Hi-Line kids return to school

Students returning to Highland Park for first grade were dropped off by buses and family members this morning, with new school supplies and a whole school year ahead of them.

"We have a lot of activities for the first day of school," said June Welch, a first-grade teacher.

She said the students will be getting to know each other and learning their classmates' names, as well as learning the rules, being introduced to the classroom and reading books. She has 20 students in her classroom.

She said the first day back to school is always fast and furious.

"They're always exciting," Welch said.

Peggy Nault, the speech paraprofessional at Highland Park, has been through five years of first days. She said she works with anywhere from 40 to 50 students a year.

"The first-graders are usually very excited, because they remember everybody," Nault said. "The kindergarteners? We have tears sometimes, but by the end of the week, we're doing pretty good."

Parents took photos of their young students on their first day of first grade and as the students chose their seats in their assigned classrooms, they spread their pencils, papers and other supplies on their tables, ready or not for the fall semester ahead of them.

Kindergarten students start their first day of school Friday.