There’s less than a week left of summer vacation for area students. The first day of classes is Friday, August 23rd for Washington Community Schools, Mid-Prairie, Highland, and Hillcrest Academy. Washington Superintendent Willie Stone says it helps to have kids back in a routine before classes resume, “We really should probably start, even though it’s hard to get them to bed. Start trying to get them onto that school-time sleep schedule. So that first day instead of you having to pull them out of bed crying, and kicking, and screaming, they’re ready to go. Really, that’s probably the biggest thing, is making sure they get back on that sleep schedule. Your kids are going to be tired. They’re going to come home and be exhausted. And staying up until midnight doesn’t work out for them normally.”

Washington sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students, along with a parent or guardian, must attend one of the computer roll-out sessions. This will be the first year that middle school students may take their school computers home with them. There are two sessions remaining: Wednesday, August 21st from 7 to 9 p.m. or Saturday, August 24th from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Washington High School auditorium.