Gathered in a circle, standing on the front lawn, Pauline Breilled of Auvernje, France, smiles with glinting braces at her Grade 8 teacher Kimberly Veneziale and classmates.
Hundreds of students throughout the Highlands like Pauline wearily awoke from their summer habits and started a fresh new school year.
For some students it’s the first time ever, while others are  moving onto a new grade and new challenges.
Pauline’s class was waiting for the completion of work to the classroom on the first day of school at J. Douglas Hodgson Elementary School on Tuesday, Sept. 4.
After a chaotic scene of children disappeared into the school, the newest exchange student from France told her Grade 8 peers where she is from.
She is used to starting at 8 a.m. and said the yellow school buses are a departure from the multi-coloured school buses where she comes from.
Pauline, who arrived on Aug. 18, will stay for two months and is living with her peer Betty Paton in Haliburton.
- Look for a future article on her and other exchange students in the area