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Wednesday, FEBRUARY 3, 2021
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Australia Day awards P4-5 I community photos P16 BACK TO SCHOOL: Abigail, Poppy and Harley were excited to start their first day at Tolga State School.
New school year begins more than a million Queensland students walked back through the school gates last week as the start of the 2021 school year got underway. Some parents felt relief, while others felt a hint of sadness as their babies started school for the very first time. Over 66,000 prep students started their first day of school as mums, dads and carers felt a mixture of sadness, pride and excite-
ment as their babies went off to ‘big’ school. Mum of two, Colette Carroll said she tried not cry as her youngest daughter Poppy started prep at Tolga State School. “I did get a little emotional, but I was also excited for her,” she said. “Sending your youngest to school is the end of an era. “I tried to hold back the tears and afterwards I caught up with some mums and we had a cof-
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fee and a cry and consoled each other.” Colette said her daughter loved the idea of going to school and couldn’t wait to return the very next day. “She loved her first day, she really enjoyed it and made lots of friends,” she said. “She actually got up early in the morning and was dressed by 7.30am eager to get to school. “Poppy went in with a smile and
came out with a smile, she wants to learn how to read, she wants to do anything that is school related so that’s really good.” While students are going back to school under strict COVID-safe rules, Education Minister Grace Grace said Queensland had responded well to the state's coronavirus restrictions and were now reaping the benefits of a more relaxed back-to-school regime. "We just ask that parents check
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with their school to make sure they follow the COVID-safe practices of social distancing and proper hygiene and they'll be warmly welcomed into the classroom, particularly for those preppies that are starting," she said. The Department of Education has given all Queensland schools permission to have parents on school sites, as long as social distancing and other COVID-safe protocols are exercised at all times.
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