A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Students of all ages either transferred to other buses or headed into Churchill Elementary School Wednesday morning.
Churchill principal David Wangen was there to greet them personally.
First-grader Matheo Hayes poses for mom before heading inside.
Milo Seely grabs some breakfast before school.
First-grader Dani Christensen-Korich was super-excited to be back at Cloquet's Churchill Elementary Wednesday morning as she waved goodbye for the day to dad Nick Christensen and her sister Jaclyn Fredrickson. "She's a pro, now that she's got one year under her belt," said one of the many teachers waiting to greet the students as they walked into the building.
Giant "Welcome back to school" signs greeted returning Churchill Elementary School students Wednesday, providing the perfect photo opp for family members as they said goodbye to children and summer in the cooler weather.
Staff were ready and waiting inside and out, lined up along the hallways to greet students as they disembarked from buses rolling in on the building's west side, or piling out of cars or walking at the main entrance.
"We got the first crew in," said American Indian Ed teacher Phil Beadle, following the first wave of buses.
"Check, check," responded school social worker Don Gentellini. "I saw a lot of familiar faces."
Churchill Elementary School principal David Wangen was the third person hopping onto each bus as it arrived, explaining that kids could go inside and eat breakfast - breakfast and lunch are now free for all students thanks to new legislation - or play on the playground until the 8 a.m. bell rang.
There were a few tears, but even more high fives and hugs and kids returned to familiar hallways and new teachers.
