FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) Many students in the Pee Dee and Grand Strand returned to school on Monday.

News13 followed the back-to-school action on social media and visited students at Briggs Elementary in Florence where students explained what they looked forward to the most.

“I’m excited that I get to meet new friends and new teachers,” said Ana.

She’s a fifth grade student at Briggs where many students shared the same opinion. Most students and parents arrived on the campus before the first bell rang at 7:45 A.M. this morning.

Getting there on time is something parents said required preparation.

“We were talking about our plan for the morning of, and making sure we’re up and establishing a good routine with getting back up early, and making sure we have enough time to walk to school,” said Denny Seif.

According to school staff, they prepared several weeks in advanced but some things could only be done the days before.

“We have little projects that you can’t do until right before school comes back like textbooks, chromes, organizing classrooms and just last minute name-tags and books along with cute little welcoming messages,” said Tara Newton, Briggs Principal.

One difference Florence School District One students will have is their cafeteria food. Over the Summer, the district got a new food vendor called Chartwells.

Dishes from the vendor include vegetarian dishes, salads, soups and more. One teacher thinks it will help students taste new things.

“I think the kids will be very excited with the appearance of the food, the taste of the food. Teachers at other schools have already been talking about how good the food smells when they come down the hall,” said Jeff Murrie, FSD1 Farm-to-School Instructor.

The News13 family wishes all students a successful year!