BEATIFIC smiles at the school gate on Monday offered the latest reminder of how simple pleasures are beginning to return to our lives almost two years after they were upended by a pandemic.
Rachel Glover said her two "very active boys" Elijah, 10, and Felix, seven, were glad to be reunited with their friends. "I think they were really excited, a little bit nervous and worried about a few things, but overall it was excitement, " Mrs Glover said.
Students were perhaps not alone in such mixed emotions. Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning Sarah Mitchell said helping students get back on track was a focus of the return.
"Of the 512,000 students returning today, more than 180,000 are from former LGA's of concern, and a number of these students are sitting their HSC this year," she said on Monday.
The government also pointed to a survey that found 82 per cent of 88,000 parents spread across 799 schools were supportive of a return to school and happy with the mandatory safety precautions.
Still, given the rollercoaster of a pandemic and the absence of vaccination for those aged under 12, there are genuine concerns.
They include the potential impact of closing schools when outbreaks emerge. On Monday alone three Hunter schools - Mayfield West, Irrawang and Thornton - were closed for deep cleaning.
Some perhaps would argue that consistency is more helpful to children than a potentially disrupted return to the classroom.
Hunter New England Health's Dr David Durrheim pointed to consistent high numbers with a broad spread in the region in offering some advice to parents: get tested.
"With schools going back today we can understand that parents will be a little bit anxious," he said. "We have to be so alert to the very mildest of symptoms of anyone in the family. A runny nose may be all that your child is experiencing, but don't ignore it.
"We see that when COVID gets into schools or early learning centres it can spread very rapidly."
We live in a time when risk is a given, and significant measures are in place in an effort to reduce our exposure to it. As most of us shift mindset towards the imperfect protection of our vaccination, schools will for a time at least offer a reminder of how erratic the pandemic can be.
Hopefully Year 12 students who are returning have gained the perspective that many do not find until after the exams; that despite the importance of the tests, they do not mark the end of anything except formal schooling for those who sit them, regardless of their final results.
Premier Dominic Perrottet has been clear that a return to classrooms is a crucial step, and urged people not to "let perfect be the enemy of good". As with most elements of the pandemic, the little protections will count. The goal, at least, is simple: keep those smiles shining at the school gate.
