ALL SMILES: Prep pupil, Grace Seymour (above), had a big hug to say goodbye to her mum, Narelle, yesterday.

A big day for preps, and their parents

Written by By SHANA MORGAN.

LOTS of hugs were given and a few tears shed yesterday as Wangaratta’s Catholic school preps said goodbye to their parents before their first day of school.

Our Lady’s Primary School had 24 new prep pupils start and most were very excited to meet their new classmates and jump straight into activities before the first bell.

Some pupils, like cousins and best friends Gemma and Emilee Bell, had the extra advantage of knowing someone from day one.

Narelle Seymour said her daughter Grace is her first child to go to school, which was nervous and exciting for both of them.

"She put her shoes on at quarter past six this morning and danced around and said ‘Mum come on, do my hair’," she said.

But even parents who have been through it before do not find it easy, such as Lorissa Stemmer, who said her youngest daughter Patsy was "pumped" to start school.

"I don’t think you ever get used to it," she said.

Our Lady’s prep teacher, Annabel Carmody, said the parents were welcome to stay in the classroom for a while yesterday morning, then head to the school hall to have a coffee and get to know other parents.

"Some of them probably put on a brave face, but usually they’re pretty good," she said.

The pupils used their first day to get to know each other, the school and how learning in a classroom works.

The Our Lady’s pupils were among more than 280 preps to start school yesterday and today in Wangaratta and 70,000 to start school across Victoria.