Jayce Lister, 7, gets a free haircut Aug. 30 from owner/barber Frank Crosen at Crow’s Next Barbershop in Auburn. Lister is going into second grade at Park Street Elementary in Auburn and said he was super excited. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Owen Harding of Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale kicks a field goal Sept. 2 as Andrew Foster holds the ball during practice in Winthrop. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

The sixth grade class of Saint Dominic Academy pulls a bus Sept. 1 from the athletic fields up the hill to behind the Auburn school. It’s an annual first-day-of-school team exercise. This year’s class has 36 students. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Educational technician John “Mr. P” Patrie plays a quick hand of rock paper scissors with a student Sept. 1 before morning classes at Montello Elementary School in Lewiston. Patrie said one of his students always throws paper, so Patrie will always throw a rock while playing that student. “It really makes his day,” he said. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

A hot-air balloon floats Sept. 1 past the former St. Louis Church on Third Street in New Auburn. The popular Great Falls Balloon Festival is scheduled to return to Lewiston-Auburn in 350 days: Aug. 19-22, 2022, according to the festival website. It was canceled the past two years because of COVID-19. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Assistant coach Jeff Lagueux watches as Alex Henry kicks the ball in a kickoff drill during Gray-New Gloucester’s football practice Aug. 31 in Gray. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal