Most Tasmanian public school students will head back to school tomorrow for another year under the cloud of the pandemic.
With borders now open, there will be new challenges — high school students will wear masks, students may need to learn outdoors, and schools might need to deal with potential outbreaks.
We spoke to three families about how they're feeling.
The Calic Family
Romily Calic, grade 9
"I'm excited to go back to school. It'll be nice to see all my friends again… but it will be very interesting to see how different it is to grade 8 and 7.
"With the school getting COVID, it would be kind of scary… having it so close to home because it's been distanced for a while.
"I think we're mostly well equipped… everyone's had time to get used to the idea of it and gotten ready for it."
Miriam Calic, grade 7
"I'm pretty excited. I'm a bit nervous but mostly excited about seeing everyone else.
"If there was a COVID case at school then I probably wouldn't be too scared or anything because if you get COVID, because I'm vaccinated, it's still a bit of a deal but it's not as big as it would be if I wasn't vaccinated.
"The first time I got vaccinated it was a little bit scary because I hadn't gotten a needle in a while but actually it was totally fine, and the second time was fine too."
Sophie Calic, mother
"I don't know if I feel real confidence about school but I'm not letting it stress me out.
"I think my kids, they're healthy and we do as much as we can to keep them healthy and to be as resilient as they can when things change or they get sick and I trust the system enough to let them go.
"It's been a process of getting the kids to understand what COVID all means.
"In the beginning, we didn't talk much about it [COVID] and then during online learning it became a thing.
"There have been anxieties for them that have been interesting to manage and trying to work out how much you say and how much you don't say.
"You want them to be kids and to be relaxed, you don't want them to be living in a state of fear."
The Mallam Family
Seychelle Mallam, grade 12
"I think everyone's just going to try and follow the rules. I think there are probably are a lot of people who are a little bit nervous and worried about all the rules and it's probably a bit overwhelming for some people, especially the teachers.
"In year 12, I'm hoping COVID kind of dies down a little bit so that it's easy to be at school, so we don't have to worry about social distancing and everything that takes away from the learning.
"I'm hoping all the celebration stuff doesn't get cancelled and it can still run mostly normal."
Sapphire Mallam, grade 7
"I feel nervous and excited to go back to school in grade 7 because then I get to see my friends and also it's like a new school so I get to meet new people and everything.
"My friend, she feels a bit nervous because she doesn't want to get COVID.
"It's hard to wear a mask because we haven't been wearing a mask during school so it's hard to wear the mask the whole time."
The Karkoszka Family
Fin Karkoszka, grade 6
"My parents and teachers haven't really told me about how school will be different this year but I'm basically just going to do the same thing.
"Getting the COVID vaccination is something I might consider in the future, I don't really know much about it.
"Getting the COVID vaccine might help me see my elderly relatives."
Ari Karkoszka, grade 4
"I'm really excited to see my friends Sebastian and Joe at school because they're fun to play with.
"Going back to school will be a little bit different this year because there's a different teacher and different people in my class.
Daniel Karkoszka, father
"It is a tricky thing to talk [to the kids] about. We have had some chats and just basically explained that it's a tricky time.
"[Getting a vaccination] is a big thing for them to understand — what a vaccination is and what it means for the community and whether they can see their grandparents.
"If there was to be an outbreak at school I am a bit concerned about that. I've got elderly parents, I work in hospitality myself so a case of COVID in the house means a lockdown for a couple of weeks, so these are some things I do think about."
