After a summer that felt all too brief, August saw all three kids return to school in person at the same time for the first time in seventeen months. Julia and Joe started surprisingly early, on August 9 this year, with Julia attending a sunrise breakfast for seniors while Joe got an extra couple hours to sleep in. After the breakfast, Julia returned home with her friend Blain to collect her brother, and the three of them were off to start the year.

William started more than a week later, on August 18. He felt a little trepidation at first—he hasn’t had that many first days of school, after all—but he’s much more at ease now that he’s back into the swing of things. It helps that a number of his friends from previous years are in his class, and as an added bonus, the little boy who moved in across the street is as well. Compared to Julia and Joe at the same age, he has a veritable bonanza of kids in the neighborhood to play with.

All three kids have had busy starts to the year. Joe is focused on staying organized, as he’s taking two AP classes, including AP World History, which is infamous for generating a large amount of work. Julia is also taking a number of AP classes, though she’s debating whether she wants to stick with one of them, and she’s won a part in the fall play. She’s faced with balancing those requirements with preparing for the SAT and applying to colleges.

William’s schedule is comparatively simple, though he’s started on a new soccer team and continues to take virtual piano lessons.

There are a few more pictures in the photo gallery, including a couple from the inside of William’s classroom, which we’ve never seen in person due to COVID-19 restrictions. The schools are working hard to keep the kids safe, especially at Booksin, where the student population is largely unvaccinated. Back-to-school night was virtual for all all three kids, with all the technical challenges that entails: I think we missed four out of fourteen of the older kids’ class sessions due to problems with Zoom. But the overall sense I have is that the teachers and administrators are committed to making the school year as engaging and enriching as possible under the circumstances.

Gallery: Back to School 2021