Noah Reynolds, a fresh-faced prep student at Baringa State Primary School, joined 100 prep classmates and 960 students across the school for the first day of the 2025 school year this week.

Parents of Greater Caloundra, this is not a drill – school is back, the lunchboxes are packed, the uniforms are on, and the drop-off queues are officially in full swing

While Baringa State Primary School prep student Noah Reynolds’ excitement is palpable, parents are either wiping away tears or letting out a relieved sigh as their little ones take the plunge into school life for 2025.

Noah’s mother, Sam Reynolds, said the five-year-old had been asking about when he could start school since September 2024.

There have been no fears or jitters in the Reynolds household.

“He is ready – he is really excited,” she said.

“He is looking forward to doing sports and even looking forward to learning.”

Noah will join big brother Riley, who will enter grade four.

Opening in 2018, Baringa State Primary School was the first school to open in Aura to meet the needs of the growing community.

At the high school end of the spectrum, Meridan State College Year 7 student Sienna Manttan is ready and raring to go for her foray into middle school.

Sienna said she was excited about the “freedoms” of high school and choosing subject electives.

“I get to choose subjects I’m really passionate about, like Dance, Music, and STEM,” she said.

“In Year 7, I’ll have new teachers and classrooms, which is going to be really exciting – I’m also looking forward to continuing with my OzTag team because it’s so much fun.”

Sienna is part of the Meridan State College music excellence class with a goal to learn the drumkit in 2025.

“Outside of school, I really want to run the full 5km at Parkrun with my family without stopping,” she said.

“I started running during the holidays, and I’m going to join the running club at school to help me get better.”

She also auditioned and made it into the Junior High Hip Hop Team.

“I’m so excited about! It means I get to travel for competitions and even go to dance camp.”

And the Manttan household is well prepared to cope with the workload of a highschooler.

“At home, we have this massive wall to floor blackboard where we write out our week, all the extra activities, and any assessments coming up – it helps me stay organised,” Sienna said.

A total of 74,982 students were enrolled in state schools across the north coast region of Queensland in 2024, out of 568,000 state-wide.