Oak Harbor students returned to classrooms Thursday ready for another school year.

Throughout the school district, community leaders visited each school to greet students as they gathered for their first day.

Superintendent Lance Gibbon was among those greeting students. He said that the first day of school is one of his favorites of the year.

“It’s all just about trying to connect with the school and make some new friends and find their classes,” Gibbon said.

Monica Lopez, PTA secretary for Oak Harbor Elementary, said her daughter Lauryn is going into third grade and is excited about all the extracurricular activities available.

“They always enjoy the stuff like movie night,” Lopez said.

For Lopez and her daughter, the last few days before school started were spent not doing much.

“We’ve been so busy during the summer,” she said. “We’re hanging out. We’re just going to kind of relax.”

Lopez said her daughter was a little nervous about entering the third grade. However, the atmosphere at Oak Harbor Elementary was one of excitement and laughter on the first day.

Though the official count of how many students are in the district won’t be completed until Monday, Sept. 8, Gibbon said the district has a preliminary count of approximately 5,515 students from kindergarten through 12th grade, about 50 more than they had last year.

The 2013-14 school year ended with 5,465 students enrolled in the district.

To make room for the increased number of students, three portable buildings were installed at three different elementary schools over the summer for a total number of six new classrooms.