LEWISTON – The endless summer is over.

Lewiston-Auburn schools, along with Livermore, Greene, Leeds, Turner and many other schools, open today.

Elsewhere in the region – Oxford and Farmington area schools, plus Mechanic Falls-Minot and Poland – schools open Wednesday.

The beginning of school is an emotional time for many, said interim Auburn School Superintendent Tom Morrill.

A lot of students and educators, himself included, get butterflies as the big morning dawns, Morrill said. “It’s a magical time,” he said, adding that first day brings excitement, anticipation and optimism.

Auburn schools just spent three days with orientation for 25 new teachers. “The thing that’s universal is they can’t wait to be with their students,” Morrill said. “There’s great joy.”

But there are also safety concerns.

With so many students out of the house early, getting on the bus, walking, or being driven to school, police are reminding motorists to use extra caution. Motorists need to be patient and allow extra time as many school buses will be picking up and dropping off children, Lewiston police Chief William Welch cautioned.

“For those racing to work they’ll have to go a little slower. The school buses will be out,” agreed Rita Beaudry of the Auburn Police Department.

Extra police will be out enforcing laws to keep students safe. And motorists are reminded to heed lower school zone speed limits and laws against passing a stopped school bus, failure to yield to pedestrians, failure to use seat belts and others.

School zones where the speed limit is lowered before and after school “are in place for a reason,” Welch said. “These are areas where there are many children and a speeding vehicle poses great danger.”

In many communities, only freshmen attend the first day, allowing them to get used to their new school without the older students there. The same happens in some middle schools when only sixth-graders will attend the first day. Seventh- and eighth-graders, and sophomores, juniors and seniors, begin the next day.

This year at Lewiston High School there’s a change on where parents drop students off, due to the school department busing high-schoolers free for the first time.

There’ll be two drop-off lanes in front of the high school, one for buses and another for personal vehicles. Both lanes will be clearly marked, Levesque said. “Parents dropping off need to pay attention to that,” he said.

For all students to have success in school it’s important parents be involved with their child’s education, and have contact with teachers and administrators, Levesque said.

“If they have questions, make sure to contact the school, get answers” and get to know their child’s educators. “Schools and homes need to work together, even at the high school,” Levesque said. “Adolescents need adults in their lives.”

New Lewiston times: Lewiston parents are reminded that due to the extra high school bus runs, elementary schools begin at 8:40 a.m. and end at 3:10 p.m., with the exception of Montello. Montello begins at 8:05 and ends at 2:35. The Lewiston Middle School begins at 7:50 a.m. and ends at 2:10 p.m.