Summer vacation is over for teachers and students as registration for DeKalb County schools is today.

Registration for all DeKalb schools is scheduled for Aug. 1 from 7:45 to 9:15 a.m. and will consist of only a partial day. The first full day of school will be the next day, Aug. 2. However, before the student’s return to the classroom, the Back to School celebration was held downtown Friday night as hundreds flocked to the square.

“Since we have such high community support for this event, we are able to give away free school supplies,” said Director of Instruction Michelle Burklow of the 12th annual celebration. “We have food, games, lots of things and, of course, school supplies.”

She said it is made possible by donations and corporate sponsors and that it helps lots of families since buying back to school supplies can add up.

“They feel good about themselves because they are prepared for that first day,” she noted.

Then Sunday, the annual back-to-school prayer service was held at DeKalb County High School with several hundred in attendance. Prayers of protection and support were offered up by local ministers Iain Swisher, Alberto Lucio, Michael Martin, Trent Colwell, Graden Kirksey, Josh Brown, Jonathon Anderson, Bernard Houk, Dwayne Cornelius and Chad Ramsey. Each focused on a different school or department. Following prayer, parents were urged to go to their child’s school and personally pray for the school year.

The 2018-19 school calendar is similar to recent ones with the first holiday being Sept. 3 when there is no school for Labor Day. Fall break will be held this year from Oct. 8-19 and Thanksgiving break will be Nov. 21-23. Christmas Break will be held Dec. 21 until students return on Jan. 7. Their next day off will be Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 21 followed by President’s Day on Feb. 18. Spring Break is March 25-29 and Good Friday is April 19. The 2018-19 school year will conclude, barring any make up days for bad weather, on May 24.