Gus Hutchison, 5, was up before everyone else in the house but his big sister, Molly,8, still helped him make sure "everything was perfect", even combing his hair for his first day at Palmerston District Primary School on Monday.
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Gus was just one of 8300 students starting their first day of pre-school or kindergarten across the ACT's 87 public schools, with nervous parents and excited kids welcomed by ACT Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Yvette Berry.
It was organised chaos: students everywhere talking and playing, parents taking photos of their children, and some kids nervously clutching at their parents or even the other way around.
Soriebint Kallon, 6, begun school, escorted by her younger brother, Mamadu-Salieu and her father, Alpha.
"It's very exciting. It's been good, it's been very busy this morning. It's fulfilling, you know," Mr Kallon said.
"It's a milestone to signify that they're getting a bit older," Alison Hutchison, Gus' mother, said. "It just tugs at the heartstrings."
Weijan and Weikang Wu, one of two sets of twins starting at Palmerston on Monday ran around while their mother Albee admitted their schooling meant she would have more free time.
"I hope they can go to school and learn English and make friends," Ms Wu said.
Palmerston Primary has families from over 47 different countries, and while the majority of first languages spoken at home for Palmerston students is English, just under half speak another language at home, primarily Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian dialects and Arabic.
Principal Melissa Travers said the school had an English language course available for new students and was strong on community.
"We have families from all over Gunghalin come for a 20-week program and they're part of the wider school community as well," Ms Travers said.
"It's so exciting and a lot of our families aren't new, so it's lovely to welcome back the community of Palmerston."
Deputy Minister Berry said the government wanted to make the new year as calm and easy as possible for new students and parents, pointing to the publication of 'Starting School', a booklet of back to school tips for the new year.
"Children learn much faster than adults do and so having them part of a school community from the get go is important for an inclusive community environment," Ms Berry said.
She said the twins Weijan and Weikang, who were starting school with limited English would already be leaps ahead come Friday, learning English and how to be part of the school community.
"Schools are not just learning in the classroom, they're a part of our community and they're an important part of our community."
