The familiar pitter-patter of little feet has been a welcome sound at Old Bar Community Preschool this week, with a significant proportion of the school's students returning for the third week of term.
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"We're probably up to 60 or 70 per cent," preschool director Merrilyn McLoughlin said.
"The last two weeks of term two we were only getting 20 per cent of our students."
Like most organisations, the preschool was heavily impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19 in Australia, with the pandemic placing a number of stresses on the school and its staff.
"There was a directive that we had to remain open - and we had to remain open for essential workers' children - but we also had to suggest to parents that it was best for them to keep their kids at home," Ms McLoughlin said.
With the school facing the prospect of having to lay off staff because of the resulting drop in student numbers, and staff not only having to deal with the pressure this brought but also the stress of being on the frontline while a deadly virus spread through society, Ms McLoughlin said it was an uncertain time for all involved until confirmation came through that the staff were eligible for JobKeeper.
There was also concern that the students - especially the younger ones who had only been attending preschool for a term - would struggle with the disruption and would need time to readjust once they returned.
In an effort to prevent this, the school did its best to maintain contact with the kids and their families via Facebook videos and activities that were delivered to the children's homes.
And it seemed to pay off, with Ms McLoughlin saying most children were more than happy to be back this week.
"The kids have been really, really keen," she said.
Ms McLoughlin said a lot of parents were glad to have their children back too, with many of them commenting that their kids had been missing playing with other children.
She believed parents seemed a lot more comfortable having their kids interacting with each other again, now the curve had flattened and the risk of catching COVID-19 didn't seem so ominous.
"They seem quite relaxed about it," she said.
Still, the preschool has introduced a number of measures to lessen the risk of any potential spreads, with a limit on the number of adults allowed in a room, social distancing required for parents in the school hallway, and any children or staff who are feeling unwell asked to stay home.
Regular handwashing has also been implemented, with the children more than happy to oblige.
"The kids have been really good at washing their hands," Ms McLoughlin said.
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As for the children's understanding of what is happening in the outside world, Ms McLoughlin believes while many of them have been exposed to discussions about viruses at home and in the classroom, it's still a challenging concept for them to come to terms with.
"We're thinking it must be difficult for the children on the basis that they can't see it," she said.
"Whereas the fires were something really visual."
But for now, with the children returning, the staff still in jobs, and a semblance of normality beginning to settle over the place, the preschool is once again a happy place to be.
"The biggest thing is the kids are excited to be back," Ms McLoughlin said.
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