Ready to go: Rosedell Elementary’s doors open to kick off school year (2024)

Parents could be seen lining up outside Rosedell Elementary School Tuesday morning with their kids waiting to drop them off for the first day of school.

Some were saying their final “goodbyes” at the front gate while others were taking photos in front of a sign celebrating the occasion.

“A little anxious, excited,” said Jeremy Whitcomb, the father of a first-grader at Rosedell, on the emotions of dropping his daughter off. “She’s growing up so there’s a little bit of fear of the growing up, but definitely excited. She’s excited, and that’s what matters.”

Schools across the Saugus Union School District opened their doors on Tuesday for the 2024-25 school year to officially begin.

Alex Banderas has a daughter starting sixth grade at Rosedell and said her child was up two hours before her parents in anticipation of the big day.

“We cooked breakfast for her, her favorite foods, all the fun stuff,” Banderas said. “But she was up two hours before us today. She was ready to go.”

Rosedell Principal Elizabeth Balena was standing at the front gate greeting students and parents alike. She said she’s excited to break in some new carpeting and a “cosmetic remodel of the entire school.”

“We’re just excited. It’s a fresh, new start and a good year,” Balena said. “We’re going to have a good one this year.”

She added that after making some growth last year on the academic side, she’s looking forward to seeing what steps forward the current crop of students can take.

“We’re really looking to make academic growth,” Balena said. “We made great academic growth here at Rosedell last year, and I think that we’re going to use that momentum to move us forward. I’m excited because of what we were able to accomplish last year, and I’m just looking forward to keeping it going this year.”

Whitcomb said his daughter will have a packed schedule this year, with basketball, soccer and jiu-jitsu in her plans on top of being in school.

“Just trying to keep her as busy as possible,” Whitcomb said, “expose her to whatever different things you can, you know, make some friends.”

Making friends and building relationships are what the first few days of school are all about, Balena said.

“We know that that’s going to really make a positive impact on the entire year,” Balena said, “really focusing on building the relationship between the teacher and the student, the relationship between the students and building that community sense inside the classroom.”

But at the end of the day, Balena said seeing students and parents being happy and wanting to come back every day to see what’s new is what she lives for.

“I love working with children,” she said. “I think that it’s so exciting to me to see — there’s just so much potential. And I think that’s what parents see, too. They work so hard. These are their precious little ones. They trust us with them and we want to make sure that we’re giving them the best education opportunities possible.”