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New leadership and new ideas, as Albert Lea Area Schools threw a Back to School Festival Monday afternoon with a dunk tank, bounce houses and games.

According to Ron Wagner, Albert Lea Area Schools superintendent, this was something new to celebrate the community.

Joe Beckman, a motivational speaker, was scheduled to speak following the event.

“Last year during our lunch we showed a video of the importance of relationships, the importance the teachers have and the impact they have on students,” he said. “The relationship [Beckman] had in his video was one that we aired that talked about his own childhood [in] fourth and fifth grade, impact [of] the teachers.”

It was his hope Beckman would help ground listeners in community relationships while stressing the importance of having those relationships.

“It’s really about that human connection and the importance of really stepping away from technology and really rebuilding that human connection that many of them often unfortunately lost due to some of the technology that’s in our hands today,” he said.

For Wagner, the idea for a festival was to accentuate the relationship with the community, bring people together and celebrate each other and their gifts. In other words: Build trust.

Beckman also spoke for staff earlier in the day during what was their first day back.

Besides the dunk tank, bounce houses and food trucks, there were tables for each school, a table for experiential learning and a table for the high school’s robotics team.

“Now we have a community festival where we welcome all of our staff and our community just to come out and have fun, enjoy one another,” he said.

Most important to him was hearing the laughter and celebration while also seeing hugs and smiles on people’s faces.

Nicky Severtson, principal at Sibley Elementary School, was helping set up a booth regarding minnow races and matching ducks.

“[It’s] a fun carnival idea for the kids to come and celebrate the beginning of the school year,” she said, noting she loved the excitement and was looking forward to the school year.

Staci Wangen, a third-grade teacher at Hawthorne Elementary School, said she thought having a festival was a great idea.

“It’s focusing and showcasing all of our schools,” she said. “There’s so many different kids activities to showcase what’s going on in Albert Lea and how much it means to us to involve our community.”

Having been the first time, it was her hope the celebration brought people together and helped to present a united front between teachers, students and their families.

Wangen and some of her colleagues at Hawthorne decided on having a booth accentuating their theme for the school year: Hawthorne is groovy.

“We actually have a new principal this year — Marie Adams — and we are pinning the glasses on Mrs. Adams,” she said.

The idea was similar to pin the tail on the donkey, with students closing their eyes and being spun around before attempting to pin them on.

Even if they failed to complete the task, students still got a prize.

Sahara Hernandez, who will be a junior this fall, was there with her friend Brokelyn Brech.

“I like seeing old teachers,” she said, adding that the event seemed “cool.”

Brech, an incoming sophomore, described the event as “pretty cool.”

Ledger Haase, who will be a fifth grader at Lakeview Elementary School, liked the event, especially a basketball game.

Madison Twedt will be heading into second grade at Hawthorne Elementary.

“I like it,” she said, referring to the festival. She had participated in a minnow race and a marshmallow toss, among other activities.

Parents were also having a good time and participating in some of the games while interacting with teachers.

Wagner, who participated in the dunk tank, also wanted to thank everyone who came out.