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Summer break is over for area students as they prepare to head back in the classroom on Friday.

It feels like summers get shorter and shorter, and that’s the viewpoint of adults. We can only imagine what it feels like to a kid, who now must get back into a daily routine of going back to school.

With that in mind, we wanted to wish everyone luck during the upcoming school year. To students, we wish you nothing but the best. You’ll hear a lot throughout life about the “best time of your life,” but the truth is that you’ll never get back the grade level you’re about to go into. This time with your friends is truly time that you’ll never get back. There’s more to look forward to when you graduate high school, but it’s fair to say that you’ll have some of the best moments of your life in grade school. Soak them up.

But also soak up everything you’re being taught. Whether it’s from a great teacher (and there are many of them), a textbook, a series of books from the school library you can’t put down — make sure you’re learning something new every day. Every single thing you learn and add to your future resume helps differentiate you from other people when it comes to your dream job, even if you don’t know what it is yet.

To teachers, all we know to say is thank you. Education is often a thankless profession, one that involves dealing with 20+ students at a time (and sometimes their parents), side-stepping politics and trying to do the best you can on salaries that could never pay enough to truly show your worth. The same goes for principals, administrators, coaches, etc., who give up so much of their free time to ensure your students are learning and growing.

Also, thank you to the lunchroom staffs, the janitors, the paraprofessionals, the maintenance crews — and everyone else who plays a role in getting our schools clean and functional for our students and teachers.

We also thank our law enforcement officers for all they do in keeping our schools safe, investigating any threats or social media posts that call into question the safety of our students.

We hope for a safe, productive school year and thank everyone involved in educating our students. Friday morning will be here before we know it, so get those alarm clocks set.