School is coming back into session for many valley schools in the next two weeks sending families shopping for clothes and supplies..

In Ripon where the high school students have an open campus at lunch time, they will have an additional choice to visit the new Laurel’s Vintage Café at the main intersection where Stockton Avenue and Main Street meet – complete with pastries and old - fashioned milk shakes.

Ripon Elementary School secretary Debbie King displayed her unexpected excitement from inside her office as she is looking forward to the return of the school’s students. The school is located near the downtown area of the community.

Alyssa Spence – whose mother is administrative assistant at the Ripon Chamber of Commerce – will be attending second grade at Park View Elementary School.  “There’s a lot of cool stuff out there right now,” her mom quipped.  “She is into Super Heroes like Captain America tank tops, plus she hopes to get a turquoise back pack.”

Manteca Target Store managers Kris Jackson and Dwayne Dahlberg were personally welcoming customers on Thursday pointing out they have a new offering of specials every week that are inserted in the Manteca Bulletin. 

That Manteca store offers a percentage of parents’ purchase for those with a red card to go back to the school of their choice.  A check for thousands of dollars has already been given to the Ripon Christian Schools, they noted.

Spence said when she was in her primary school years, her dad Chuck Roots was stationed in Guam with the Navy and she attended a private school where she had to wear a uniform maroon jumper with an identifying school patch over the heart.

Found in the parking lot of the store with her son Aiden was Tonya Almendarez who had already put their purchases in the family car.  She said she just buys him shorts and plain short sleep shirts at this point before school begins its semester.  Some two months into the year she said she will be back to buy him some new jeans.

Another mom and her three boys were seriously looking for their back to school clothes and the boys in fourth and sixth grade were – Riley and Nolan – helping with their own suggestions.  The younger three-year-old Timothy or “Trip” as he is nicknamed was doing his best sitting in a shopping basket devouring a muffin from the coffee shop at the front of the store.  They all seemed to be totally enjoying themselves.

Their mom “Michael” Keegan said they had just returned from Pinecrest where they were pretty much rained out of their cabin earlier that morning.  Dad, who is a Sheriff’s Deputy, couldn’t get away for the trip and had to stay on duty.