MIAMI (WSVN) - With the school day at its end, students are now working to get back into the swing of the school year.
“I wasn’t ready to wake up,” said one Booker T. Washington High School student, “but, I mean, seeing my friends again — it made up for it.”
“I miss the summer, of course, but I was waiting on the school, too,” said another Booker T. student.
“At first, I kind of didn’t care about it, but then now I was like, ‘Oh snap, it’s really happening,'” said another student.
“I am really excited because I met my teacher, and I think she’s really nice, and today would be the best day ever,” said fifth grade student Samaria Clark.
With the school day now in the books, Miami-Dade County Public School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho spoke on the transition in going from the summer to the start of the school year.
“I’ve probably been to about 12 different schools, and I think that from the very beginning till now, it’s been a very successful day,” he said. “We had a thousand buses on the road, no delays of any significance.”
There is a lot of traffic that comes with hundreds of thousands of students going back to school.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue was in North Miami to make sure everyone stayed safe and knew how to drive through school zones with their ‘stop, drop and roll’ rule.
“Stop on the accelerator, drop the speed limit to 15 miles an hour and just roll through, being careful,” said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Capt. George Sterr.
Miami Heat rookies welcomed students back at Jesse J. McCrary Junior Elementary School with school supplies and a hot breakfast.
“You know, it feels good just to be able to come back, you know, give back to the kids,” said Heat rookie Matt Williams Jr. “Just by making an appearance, you can tell how excited they are.”
“The Heat is here, all the interview people are here, everyone is here, even my teacher is here, and I’m really excited,” said Clark.
Carvalho said Miami-Dade County Public Schools has a lot to look forward to this school year, including a number of changes that have been implemented.
Many changes came for Shenandoah Middle School, where — after $7.2 million in renovations — the school opened its doors Monday to allow students in for their first day back to classes.
“Just the whole appearance of the school has changed dramatically due to the changes we’ve made,” said Victor Alonso, a school official.
With the addition of three new schools in the county, along with expanded technology and choice magnet programs, there is a lot to help students this school year.
This year, the district is using hands-on training to get students ready for the careers of their future, including cyber security, business and animation. There are just a few of the magnet and choice programs added in 2017.
The goal is to ensure students enjoy their classes, while also learning in a safe environment.
“Teaching and learning took place in Miami-Dade County Public Schools in the very first day, on their very first day,” said Carvalho. “We’re off to a fantastic start.”
Students in Broward County also got back into the school year with more than 270,000 students going back to school, Monday.
Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie made sure to greet students as the day got started.
“I hope you enjoyed your summer, but I know you’re going to have a fantastic school year,” Runcie said in an assembly with some students at Broadview Elementary.
The Florida Panthers also paid a visit to Broadview, where they wished the students a successful school year.
Runcie was also on hand during lunch time at Meadowbrooke Elementary School, where the children got their first taste of a new healthier lunch menu, created by a celebrity chef.
However, after a long first day, parents and students are now happy that the excitement is over. However, it all begins again Tuesday.
“It was actually really fun,” said student Olivia Eskeson.
Broward school officials also took into consideration the solar eclipse, and excused the absences of students who took the day off to view the celestial event.
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