First day of school for Rochester Public Schools - KXLT - Fox 47 Rochester MN News, Weather and Sports

ROCHESTER, Minn. (FOX 47) -- Tuesday marked the first day of school for many local students.

It seemed all the students at Bamber Valley Elementary School in Rochester were excited for a new year.

"I can make new friends and see my new teacher," said 4th grade student Ana Castro.

"I do know some people, like two or three people, but the rest of the people are completely unknown to me," said student Alonso Montori.

The first day of school brings out a pool of emotions for kids and parents.

"It means they're grown up. My son is going into first grade so this is his first time in real school. I'm more nervous that he is, but that's ok," said Ruple Laughlin, whose son is going into first grade.

The end of summer marks a new beginning for everyone involved, including a new principal this year at Bamber Valley.

"We've been planning hard for the school year since last spring, and so it feels good to finally have the kids be here today because that's what we're all about," said principal Brenda Wichmann.

"It feels like school, it looks like school, it's great," said Laughlin.

And there's no doubt a lot of hard work will be put in until the next summer vacation.