It was the first day of the new school year for students at Belleview School and in the Porterville Unified School District on Thursday.

Students were all smiles and so were parents, said Marivel Valdez, a Belleview staff member, who said the kids and parents were all happy to be back at school or starting at Belleview for the first time. She welcomed everyone as they walked up the stairs near the classroom hallway gate, kindly shaking students hands, or giving them a hug.

She answered their questions, and she spoke with parents, helping or directing them where they needed to go in both English and Spanish.

Charlene Carasco brought her two grandsons to school with her daughter Roxane Sierra. Warren Sierra was going into fourth grade, and Lincoln Sierra was going into first grade, and th

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