“Dad, can you imagine, they broke my tooth with the table today!”
Elena Artemyeva from Moscow took her first grader, Natalie, to the school line before eight in the morning. The mood was cheerful, even as the day began with a surprising mishap that left Natalie toothless by the end.
The line for the school day started at nine, but officials recommended arriving an hour early. They showed up precisely at eight, and the reasoning was clear: this school accommodates fourteen classes this year, so the check-in moved quickly from the very start. Administrators varied by class, with separate welcoming rituals for freshmen and eleventh graders, followed by additional celebrations for other grades. The teacher noted the workload was heavy, repeatedly raising the flag as a small, exhausting chore for the staff. The unfolding events, however, would outpace any routine expectations. [Source: Local accounts]
After the lineup, all first-year students gathered in classrooms for introductions, while older students were assigned to move chairs and desks that had been removed to the street for a quick staging. The scene shifted to Natalie when she saw an opportunity and stepped forward to help. A classmate grabbed a chair behind her and, in a moment of chaos, struck Natalie in the face. The little girl cried out, clutched her mouth, and then reached for Elena as if to seek protection. A glimpse revealed a broken tooth and a frightened, blood-streaked chin. The moment felt surreal for both mother and daughter. [Source: Witness statements]
Help arrived swiftly. Elena remembers carrying Natalie to the first aid center as the staff assessed the injury, recognizing it as a front milk tooth damaged in the incident. A faint bruise appeared on Elena’s chin, but it seemed less alarming than the sudden loss Natalie endured. The family’s immediate reaction was a mix of shock and resolve, focusing on medical attention and comfort for their daughter. [Source: School nurse notes]
As the day continued, Natalie, still in the throes of pain, managed a brave, almost defiant smile and declared to her father that the incident would be memorable. The moment would stay in the family’s memory not for the accident itself but for the way they faced it together on the first day of September. Elena recalled the day as unforgettable, not for a child’s misfortune, but for the lasting impression it left on their family. [Source: Family interview]
Keeper of order and the quest for calm
In a nearby city, a Kirov resident named Matvey Skvortsov graduated this year and found himself in a similar morning rush. On September 1, he and three classmates faced a moment where the question of order became real, testing each student’s quick wit and teamwork. The campus had two guards, affectionately called Uncle Kolya by the children, a familiar presence that many students knew by name. Some older students even noted that the guards occasionally encountered smoke breaks, which didn’t diminish their role in maintaining order. [Source: Student recollections]
During the opening ceremony, Matvey and others were asked to retrieve wires for musical equipment. It was then that they observed the guards and a physical education teacher, Dmitry Viktorovich, moving through the crowd while trying to wake sleeping guards and keep the situation under control. The guards, it was said, had kept late hours and stayed on duty despite fatigue. The day demanded additional patience as the school faced a challenge that extended beyond the ceremonial routine. [Source: Staff accounts]
The group decided on a plan to avoid drawing further attention. They moved to a storage area and found a way to minimize disruption without alerting everyone to their activities. The gym was under renovations, which limited options for shelter. They turned to Aunt Oksana from the dining hall for help, and she agreed to intervene. The guards were relocated to a kitchen storage area, hidden temporarily in sacks of potatoes, while Dmitry Viktorovich agreed to switch roles. [Source: Student testimony]
After the event, the reverberations continued through the schoolyard. The muffled but unmistakable sounds of the day lingered, and the guards woke to the sound of voices in the courtyard. Aunt Oksana’s gentle reprimands finally brought quiet, and the day moved toward its next phase. Matvey summed up the experience as a reminder that teamwork can steady even a shaky start. [Source: Campus anecdotes]
Sightseeing with the scent of trouble and curiosity
This year in St. Petersburg, the plan called for a post-line excursion before an aquatic trip with the class. Not every student could keep pace with the schedule, and some found the journey harder than others. The group’s early nerves gave way to attempts at normalcy, but mishaps still found them along the way. A few students experimented with drinks, trying to mask odors while traveling, and a bus ride with friends soon spiraled into a chorus of sounds and actions that drew attention. [Source: Student reports]
Some of the chatter included phone-swaying song choices and playful drawings on bus seats. A bottle of cognac spilled during a bump in the road, prompting a scramble to manage the mess. A classmate attempted to calm the scene, handing out napkins to collect the liquid and wipe away the evidence of the incident. The bus drive continued with a renewed focus on safety as the group navigated the mid-journey chaos. [Source: Bus crew notes]
The situation escalated when a student began to feel unwell. A quick outreach by a classmate and the driver’s attention helped to restore order, but the episode left a memory of the day’s unpredictability. The rest of the journey proceeded with a shared commitment to clean up and to cover any damages that occurred in the process. The experience served as a reminder that even a well-intentioned excursion can test students’ resilience and resourcefulness. [Source: Onboard witnesses]
Parents eventually retrieved the affected student, and the remainder of the group continued the outing. The overall trip left a lasting impression, not as a flawless parade but as a genuine, human moment in a school-year kickoff. [Source: Family reflections]
“Officer” Nastya and a freshman on her shoulder
At a Krasnoyarsk school, a tense moment surfaced just before an eleventh grader named Alexei would bear the responsibility of guiding a first grader with a bell on his shoulder. The class had three boys who brought very different personalities into the scene. Lesha, tall and dry; Ilya and Vlad, more boisterous; and Nastya, a strong-willed student who could be abrasive in the heat of the moment. Nastya and Lesha had a history of banter that sometimes crossed lines. The tension between them came to a head as they stood in line for the freshman orientation. A confrontation ensued, and Nastya pushed back hard, forcing Lesha into a defensive posture and sending him tumbling toward the pavement. [Source: Student accounts]
Music began to play, and the scene became chaotic as teachers rushed to separate the students. Lesha ended up on the ground, clutching his shoulder, while Nastya carried the younger child toward the director’s office in an act of unexpected protection. The moment’s drama highlighted a school culture where rivalries can flare as lines form, yet someone steps forward to safeguard a younger pupil. The school later reported that Lesha had sustained a collarbone injury. [Source: School records]