In her 23 years of teaching, Deborah Staples has never been this excited for a class to step into her classroom for the first time.
It s the first time that has ever happened in February, though. And, as expected, the kindergarten room at East Linden Elementary School looks a little different this year.
But much has also stayed the same, if you look beyond the spaced-out desks topped with plastic barriers and the jug of hand sanitizer ready to greet students at the doorway.
There is still a bookshelf stuffed with stories and a vibrantly colored alphabet fastened on the wall. Each desk has a name tag, shaped like a sneaker, and bulletin boards are decorated bright blue, one adorned with a giant cutout of book character Pete the Cat.