About three months after students attended their first day of school for the 2018-2019 school year, Paradise Elementary School and most of the surrounding town burned down in the deadly Camp Fire.
On Monday, after being out of school for nearly a month following the wildfire, students attended their first day at the new Paradise Elementary School in Oroville.
I was there, sketching and listening while KQED's Michelle Wiley was reporting.
Students ran into the arms of their waiting teachers.
Some students were driven to school by their parents, but most arrived on two school buses.
The school entrance was decorated with signs of support for the displaced students.
There were smiles, tears and hugs.
Of the 500 elementary students enrolled in the Paradise Unified School District, only about half are returning to school.
Many families have moved out of town, looking for jobs and places to stay.
The remaining students have now been reunited with their teachers at what used to be Bird Street Elementary School in Oroville.
Children seemed to make the most of their new situation.
Teachers and staff welcomed students, while some parents had hushed conversations about the recent events.
Experts have told district officials that March and April will probably be the months that the true effects of the recent trauma will likely emerge in children and adults.
Parents were understandably reluctant to part with their children.
When they weren't welcoming students, the pain of Paradise Elementary School teachers and staff was evident.
Meanwhile, about 20 miles away at the Chico Mall, students from Paradise High School enrolled in their new virtual school.
