It was a return to the classroom on Thursday at the Manteca Unified School District.

All told, a projected 25,250 students bid goodbye to their summer vacation with the beginning of the new school year.

At Manteca High, freshmen and sophomores kicked off the morning involved in the “Buffs Begin” program.

According to Principal Megan Peterson, the ninth and 10th graders convened in small groups – in this case, the classrooms – where they were briefed on the school’s rich culture and “the Manteca High way of doing things,” she said.

Much like freshmen orientation, the younger students were further helped out in their transition from eighth grade to that of a high school ninth grader.

MHS opened the new school year with an estimated 1,944, said Peterson, who’s been principal of the school since December 2022.

Of that, 490 are freshmen.

“It was a good first day,” she added.

MHS is currently going through some changes with construction taking place of a two-story, 20-room project along Mikesell Street – made possible by Measure A bonds.

Guss Schmiedt Field is also going through renovations valued at $13 million. Work on the football stadium could be completed in time for the last football game of the regular season.

The Buffaloes, meanwhile, will be playing a bulk of their home games at East Union, Sierra High, Lathrop High, and Weston Ranch High this season, Peterson noted.