Summer vacation officially ended Thursday, and it was time for students on Staten Island to hit the books. NY1's Natalie Duddridge filed the following report.
A crossing guard greeted hundreds of public school students on Thursday, directing them into school on their first day of classes at PS 48 in Grasmere.
"I'm feeling very excited, very ready" said one student.
"Nervous and excited." said another
Tens of thousands of students from across the borough have mixed emotions about their first day.
"I'm expecting 13 piles of homework, it's the first day of school." said a fourth grade student.
And the parents have mixed feelings, too:
"I'm nervous." said one father.
This time of year also means back to early mornings, school busses, traffic, and rushing.
"There's usually fighting and sleeping. They don't want to go to school, but today we got up and we're excited," said Linda, a mother of two young girls.
But there's always time to stop for that classic back-to-school snapshot.
"The kids make fun of me, they're moaning and groaning when I take the picture, but it's a tradition," said Gregory, who has two kids at P.S. 48.
From traditions, to trends; what is the most popular back to school item this year?
"A Pokémon lunchbox and a Pokémon bag," said two brothers.
But it's back to business, too.
The 2016-17 school year means more of the state's Common Core curriculum, leaving some parents with questions for their teachers.
And it was not just the nerves; there were some sweaty palms for another reason, as there was a heat advisory issued across the city.
It always feels like fall on the first day of school, but it's technically still summer, and that has lots of people dreaming of it.
So, pretty soon there will be a lot more than summer holidays floating around in these students heads: history, English, science and —
"Math! Lots of math!" said one eager student.