Back to school(ish)

Published 7:45 pm Tuesday, August 18, 2020

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For many parents, the annual back to school photo is a beloved tradition, and a keepsake to be treasured. As the 2020 school year began in force this week, however, the first day of school was anything but traditional. For many students, the school year started in front of a laptop or tablet, interacting with teachers and classmates from afar. For others, who attended class in person, masks were part of the school day attire, and social distancing was the word of the day. In any case, there has never been (and hopefully never will be again) a first day of school quite like the fall of 2020.

BIG SMILE: Abigail McDonald, a pre-k student at Northeast Elementary School, begins her first day of school at home. (Jordan Sigmon)

COMFY SCHOOL: Jake has his first day of school from the comfort of a recliner. (Contributed)

CRUSHING KINDERGARTEN: Eastern Elementary student Chance Tyndall was ready to “crush kindergarten” on the first day of school. (Lesa Naylor)

HELLO FIRST GRADE: Eastern Elementary student Blair Tyndall’s shirt says, ‘Hello” to first grade. (Lesa Naylor)

SMILING FACES: Kennedy and Dawsen Kellum are ready to learn in Mrs. Houston’s kindergarten class. (Natalie Kellum)

LEARNING FROM HOME: John Small Elementary fourth grader Larry Woolard shows off his setup for the first day of school. (Sandy Woolard)

LEARNING IN COMFORT: Sisters Aubri and Chloe Ham started the second and first grades from the comfort of their living room couch. (LaQuilla Ham)

MASKED UP: Alexis Burroughs prepares for her first day of school at Washington Montessori. Her mom says she didn’t want to take off the mask for a photo since she was going to have to wear it all day anyway. (Kimberly Burroughs)

LOGGED IN: Yanilenne Tellez begins her first day as a John Cotten Tayloe third grader using a laptop and a pair of pink headphones. (Lucy Trejo)

TIME FOR SCHOOL: Ashlyn, age 12, meets with her fellow Northeast Elementary seventh graders in an online classroom. (Jessica Baranczky)

LAPTOP LEARNING: Jackson, age 8, logged into a virtual classroom to join his third grade class at Northeast Elementary. (Jessica Baranczky)

PJ LEARNING: Zayden and Zari rock their pajamas as they prepare to start their first days of second grade and pre-k, respectively. (Meghan Strickland)

STARTING RIGHT: Jackson and Crizma Kelly get ready to start their first day at Washington Montessouri Public Charter School. (Alexis Kelly)

FIRST DAY: Maxwell Woolard, an Eastern Elementary student, started his first day of Kindergarten at home. (Meghan Woolard)

HIGH AMBITIONS: Jaxon Folk, an Eastern Elementary first grader who wants to be an astronaut, and inventor, a policeman AND a ninja. (Carmen Folk)