News : First day of school: Students return to class; Kindergarten begins Monday

Mrs. Voss's class poses for a Day 1 photo.

Laura Cornwell and Kaeli Evans walk the Tilford halls together on their first day of second grade.

Zena Aragon and others do the 'Numbers Rumba' in Music class.

Mrs. Neblung's students began their poetry books and learning poems today.

Doing the 'Numbers Rumba' in music class: School began for grades 1-12 Thursday.

Mrs. Mathis reviews rules with her first grade students on Day 1 at Tilford Thursday morning.

Mrs. Neblung's students began working on their poetry books.

Mrs. Zenk led the music students in learning or relearning the Numbers Rumba.

Mrs. Mathis reminded the first graders in her class what Mr. Murray taught them last year: Follow rules right away.

Students made new friends and caught up with old ones as they learned the rules and other details about their new grade levels from their new teachers.

Thursday is the first day of school for Vinton-Shellsburg students in grades 1-12. Kindergarten classes begin Monday.

It will take a few weeks before district officials can submit to the Iowa Department of Education their official enrollment numbers, since determining enrollment is much more complicated than actually counting students. There is a specific formula that figures in the number of special education students and other factors in determining a district's official enrollment.