UPDATE: Here is a link to some photos from the first day of school: http://bit.ly/nBjE4N

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Press Democrat photographer John Burgess and I spent the morning of the first day of school in Santa Rosa City Schools at Doyle Park Elementary Tuesday. A good chunk of that time was spent in Beth Lewis’s kindergarten classroom, watching parents say goodbye and students settle into their new home away from home.

The big kindergarten sendoff can be emotional – for both parents and students. On Tuesday, at least three children in Lewis’s class shed tears as moms and dads peeled away and left them alone in Room 3. Other students looked like they didn’t have a care in the world and got down to the business of sorting alphabet blocks.

The first day of kindergarten will unfold across Sonoma County in the coming days. What did it look like at your school?

(P.S. I’ll post a link to John’s photo gallery when it’s up)

Crista Brooner says goodbye to her daughter Katelyn Hance on her first day of kindergarten at Doyle Park Elementary School Tuesday morning. The big day is steeped in emotion. How did it unfold for you?