By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Beginning her first day at Creek View Elementary School after attending Meadow View Elementary last year, first-grader Ava Betke already knew which subject she would enjoy the most on Aug. 11.

“Math!” Betke said as she and her mother prepared to enter CVES at about 7:30 a.m. “I love math.”

While Betke said she was excited about returning to class, she said she couldn’t help but feel summer went by a little faster than normal.

“We barely got any time at the pool,” she said with a smile.

Graham Rickman, who was entering second grade on Aug. 11, said he was ready to enjoy the perks of being one of the school’s older students.

“I’m excited about the big playground,” Rickman said, referencing the school’s playground for second- and third-graders.

For Kim Mashego and her kindergarten son, Sipho, the morning brought mixed emotions.

“It’s a little bittersweet. He’s the last one to begin school,” Kim Mashego said, noting her oldest child is a senior at Thompson High School. “But he is very excited. He had everything packed and ready to go this morning.”

The first day of a new school year typically brings heavy traffic throughout the city, but the school system reported no major hiccups, according to Coordinator of Operations Dr. Jeff Atkins and Superintendent Dr. Wayne Vickers.

“Everything went smoothly with our bus routes this morning. They all rolled with no issues,” Atkins said. “Traffic is usually pretty heavy the first several days, but it always gets better as soon as people start getting used to the traffic patterns.”

Throughout the day, Vickers and members of the city’s Board of Education took visits to each of the city’s six school campuses to welcome teachers and students back to class. Shortly after the morning bell rang, Vickers said Aug. 11 was the smoothest school start he has experienced.

“I’ve been a superintendent for 10 years. I’ll say that out of those 10 years, the is the best school start I have been a part of,” Vickers said. “It’s a community effort to make today successful, and I thank the community for being such strong supporters of our schools. I love being a part of Alabaster.”