The weather finally cooperated. The crowd showed up. And Hamilton Southeastern Schools got exactly the send-off it wanted into the 2026-2027 school year.

The fifth annual Before the Bell celebration drew a large turnout to the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater Thursday evening under near-perfect summer skies — a welcome change from recent years, when storms forced the free community event to be scrapped altogether.

There was music. There were cheerleaders. There was the particular buzz of families running into neighbors they hadn’t seen since May.

Superintendent Matt Kegley worked the crowd throughout the evening and took the microphone to welcome families to his first Before the Bell since the HSE Board of School Trustees appointed him superintendent in April. Kegley is in his 20th year with the district and his 30th in education.

Kids had plenty to keep them occupied. Inflatables and face painting drew steady lines. Student robotics teams ran demonstrations. An FFA petting zoo brought animals to the amphitheater grounds, and a touch-a-bus gave younger students a look inside the vehicle many of them will be riding come Wednesday morning.

Every HSE school building had a booth, joined by district departments and a long list of education-related community partners handing out prizes and information. All of them stayed busy from start to finish.

The event, presented by Meijer, has become the district’s unofficial opening ceremony for the school year — one of the few nights when families from all of HSE’s schools land in the same place at the same time.

The calendar moves quickly from here. New teachers are already working through their orientation sessions. The full teaching staff reports to their buildings Monday, August 3, and students have their first day of class Wednesday, August 5.

If the energy at Before the Bell is any indication, it should be a special school year ahead for HSE Schools.