Chrissy Stephens / The American Press

SULPHUR — Children and grown-ups alike expressed excitement and camaraderie on the first day of school Tuesday at Cypress Cove Elementary.

Kindergartner Emmy Greenwood said she can’t wait to learn to read, and classmate Grant Martin said he’s really looking forward to counting to 1,000.

Randy Theriot, a grandfather and a maintenance worker at Cypress Cove, said that “school is a part of family” and that he plans to see his granddaughters off on their first school days “until they are in college, and then I might follow them there, too.”

Second-grade teacher Brittany Bushnell said that she plans to create “a welcoming community where students are excited to learn and attend school.”

Lynn Hamilton, Principal of Cypress Cove Elementary, talks with students prior to dismissal on the first day of school Tuesday in Carlyss. (Kirk Meche/Special to the American Press)