Monday is the start of a new academic year across schools in Canberra and at St Francis of Assisi in Calwell it seems to be a case of keeping it in the family.
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Two formers students, sisters Michelle Aiken and Alison Bond, are returning to the school with their own littlies in tow.
Five year-old cousins Cooper and Imogen begin kindergarten on Tuesday.
Their mothers both credited the bustling Catholic primary school – which caters for 475 students – with instilling in them a love of learning and, ultimately, the desire to become teachers.
Mrs Aiken now teaches part-time at the school, while Mrs Bond is a teacher at Holy Family Primary School in Gowrie, but is currently on maternity leave with her four-month-old daughter Leah.
It was a no-brainer that the sisters would send their own children to the primary school they loved and the past few weeks have provided much excitement as uniforms, shoes and backpacks have been purchased and tried on in practice runs for the big day.
Cooper, an outgoing and inquisitive child, is desperately keen to get into the classroom.
He said he was looking forward to doing sports, arts and crafts, and also had an eye to undertaking some scientific inquiry – inspired by his mum's home experiments involving making slime and soaking gummy bears in water to make them expand.
"He is so ready for kindy – there will be no tears, he will just say 'Bye mum!' and be off," Mrs Aiken said.
Imogen was a little more cautious about what lay in store and her mother said she was prepared for the odd tear from her daughter – and herself.
"She is a little nervous, but she desperately wants to learn to read because her big sister Ava can," Mrs Bond said.
Luckily, with Ava in second grade at the school, a familiar face in the playground would never be far away.
St Francis of Assisi Primary School has clearly had a vocational impact on the family, as Mrs Aiken and Mrs Bond have a younger sister, Meagan, who is also a teacher.
The director of Catholic education for the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, Moira Najdecki, said " a unique feature seen in many of our schools is the number of parents who have attended a particular Catholic school as a student wanting their child to attend the same school many years later.
"We are also encouraged by the number of former students who return as new teachers who have been inspired by their attendance at a Catholic school."
