Mist rose from the grass on the football field as Queensbury High School seniors gathered on the track with Dunkin and bagels in hand to watch the sunrise together on their last first day of school.
With West Mountain to their backs, the Class of 2026 watched the sun come up and illuminate the orange and red leaves that have just started to turn on the trees around campus. Once the sun was up, the rest of the high school students joined them inside the school for the start of the 2025-26 school year on Thursday, Sept. 4.
Queensbury Middle Schoolers stood in groups in front of their building as they waited for the first bell to ring, and their classmates stepped off the school buses behind the school, eager to get to guideroom.
Principal Amanda Denno tugged on the rope that rings the bell to signify the start of the new school year at the William H. Barton Intermediate School. She and school counselor Jason Blackman high-fived kids as they entered the building.
At Queensbury Elementary School, first grader Elaine Spangler charged off her school bus and yelled “I’m so excited!” to Principal Jessica Rossetti. 
“When they come in the building, their energy level’s just so high, it excites all the adults as well,” said Superintendent of Schools Kyle Gannon. “It’s just an exciting day. It’s a beautiful day on campus.”