The 2021-2022 school year kicked off on Monday, Aug. 9 with the annual walkthrough registration ritual for middle and high schoolers and the start of classes for all students on Tuesday, August 10. As COVID lurks, masks are must, but social distancing requirements have been relaxed to ensure that all students can return to classrooms for an in-person learning experience.
Walkthrough registration
PHS, MHS, and PMS students must all show up on campus the day before classes start to get their class schedules, photo IDs, textbooks, Chromebooks, and more.
A student collects a Chromebook 
The line for photos wraps around the quad with the new STEAM building in the background 
PHS Counselor Chris Hartford chats with a student 
Text books are well organized in the library for students to select and then check out 
A group of high school juniors 
The Wellness Center table is well stocked with information and resources for returning students 
Alma Ruberto and Clare Weiss, incoming 9th graders, say they are ready for school to start
First day of school
On the first day of school, the center of town was full of students and families making their way to their school sites. (NOTE to Beach and Wildwood families: We welcome your back-to-campus photos! Send them to us at news@piedmontexedra.com and we will add to the page. Our photographer could only cover so much ground between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.)
Cars, construction, and people on Magnolia Avenue on the first day of school 
A group of friends on their way to PHS 
Middle schoolers on their way to start the school day 
Signs in support of teachers adorn one of the entrances to Havens Elementary School 
The Ferguson family takes a photo before one of their daughters starts her first day of kindergarten 
Two boys excitedly await for their classroom door to open and the teacher to let them in 
A teacher at Havens welcomes a new student into the classroom 
After drop off, parents mingle and catch up in the breezeway at Havens 
Colton and Devon Robertson are ready for the first day of school 
Principal Anne Dolid introduces herself to a new kindergarten student 
Friends line up in front of their classroom sign and have a photo taken 
A new student waits with her mom to enter the gates at Havens Elementary School 
A new student holds her dad’s hand and a bouquet of flowers 
A new student greets her teacher with a wave 
A mom gives a big hug to her daughter before entering the classroom 
Goodbyes from parents on the first day 
In Ms Dube’s class, the kids start their first day by learning each other’s names 
Backpacks are lined up against the wall outside while the students start their day inside 
A kindergartener offers a gift of a plant to his teacher