-Messenger photo by Deanna Meyer
Manson Northwest Webster Elementary students and staff gather in front of the school for the flag-raising ceremony on the first day of classes Wednesday in Barnum.

-Messenger photo by Deanna Meyer
Verlyn Kirchoff, commander, at left, and Randy Stein, from American Legion Post 204, prepare to raise the flag on the first day of school Wednesday morning at Manson Northwest Webster Elementary in Barnum, as a class of kindergarten students looks on.

-Messenger photo by Deanna Meyer
Manson Northwest Webster Elementary Principal Bret Larson addresses the preschool through sixth-grade students and staff gathered in front of the school for the flag-raising ceremony Wednesday.

-Messenger photo by Deanna Meyer
Randy Stein, left, and Verlyn Kirchoff, commander of American Legion Post 204, raise the flag on the first day of school Wednesday at Manson Northwest Webster Elementary in Barnum.

-Messenger photo by Deanna Meyer
Manson Northwest Webster Elementary students recite the Pledge of Allegiance during the flag-raising ceremony Wednesday morning in Barnum.

-Messenger photo by Deanna Meyer

-Messenger photo by Deanna Meyer
The Manson Northwest Webster mascot is a cougar. This one is located at the MNW Elementary School in Barnum.