Tuxedo Park. Tuxedo Park School reopens Sept. 9 to in-person learning

Although this is the third school year educating through a pandemic, Tuxedo Park School campus life continues to embody the elements that make TPS such a place to thrive. School officials were grateful to have children safely back in Blairhame.

Tuxedo Park school has been offering an outstanding education to young children for 122 years, yet the start of each year still brings a sense of anticipation as students meet friends and faculty after a long summer vacation.

This first day of school was particularly exciting as many students first met Stuart Johnson, the 13th head of Tuxedo Park School.

And Johnson didn’t waste any time getting to know the children. Despite masks, he connected on eye level with each child and greeted them with an elbow bump, which they reciprocated with smiles.

Shortly after students settled into their classrooms, the entire school convened in the Middle School Gym for the annual Start-of-School Assembly.

Johnson welcomed 28 new students, inducted them onto their Green or Gold team, and rang the bell — a long-standing TPS tradition symbolizing the start of a new academic year.

Even the students who aren’t quite old enough to be inducted, sat wide-eyed watching the excitement unfold. The liveliness in the room was palpable, and it was just the kind of warm TPS welcome school officials hoped to give new students.

School officials also said they We are looking forward to a year filled with scholarship, camaraderie and Green and Gold spirit.

“We are grateful for our strong social fabric and a sense of joy back on campus,” they said in the press release detailing the first day of school.