Labor Day weekend means the imminent arrival of another school year for Gogebic County students.
The first day of school for students in the Ironwood, Bessemer, Wakefield-Marenisco and Watersmeet districts is Tuesday.
For students in the Ironwood Area Schools, classes begin at 8 a.m. with dismissal times of 3:05, 3:10 and 3:15 p.m. for grades K-2, 3-6 and 7-12 respectively.
It will also mark the first year the district will have a K-12 principal, rather than both a K-6 and 7-12 principal. Denise Woodward previously taught drama and choir classes for the district.
In Bessemer, classes begin at 7:55 a.m. for grades 7-12 and 8 a.m. for elementary students. Grades K-3 will be dismissed at 3 p.m., grades four through sixth will be let out at 2:55 p.m. and middle and high school students will be released at 3:13 p.m.
The later dismissal time for middle and high school students is a change this year, according to A.D. Johnston Principal Dan VanderVelden, because of the decision to extend the school day by eight minutes.
In Wakefield-Marenisco, school begins Tuesday at 10 a.m. for K-12 students, with dismissal at 3:13 p.m.
When parents arrive to drop off and pick up their children at the school in Wakefield, they will find a different flow to traffic patterns in the parking lot, superintendent Catherine Shamion said, with the lot's former entrance/exit now being changed to entrance only. The lot has a newly constructed exit area, and now only allows one-way traffic.
Watersmeet students will participate in a community-wide picnic Tuesday at the pavilion beginning at noon. Regular classes start Wednesday at 8:10 a.m., with the last class ending at 3:05 p.m. for all grades. District officials said students don't need to bring their supplies Tuesday and will be able to bring them Wednesday for regular classes.