It's not just children who get nervous on the first day of school. Spare a thought for the new teachers stepping into a classroom on their own for the first time this week.
As New South Wales faces a teacher shortage, 4,500 much-needed graduates took their first classes this week.
"They're really, really brave," Western Sydney University senior lecturer in education Kay Carroll told ABC Radio Sydney.
"They're really creative as well, so they want to really get to know the students and engage with them."
Dr Carroll recalls her own first day at a big co-ed high school in south-west Sydney.
"We were trembling a little bit but never showed the fear," she says.
One of Dr Carroll's tips is to learn all their students' names "so as they come in greet every student".
With 60 to 80 days in the classroom already under their belt with prac teaching, graduates these days are "well prepared", Dr Carroll says.
But not even the best training can prepare you for everything.
Vomit everywhere
When ABC Radio Sydney James Valentine asked teachers to share their memories of their first day, there were plenty of mishaps and lessons learned the hard way.
Cathy Dobbie was excited and nervous to get started after retraining as a mature-age student.
"I got given this lovely class, year 6 students and I'd spent all holidays setting up my room," she says.
But as the temperature climbed into the high 30s in the Blacktown classroom, it was all too much for one nervous student.
"He just vomited over all of their books and the whole table of six," she says.
The class was relocated to the hall for days. Ms Dobbie says she now tells student teachers you can only prepare so much.
"You've always just got to keep something up your sleeve or bend to the situation that you're in."
Beware of crows
Everything was going so well for kindergarten teacher Rebecca Evans that she thought she'd take her "little cherubs" outside for a game.
She asked the four- and five-year-olds to bring their lunches and leave them on the benches while they played, but she had not factored in some hungry birds.
"The crows descended from the tree and took everybody's lunch that wasn't in the lunch box, and some in the lunch boxes," she says.
"It looked like something from a horror movie. There were children freaking out … and I just sat there just dumbfounded."
There was no canteen so parents had to be called and asked to bring more food for their little ones they had farewelled just a few hours ago.
"I'm thinking 'I'm done. I'm over'," Ms Evans recalls.
But it was the assistant principal who apologised to her for not warning her about the cunning crows.
"He said we should really put that in the new teacher handbook."
Poor wardrobe choices
Many teachers recalled wardrobe malfunctions from broken heels, stepping on dog poo, and even one woman who set her skirt on fire from sitting too close to the heater.
Alecia De Angelis wanted to make a good first impression when she started at a school in western Sydney in 1995.
"I'd been preparing my outfit all Christmas holidays," she says.
It wasn't until recess that it dawned on Ms De Angelis, a PE teacher, that she had inadvertently dressed in the school uniform of a white polo shirt and light blue shorts.
This led to confusion at the canteen when a senior teacher ordered her to the back of the line.
"I can still hear the man screaming, and he was a big, tall man. I looked around and there was no-one who could say I was a teacher," she says.
Ms De Angelis, who is now deputy principal of a different school, says she learnt two important lessons: not to yell like that at anyone and always check the school uniform colours.
Partial swearing
First-day equipment failures are also common.
When the overhead projector wasn't working at Marrickville High School in his first week in the classroom, David Whitcombe tried to fix it.
"I had no idea what I was doing really, but I shoved my hand in to shake things around. The electric shock threw my arm back as I yelled 'Far!'," Mr Whitcombe recalls.
While he stopped himself from completing the swear word, it was pretty clear what was on his mind.
"The kids had a laugh, and I had a laugh, and we got on with it," he says.
He went on to teach for 31 years.
'Absolutely terrifying'
Rebecca Sinclair found her first day at school in 2014 after changing careers "absolutely terrifying".
"As an older person, I found the expectations of me to be higher even though I was a total newbie," she says.
Starting as a casual teacher — permanent positions were hard to secure back then — added to the difficulties.
"I sat in the staff room at lunch where no-one talked to me or engaged with me," she says.
Things did not improve as time went on and she eventually returned to her previous job working in a museum.
'Just breathe'
Whatever happens in the early days, Dr Carroll urges new teachers to remember they have the skills and capabilities they need.
If it has been a rocky start, it's important to "really just breathe and maybe step back and reflect" on what did and didn't work.
"You can't be an expert at something on day one, but you will continue to develop," she says.
She also says to remember the great contribution they can make as teachers to young people's lives in terms of their well-being, academic enrichment, and civic life.
"That's a great responsibility and it's such a great joy."
