With the arrival of school buses and the sound of the first bell, a new academic year at the Long Beach Island Elementary School (formerly the Ethel A. Jacobsen Elementary School) in Surf City began earlier this month and along with it a new chapter for its students and staff.

“This was probably one of the most successful starts to the school year we’ve had in a very long time,” LBI Consolidated School District Superintendent Peter J. Kopack said during his brief comments at the Sept.