Students who arrived for the first day of school Monday at the new Frances Meeks Elementary School in Richmond Hill were greeted by life-sized figures of their teachers and administrators without masks.

Parents, who dropped off their children at the school, got a kick out of seeing the cardboard cut-outs, which stood on the sidewalk and were affixed to windows and the side of buildings. It was a way for students to get their pictures taken with their teachers (ok, images) without social distancing.

"It was so cool," said parent Chantel Love, whose daughter Ramey posed next to her teacher and others. Ramey is in the second grade in Mrs. Pageni's class.

The idea was the brainchild of faculty members who used props intended for an Open House to give both parents and students a warm welcome on opening day. Parents were not allowed inside the school, and students and faculty are required to wear masks during this COVID-19 pandemic.