Summer won't officially end for another month, when the Autumnal Equinox occurs on Sept. 23 and day and night are the same length, but for all practical purposes it ends when the first school bell rings.

That occurred over a week ago at many school districts in the county, and students returned to Gehlen Catholic and Le Mars Community this week, much to the joy of parents and the sorrow of students.

The starting date of school is a topic that is often debated and changed. The districts that started last week are seeking to complete their first semester before the Christmas break, which is an admirable goal. The problem occurs when heat and humidity like we have been experiencing most of the summer comes into play. Districts that have more than one building and a mix of air conditioning and no air conditioning are forced to have early outs, due to heat and humidity.

The summer and early fall heat, along with the lack of air conditioned school buildings has been a hindrance to those who propose year round school. Boy, if you want to see a school age child panic, mention those three words: year round school.

The poll question on our website this week concerns the starting date of school and asks if year round school should be considered. We will publish the results of our unscientific poll next week.

Usually in late July you can sense the coming of fall. The sound of the insects, the life cycle of plants coming to their peak and beginning the cycle of decay give notice that even though the weather will remain warm, it won't be long until cooler weather arrives.

The cicadas, or locusts as I prefer to refer to them, have been singing for a while now, and if you believe the old wives tales, we will get a frost six weeks after they begin to sing. I wonder if anyone has studied the correlation to see if it holds true. Perhaps I should apply for a grant to study this, it might give us valuable climate change information, or at the very least provide some insider information for the folks who trade natural gas, propane and heating oil futures. At the very least it would take several years to collect the right amount of data....

Anything for science, as long as there is a free market practical application and someone can make a buck or two.

There's always mixed emotions when the first day of school rolls around. For parents delivering their children to the routine of school life for the first time, it can be almost as hard on the parent as the child. Children are wonderfully adaptable creatures, and as soon as the end of their first day are acclimated to their new surroundings and have made friends. Some parents take a little longer, but in the end, the routine of life takes over.

At every step of our childrens' time in school, the first day provides some challenges. The years pass quickly and children transition from elementary to middle to high school and beyond. Parents who have children who are freshmen again, much farther away from home, have already had their parting and both child (who is now a young man or woman) and parent are adjusting to the new realities of life.

I don't know how many times I have written or said it, but change is one of the few things you can always count on to be there, constantly moving along, even if you don't want to go. We truly have no choice in the matter, whether we realize it or not, but to keep adapting, no matter how much we wish we could stay where we are, just for a little while longer.

To quote the eternally popular Ferris Bueller: "Life goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Best wishes to students and parents for a good school year. Hopefully, we will all learn something, if nothing more than to enjoy the journey we are on. Learning that lesson helps us deal with the rest of it all.

As always, I welcome your comments. You can reach me by email at tstangl@lemarscomm.net, telephone 712-546-7031, x40 or toll free 1-800-728-0066 x40.

Thanks for reading, I'll keep in touch. Feel free to do the same.