Piedmont was alive with the sound of students returning to campuses this past Wednesday as the 2022-2023 school year got underway. While COVID has not disappeared, a more relaxed approach to managing the virus was evident as the district and families work to return to some semblance of normal.
Friends reconnect at the back to school donut event on the Piedmont Recreation Department lawn 
Students hand out donuts to fellow middle schoolers 
Students check class schedules with one another at the PMS donut breakfast 
Middle schoolers on their way to class 
Two boys compare schedules and classes 
Students descend the Piedmont Middle School steps 
The Piedmont Middle School patio just before the start of the first day 
Friends catch up in the crowded Piedmont Middle School patio 
New Piedmont Middle School Principal, Karyn Shipp, on the first day of school 
PHS Assistant Principal Erin Igoe holds the bouquet of flowers that were given to her on the first day of school 
Students in the walkway between the new theater and STEAM building 
Piedmont students Joyce Stern, Erik Stenstrom, Miranda Long, Sarone Kelete and Milani Juarbe 
Parents grab first day of school photos against the banners hanging on the Havens Elementary school gates 
Two sisters pose for a first day photo 
Beach Parent Organization welcomes families back to school 
Parents gather on the Beach blacktop after drop-off. 
Friends head to class 
Mason Bennett hugs crying sister Adeline as he heads into Kindergarten.
And heads-up to commuters driving through town on weekday mornings: Under a new state law, schools must not start before 8:30 a.m., which means the center of town in particular will likely be more congested than has been typical as students and families filter in to Havens Elementary, Piedmont Middle School (8:40 a.m. start), and the two high schools around the same time every morning.
(Apologies for the dearth of Wildwood photos — our photographers could only be in so many places at one time!)