Happy to be back in the classroom

OLIVER Taylor and his big sister Zara were all smiles on Monday after finally getting back to school again.

The young Surf Coast siblings joined the thousands of students across the region who swapped remote learning at home for the classroom in time to start

Term 4.

Oliver, 6, and Zara, 10, both agreed it was “ah-mazing” to put on their uniforms, pick up their school bags and make their way to Torquay College which has just undergone a $1.9million upgrade.

“I loved seeing my friends and going into my new classroom because it has just been built,” said Zara, who is in

Year 4.

Oliver said his highlights included doing maths and playing tag with his mates in the schoolyard.

The pair said apart from the teachers and adult staff wearing masks and social distancing, it was mostly the same as always.

But Zara admitted it did feel unusual to be among so many other kids.

“When I went into school, I saw my bestest friend but it felt so weird to see everyone in the school – I haven’t seen that many people in a while,” she said.

“I don’t have all my friends on my iPad messages so I couldn’t keep in touch with all of my friends during remote learning.

“It’s sad because we aren’t as close now but I guess now that we are back at school it’s a time to build back up our friendships again.”

And the hardest part about going back to school?

That was a no-brainer for the Taylor kids.

“I didn’t really want to get out of bed in the morning because it was really cold,” Zara said.

“Me too!” added Oliver.