Photos: Warhawks Head Back to Class

Madison High School faculty and students have spent the past week kicking off the school year with a bang, hosting a back to school festival and planning activities Tuesday around the first day of the school year.

Last week, the school held a "Fall Kickoff," complete with performances, music, entertainment, games and information about the schools' clubs, groups and teams.

On Tuesday, students returned to the school on James Madison Drive to pick up schedules, set up their lockers and navigate the hallways. For freshman, it was the beginning of their Warhawk journey; seniors went through the motions for the last time.

All students, parents, and faculty spent the summer reading "Divergent," a best-selling young adult book by Veronica Roth. It explores the journey of 16-year-olds  approaching a coming-of-age ceremony in which they must choose one of their society's five "factions," based on single virtues: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).

Throughout the summer, those reading were encouraged to post questions and comments to the project's blog and by tweeting comments, pictures or other creative interpretations @MadLibrary or using the hashtag #divergentmadison on Twitter. Contests around that content are planned for the fall.

"Let me say how great it is to have the teachers and students back," Assistant Principal Yusef Azimi said in an email to Patch. "When it's just the administration, a few support staff, and the custodial team working in the summertime, a high school is a pretty lonely place."