year. Brennan said the numbers can change.

“We have several families who are still inquiring regarding enrollment, and we will continue to enroll new students this week and throughout the year,” he said.

Upperclassmen begin classes today and the entire student body returns Wednesday.

At St. Jerome Regional School, Principal Amy Hannis-Miskar said the first day went “great.”

“There were no problems,” she said. “The kids were very happy to return.”

Hannis-Miskar said a number of projects were recently completed.

“A new security camera system has been installed at our school this summer,” she said, noting that it features interior and exterior cameras.

Crews installed a new gym floor, cleaned and waxed all floors and carpets and placed new cement in front of the school. There is also a new drainage system.

Hannis-Miskar noted that staff received pediatric first aid/CPR/AED training from St. Luke’s University Health Network representatives and will soon have a class on school safety.

She said the school successfully applied for an additional grant through Computer Aid Inc. and is in line to receive a $22,563 Instructional Technology Grant. The monies will help advance the school’s instructional technology program, she said.

St. Jerome has 287 students in kindergarten to eighth grade, and 20 in its preschool.

Palmerton and Weatherly area school districts also opened on Monday.

Lehighton and Jim Thorpe area school districts begin Sept. 6.

Tamaqua Area School District was the first in the area to start; classes began last Wednesday.

Chris Reber, Kristine Porter and Jill Whalen contributed to this report.