fellow constitutional officers, members of my staff, cabinet and administration, governor dayton and mrs. dayton, wonderful to see you both. [applause] gov. walz: distinguished tribal leaders, members of the minnesota national guard, chaplain mark patrick, superintendent, principal staff and faculty, and especially students. [applause] lieutenant governor peggy flanagan and minnesota's second gentleman tom weber. [applause] minnesota's first lady, gwen walz. [applause] honored guests and my fellow minnesotans, maybe it is the smell of that freshly sharpened pencil, maybe it is the site of those desks in neat rows, maybe it's the sound of nervous youthful chatter fill in the hallways, but whatever it is, if you are a teacher, nothing, and i mean nothing beats the first day of school. for many years of our lives, we celebrated new year's day not in january, but in early fall. when the doors opened back up and the kids came back from summer break. the first day of school is all about hope. it's all about opportunity and it's all about endless possibility. that has never been more true than