Students at Charter School for Applied Technologies hopped off the buses Monday morning greeted by their teachers, who are ready for the new year.

"We have done a lot of leg work, a lot of preparation, our teachers have spent many hours and time planning and making preparations for the students," said Middle School Principal Gregory Mott.

The school's focus on integrating technology into classrooms and teaching students everyday life skills will be demonstrated more than ever this school year.

"You may notice a couple of our projects lead the way technology labs have been renovated to really highlight what we are here," Mott said.

"Something that's really great about our school is that kids start taking a STEM-based course in kindergarten, so they're exposed to science, technology, engineering and math in that course. It's a project-based learning course where they're given a real world problem to solve with small groups, which really prepares them to be college- and career-ready upon leaving our district," said CSAT Technology Integration Specialist Alie Kuitems.

But whether students are new or returning, the school wants them to remember one thing: "Fresh start, everybody starts fresh regardless if you're here last year or not. We want everyone to come in and make each day their best," said Assistant Principal Adam Buffomante.

And if they do have some first day jitters, there are always therapy dogs, like Bear, available around the school.

"He can usually be found with his owner or with students doing some tricks, or walking through the hallways just greeting students and calming students that may need that," said CSAT Family Support Center Director Sarah Rohde.