7:40 a.m. School crossing guard Luanne Marchisella kicks off the new school year by calling out “Good morning, enjoy your day!” and “Everyone cross with the light for your safety!” to arriving students and parents. Marchisella has kept students safe for seven years on the same corner of 69th Street and Central Avenue.

8:07 a.m. Students follow their new teachers into the building. “It’s so hot, we want to get everyone inside quickly,” says Principal Gregory Filippi as he gently encourages lingering parents to head home.

8:08 a.m. A little boy wails as he watches his older sister head off to fifth grade. Moments later, he is happily playing on the playground — awaiting his own prekindergarten orientation later that morning.

8:14 a.m. Students and teachers at PS 91 consider themselves members of a close-knit PACK (Pathways to Acquire Strong Community and Knowledge). “I live all the way out east in Patchogue, but I continue to commute here every day because this community is like my family,” says 4th-grade teacher Danielle Felton, who has been at the school for over a decade.

8:32 a.m. Kindergarten teacher Donna Zacharis leads her new students in a stretch, prompting one eager student to call out, “You’re a funny teacher! I like being in kindergarten!” Zacharis, who has taught kindergarten with her co-teacher Princess Alegre for eight years, later marveled, “This was the first year we had no criers.”

9:26 a.m. Prekindergarten students and their parents arrive for an orientation and tour of their classroom. “You’ll be shocked at how much your children are going to learn this year,” teacher Sandy Klein tells parents as their children play with tabletop toys.

10:44 a.m. Fourth-grade teacher Gina Zagotti confers with a student about how to follow the classroom “desk plan” displayed on the smartboard. “We have a desk plan so they’re taught how to be organized,” she explains.

10:45 a.m. When Zagotti and co-teacher Danielle Felton announce that it’s time for a fun activity — in this case, an “All About My Selfie” writing exercise — a student calls out, “I like doing fun things.” “Me too,” Felton replies. “That’s why I became a teacher.”

11:21 a.m. After their first experience eating lunch in the school cafeteria, it’s time for the school’s kindergarteners to head home wearing their “First Day of Kindergarten” crowns.

11:58 a.m. Second-graders line up for lunch. On the menu is popcorn chicken, macaroni and cheese, and broccoli.

12:44 p.m. Physical education teacher Lisa Cohen takes a moment to organize her equipment cart. “On the first day, I don’t limit myself to staying in the gym; I’m out there to pitch in and help out,” she says. “We want everything to run smoothly so parents know their children are safe and welcome here.”

2:20 p.m. School is dismissed.

2:31 p.m. It’s time to head home. “I like the thrill of the first day,” says Becky Murphy, a prekindergarten teacher and the school’s chapter leader, who has taught at PS 91 for more than 25 years. “Kids who come in crying, by the end of the year, are having full conversations. You see so much growth in them. That’s why I think teaching keeps you young.”