Students March Back to School in Dedham

With their new, squeaking shoes tied tight, more than 200 youngsters filled the Avery School gymnasium Wednesday afternoon for the first day of school.

Dozens of parents milled about with their children for 30 minutes before school started, chatting with other parents and rubbing the heads of their kids.

All Dedham public schools went back to school Wednesday morning, including the Early Childhood Education Center, which is under the leadership of a new principal, Jessica Hammond. It also marked the beginning of the end for high school seniors – the class of 2011.

But senior status is a long way off for the students that gathered at Avery Wednesday morning.

Kasey Corrado, now a fourth grader at Avery, and her mother, Andrea, said they were very excited to start the new year and Kasey looked forward to seeing her friends that she didn't see over the summer, her mom said.

With rain spitting outside - it had stormed before with thunder and lightning, forcing the morning assembly inside - flashes of cameras and hugs filled the gym.

Niko Sountaoulidis, a first grader, made his first trip into Avery after attending Early Childhood Education Center last school year. His dad, Xeno Sountaoulidis, said the youngster felt a bit overwhelmed, but said his son was excited all summer long to attend the new school.

While it isn't the family's first venture into a full-day program, Sountaoulidis said Niko's mom was sad to see her son go off to school.

"His mom was a little teary-eyed this morning," Sountaoulidis said.

Students began to march out of the gym precisely at 8:38 a.m. one class at a time.

As kids gabbed their backpack straps, they walked eyes forward to their new classrooms.

Parents snapped plenty of pictures, took videos with cell phones, and some held crying younger siblings.

The dress-and-polo shirt-touting students wiped off kisses on the cheek and took just 10 minutes to move out of the gym, leaving their parents behind.

If you have any photos or videos of your child on their first day of school, upload them on this page.