Krishna Lowe’s kindergarten class at Horace O’Bryant School was a colorful hive of backpacks, water bottles and bathroom breaks on Aug. 12, the first day of school for Florida Keys kids.
The youngest students practiced hanging their backpacks, raising their hands and sitting properly on the classroom’s giant carpet — “Criss cross applesauce, hands in your lap.”
Meanwhile, in the middle school wing of the Key West school, sixth, seventh and eighth graders slipped in and out of already-bored looks and first-day enthusiasm, reconnecting with friends and organizing their new lockers.
Giant touch screens have replaced chalkboards in all classrooms, and the old TVs and VCRs that used to roll through the hallways on a tall A/V cart would be laughed at today. But from new shoes and nervous laughter to parents in the parking lot marveling at how big their baby boy is, some things never change on the first day of school.
