Students head back to school in Yuma County

On Wednesday hundreds of students kicked off the ‘back to school’ season in Yuma County.

Both districts from Yuma and Somerton welcomed new and returning students to new classrooms to start the new year.

Not only is it the first day of school for students, but for parents and new teachers.

“This is Kindergarten-day one,” a mother who tells 13 on Your Side while walking her daughter to HLS Elementary.

“You know at first they’re a little nervous, but as soon as they walk in, it becomes a little family,” said Carina Whilhite, a fourth-grade teacher at HLS who taught third last school year.

“Right away the kids recognize each other from last year, they start saying ‘hi’, they start talking about how they miss each other, and they’re just an ‘ease’ to it once they walk into a classroom.”

For students like Emily and Ava, they’re excited to learn new subjects and meet new friends.

“My favorite thing about the first day of school is seeing your friends after how long you’ve waited to see them,” said Ava. Emily adds, “You get to learn different things, like last year I learned multiplication and now this year I’m going to learn division.”

What do you like about the ‘first day of school’?