NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) -- The carefree days of summer are over in Floyd County as students and teachers returned for the first day of school Tuesday. 

Lunches were packed and so were the buses in the New Albany-Floyd County school district. Classes started around 9 a.m. at Scribner Middle School, where there were plenty of first day jitters.

One student jokingly described the return to class as "painful."

"It's fine," she said. "I'm trying to get my study on and get good grades." 

This is the first school year in a while where COVID-19 hasn't been a big concern.

"The uncertainty and the change makes it very difficult, but once we get back into the swing of things, everybody kind of reverts back to what we know how to do," Scribner Principal Chris Kane said. "That's what we're excited about: getting the kiddos here, no masks, no regulations. We can just wash our hands regularly — like we should anyway — and we're good to go."

There are no new teachers at Scribner this year, which is unusual with many surrounding districts experiencing teacher shortages. 

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