Craig Daily Press /

michael g. seamans/special to the daily press

Zackery Evans, 9, gets a big hug from his mother at Ridgeview Elementary School on Tuesday. The family just moved from Alberta, Canada, making Tuesday Zack's first day of school in the United States.

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Area schools said goodbye to summer vacation and hello to a new school year in Craig on Tuesday. School hallways were filled with teachers, students and parents and wafted with the aroma of new backpacks and freshly sharpened pencils. Kindergartners made the big step from preschooler to the world of elementary school, a leap that can seem enormous to a 5-year-old. Kristine Pech escorted her 5-year-old daughter, Breanna, to her first day of kindergarten at Sunset Elementary. As Breanna stepped into her new classroom and met her new teacher, she grabbed onto her mother's leg with a tight grip. Breanna's mantra for next 10 minutes: "I want to go home." The cry melted away as she saw other children enter the classroom.

August 22, 2007