Time to hit the books again, students! The time for summer frivolity is over!

It's time for academics to kick into gear again! One big tipoff – if you actually needed one – is that this weekend is the Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday, our state legislature's tip of the hat to families needing to outifit their young Einsteins for the school year ahead. As you might expect, the tools of learning – notebooks, pencils and pens, highlighters, crayons, and so forth are among the exempt items, as well as school clothes and backpacks. There's an article in The Weekly Challenger with a whole list of the items covered.

 The school year begins on a hopeful note. Melrose Elementary School has a new principal who is determined to all her students with  quality education. She says communications with parents is a top priority.  Meanwhile, there's a new principal at Campbell Park Elementary as well. Christine Hoffman was formerly vice principal. Her theme is family engagement as well, and she is seeking to get parents and family members involved.

If the recent Childs Park YMCA Achieving Great Things Community Spelling Bee is any indication, there are plenty of high achieving youngsters in our community who took no break from learning over the summer. some 54 preschoolers through fifth graders participated, and they have the trophies to show for it.