At 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, kindergartener Violet Ceko packed her pink-sequined backpack she’d unpacked minutes earlier, proudly displaying her unicorn lunch box, squishy, gummy-bear-shaped notebook and stuffed bunny.

The three-year-old fastened the Velcro on her Adidas sneakers and headed out the door for her first day of school .

Kindergartener Violet Ceko, 3, and her mom, Samantha Ceko, pack her backpack before heading to school on Sept. 2, 2025. Kate McCullough/The Hamilton Spectator

Thousands of Hamilton kids returned to classrooms across the city on Tuesday morning. Crossing guards helped families get to school safely, and school buses once again populated the roads. Parents could be seen pushing strollers and pulling backpack-wearing kids in wagons.

Kindergartener Violet Cek

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