Although the first day of school for Demopolis students is Tuesday, Aug. 11 — and somewhere close to that for the other schools in Marengo County — there will be a lot of activities going on around our schools this week, the week before school.

Sports practices are beginning. Senior portraits will be taken. Schedules will be picked up at the schools.

Just as you would when school is in session, we ask everyone to be extra-careful when driving around our schools in the upcoming week.

Although the classes haven’t begun yet at the high schools, the parking lots and streets near those schools will have extra traffic on them as students go to their schools for those pre-school-year needs.

Also, be careful when driving arond the stores this week. If the students aren’t at the schools, they and their parents will certainly be at the stores to buy school supplies, school clothes and other needs for the upcoming school year.

This coming weekend, Aug. 7-9, is the Tax-Free Weekend, when parents will be able to buy school clothes and supplies without having to pay the sales tax on those items.

Other shoppers who don’t have any kids in school will also take advantage of the lowered costs.

Be careful and be patient in the parking lots. A little extra care, biting your lip instead of yelling at the car in front of you and extra caution will go a long, long way during this school shopping week.