Daily Journal

First day of school fanfare

Herscher School District welcome students back with a bang

Herscher Intermediate School students are escorted off the bus by the Tigers' mascot past the high school drumline and cheerleaders as they arrived for the first day of school on Aug. 19, 2025.

Herscher Intermediate School students are escorted off the bus by the Tigers' mascot past the high school drumline and cheerleaders as they arrived for the first day of school on Aug. 19, 2025. (Tiffany Blanchette)

By Tiffany Blanchette and Stephanie Markham

The energetic cadence of a drumline and the cheers of cheerleaders greeted the second through fourth graders arriving Tuesday morning for their first day of school at Herscher Intermediate School.

Smiling students exited the buses to this bit of fanfare thanks to the Herscher High School musicians and athletes as well as staff, teachers and the Tigers mascot, embodied by administrative assistant Kathy Astrella, handing out high fives.

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Herscher Intermediate School students Teagan Down, right, and Kaelynne Coulthard smile as they walk past the Herscher High School drumline upon arriving for their first day of third grade on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025.

Herscher Intermediate School students Teagan Down, right, and Kaelynne Coulthard smile as they walk past the Herscher High School drumline upon arriving for their first day of third grade on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. (Tiffany Blanchette/Tiffany Blanchette)

The Herscher School District joined the majority of area districts in kicking off the 2025-26 school year, with the Kankakee School District, Bourbonnais Elementary School District, Bradley Elementary School District and Manteno School District welcoming students back today for another year of learning.

First days of school

Thursday, Aug. 14

Grace Christian Academy

Friday, Aug. 15:

St. George Elementary School District

Pembroke School District

St. Anne School District

Momence School District

Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School (freshmen)

Monday, Aug. 18:

Grant Park School District

Kankakee Trinity Academy

Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School (all students)

Tuesday, Aug. 19:

Herscher School District

Bishop McNamara Catholic School

Wednesday, Aug. 20:

Kankakee School District

Bourbonnais Elementary School District

Bradley Elementary School District

Manteno School District

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Tiffany Blanchette

Tiffany Blanchette

Tiffany Blanchette has been a photojournalist with the Daily Journal since 2014 and Photo Editor since 2018. She has won awards for her work from the Illinois Press Association and the National Press Photographers Association. She enjoys covering everything from news to sports in the very community she grew up in.

Stephanie Markham

Stephanie Markham joined the Daily Journal in February 2020 as the education reporter. She focuses on school boards as well as happenings and trends in local schools. She earned her B.A. in journalism from Eastern Illinois University.