Students at Olympic View Elementary School had guests when school started Thursday morning.

Instead of dropping their children and heading back home or to work, parents parked and walked their children to class where they spent half an hour meeting teachers and seeing where their children would sit.

After seeing their child’s classroom, parents, many of whom had babies and strollers in tow, filed into the school’s gym to hear a presentation, meet the new principal, Sandee Oehring, and learn the school song and school rap.

Once they learned their music, parents and students went outside to the playground where everybody said the Pledge of Allegiance.

Students at Olympic View Elementary School were just some of the 5,000-plus students in the Oak Harbor School District who started class Thursday morning.

A preliminary count places enrollment in Oak Harbor schools at 5,432, which is 18 less than projected. Joe Hunt, spokesman for the Oak Harbor School District, said the enrollment should increase in the coming week and then fall slightly throughout the school year.

As students begin school, they will prepare for changes in the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. Students from third through 11th grade will take some aspect of the assessment this year. Elementary and middle school students will take reading and math assessments every year. Fourth and seventh graders will also take the writing assessment and fifth and eighth graders will take the science assessment. Freshmen can opt to take the sophomore WASL and juniors can choose to retake the test.

This year’s sophomore class will have some more pressure to pass the WASL. It’s a graduation requirement beginning with the class of 2008.

As the school year starts in Oak Harbor, motorists should notice the 20 miles-per-hour speed limit signs in school zones. That limit is in effect from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

In addition to Oehring, two other principals have started work in Oak Harbor schools. Mick Wykis is the new principal at Clover Valley Elementary and Dale Leach is the new principal at North Whidbey Elementary School.

Some elementary schools are starting a hot breakfast program before class. Olympic View, Crescent Harbor, Clover Valley and Oak Harbor elementary schools will offer breakfast for students. More than 40 percent of the students at those schools qualify for free and reduced lunches, which is the threshold federal regulations require for the breakfast program. The program will start next week.