Though schools around the globe have different start dates, calendars and traditions, the first day of a new term is an exciting time filled with the prospects of gaining more knowledge, making new friends and building community. Here: Schoolchildren attend their first lesson on Knowledge Day in the town of Turov, Zhytkavichy District, Gomel Region, Belarus on September 1, 2017. Knowledge Day marks the beginning of a new school year in Belarus and is celebrated on September 1. (Photo by Viktor Drachev/TASS via Getty Images)

A Humboldt penguin swims in a pool during the annual stock take at ZSL London Zoo in London, Thursday, January 2, 2020. Caring for more than 500 different species, ZSL London Zoo's keepers face the challenging task of tallying up every animal large and small, every mammal, bird, reptile, fish and invertebrate at the Zoo. (Photo by Frank Augstein/AP Photo)

This photo taken on November 4, 2019 shows people taking part in a fish catching competition in a paddy field in Leishan county in China's southwestern Guizhou province, to celebrate the new year festival Miao people. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

This photo taken on December 2, 2023 shows pandas eating inside their enclosure at a zoo in China's southwestern Chongqing municipality. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

Revelers run through the festival grounds to see the next show at the Governors Ball music festival at Corona Park in the Queens borough of New York City, U.S., June 9, 2024. (Photo by Cheney Orr/Reuters)

A Hindu devotee moves toward the river Brahmaputra in a prostrate manner to perform rituals during Chhath Puja festival in Guwahati, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, India, Thursday, November 7, 2024. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)

A diver dressed as “Mermaid of the Serpent Depths” performs in front of a sign marking the Lunar New Year of the Snake inside an aquarium at Manila Ocean Park on January 28, 2025. (Photo by Jam Sta Rosa/AFP Photo)

Passengers with their pet dogs take a pet-friendly train on the Jinyidong Line of the Jinhua Rail Transit on June 22, 2025 in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province of China. (Photo by Shi Bufa/VCG via Getty Images)