A new school year got underway Tuesday for a majority of Minnesota students, and across the metro area the accent was on the new.
New shoes. New start times. New principals. New clothes — even uniforms pulled together at the last minute.
The governor and the state's education commissioner got in on the action, too, and while both know their way around a classroom, the opportunity to help kick off a school year in their high-profile positions was a first for them, too.
Proof again that a good fresh start never gets old.
Parents of six prepare for school send-off
There's nothing quite like starting a new year in new running shoes, and Ikram Alibos, sporting a spectacular neon pink pair Tuesday, had the added plus of now being a fifth-grader.
That means she's one of the big kids at Pillsbury Elementary in Minneapolis — a fact she was keen to share as she waited for the school's traditional opening day red-carpet ceremony.
Nearby, her father, Abdirizak Alibos, leaned in to her twin brothers, Rayan and Ridwan, second-graders wearing matching backpacks. He put his hands on their shoulders and said, "Today's the first day of school. I hope you have a great day. And behave well."
It was a fun morning for the Alibos children. Their mother, Hana Mohammed, prepared breakfast a half-hour early at 6 a.m. She lined up the backpacks and the school supplies and Ikram's clarinet along the living-room wall. Father and son Ridwan exchanged a fist bump at the dining room table.