It’s the first day school, and Butler Elementary teacher Nancy Bauman has good news for her fifth grade classroom. Because they have to wait longest for lunch, they’re given a special snack at recess. “But don’t lose track of your trash, and leave it on the playground,” Bauman warns, “or you’ll lose the sneak-a-snack privilege.”

Classrooms across Utah came to life on Wednesday as the 2016-2017 school year got underway, and a good portion of the day was spent rehearsing the ground rules. What do you do if you need to use the bathroom or sharpen your pencil? When is recess? What’s for lunch? How do we walk in the hallway–quietly, with purpose, and without signaling to friends who are studiously working in nearby classrooms, says Butler’s Jane Hart to her first-graders.

It takes discipline and constancy, but setting the right tone now makes for an academically successful rest of the year. Integral to setting the right tone in Canyons District is the unique tradition of–literally–rolling out the red carpet for new and returning students. Parents, grandparents, teachers and community partners turned out in droves this year to cheer students–the true “stars” of the day–as they posed for photos and gave high five’s to their teachers. The event conveys a warm welcome while underscoring the importance of school as a child’s ticket to success in college and careers.