Every day for the past year, Alisha Zanga has asked her parents when she will be able to join her 13-year-old brother at school.
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Until finally, her first day in the same uniform arrived on Wednesday.
"She's the youngest, she's the last one to start," said father Agrippa Zanga.
"It's been an every day question for a whole year, 'when am I going to go to school'. Then last week we got a message from the school saying 'eight more sleeps'. We've been very excited."
To offer her on her way for the first day of school, Mr Zanga recited a Chinese Proverb to inspire her.
"I think of these words, 'a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step'. This is her first step in the journey," he said.
"She either wants to be a professional musician or a vet, and this is where she will start that journey and discover what she will do."
Alisha is one of 43 students who have started kindergarten at Wagga Christian College.
At the other end of the school, also beginning their first day of school - though for the final time in their school careers - were the school's 36 year 12 students.
College principal Phillip Wilson told The Daily Advertiser that over the past year, the students have become accustomed to self-guided learning and are much more prepared than their predecessors were for the challenges of living in COVID-world.
"I'm looking forward to a normal school year," Mr Wilson said.
"This year's year 12 are glad that they're not facing the restrictions that last year experienced. Last year though, when they were in year 11, they learnt how to learn-from-home, so they're prepared."
With some of the COVID-19 restrictions still hanging over this year, the school is attempting to stage a return to school that will keep the students, staff and visitors staff without sacrificing its on-campus community.
"We used to have parents congregating at the edge of the car park, mingling while their children were on the basketball courts at the end of the day, they wouldn't want to go home," Mr Wilson said.
"That changed when we were told we couldn't have parents on site. We lost a lot of our community, so we're trying to find a way that will be safe to get everyone back."