As students and parents arrived for the first day of the new school year at school in Aldergrove on Tuesday morning, Sept. 5 , principal Chris Wejr was there to greet them, including his son Everett, who was starting Grade 1 at the school his father administers.

After two years of seismic upgrades, Wejr was looking forward to a year without any building going on.

鈥淭here was fencing all around the doors,鈥� Wejr recalled.

鈥淪o this year, there鈥檚 no construction. It鈥檚 kind of the first typical start of the year since 2019 for us.鈥�

Wejr, back for his sixth year at the helm, told the 91原创 Advance Times he was 鈥渧ery thankful to be here. I love this community, the parents, the families, the kids, the staff, [there鈥檚] something special about it.鈥�

It was the first day of the new school year at Aldergrove's Shortreed elementary with 430 students expected

鈥� 91原创 Advance Times (@91原创Times)

An estimated 430 students are expected to attend the school at 27330 28th Ave. this year.

Aldergrove mom Misty was smiling as she dropped off son Crayden and daughter Jaida.

When asked if she was looking forward to having the kids in school, 鈥淚 am, absolutely,鈥� she replied, but added her kids were also looking forward to reconnecting with fellow students.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e excited to see their friends,鈥� Misty commented, as Jaida took a moment to give a friend a big hug.

Students and parents lined up to get their pictures in a 鈥淔irst Day of School鈥� frame.

Shortreed was one of 45 91原创 public schools to welcome students back on Tuesday.

In an , Candy Ashdown, chair of the 91原创 board of education, wished everyone 鈥渁 2023-24 school year filled with success.鈥�

鈥淲e hope you all had a healthy, relaxing, and fun summer break and are energized and excited for the new school year ahead.,鈥� Ashdown said.

She added the board will continue to lobby for new schools help manage growth in the district, 鈥渨hich gets larger each year.鈥�

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Rachna Singh, B.C. minister of education and child care noted some students, teachers and staff might not be in their homes and communities due to wildfires in some parts of the province.

鈥淚 want to thank the leadership and staff of school districts within wildfire-affected areas who are working tirelessly to support their communities by providing school buses to support evacuation efforts, securing student records, providing school facilities for evacuees and responders, and being available for families in need of support,鈥� Singh said.

READ ALSO: Web poll: How prepared are you for back-to-school