Schools in the Indonesian province of Aceh have reopened for the first time since an earthquake and tsunami devastated the region one month ago.
More than 100 schools reopened throughout the province, to give surviving pupils some kind of normalcy.
The move came as talks between the Indonesian government and Aceh's separatist rebels looked set to begin.
Jakarta said three top ministers would go to Finland to meet the exiled rebel leadership for talks on Friday.
Correspondents say the Asian tsunami appears to have brought the two sides back to the negotiating table.
About 130 Acehnese schools reopened on Wednesday, with many others operating out of tents.
For the first time since the terrible events of 26 December, schoolchildren - many no longer in uniforms - arrived to find their surviving teachers and classmates.
No one is very interested in a formal curriculum, however.
The happiness of children being reunited with their friends was muted by the rows of empty seats - a stark testament to the huge numbers lost to the tsunami.
An estimated 1,700 primary school teachers are dead or missing, and 35% of school-age children in the provincial capital Banda Aceh are thought to have been killed.
English teacher Roslina Ramli - who lost her four children to the tsunami - was the first teacher to arrive at her SM Pertama Negeri 2 school on Wednesday morning.
" I have to put on a brave face. Teachers are supposed to give the students strength and guidance but it will be hard "
In all, 25 teachers showed up. "There were 75 teachers here before," Ms Ramli said tearfully.
"I have to put on a brave face. Teachers are supposed to give the students strength and guidance but it will be hard," she told the Associated Press.
Much of the first day was taken up with finding school books and equipment in the rubble, but education experts say that despite the poor conditions, a return to school is a priority for helping children overcome their trauma.
"It is about re-establishing the routine, it is about re-establishing their life," said Gianfranco Rotigliano of the United Nations Children's Fund.
But signs of the huge disaster are never far away.
The official toll of dead and missing in Indonesia is now at least 225,000, and outside the school gates the huge international clean-up operation is still going on.
Every day hundreds of bodies are still being recovered from the rubble of houses and shops destroyed by the sea.
Hope for Aceh talks
The last talks between Jakarta and the Acehnese rebel Free Aceh Movement (Gam) broke down in May 2003.
ACEH: KEY FACTS
In the wake of the tsunami there has been pressure on both sides to reopen channels of communication in an effort to stop the 30-year conflict.
A government delegation and the rebel leadership are set to meet this Friday for talks mediated by the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), headed by Finnish ex-President Martti Ahtisaari.
The Indonesian justice, security and information ministers will be among those attending the meeting, the BBC has learned. They were due to leave for Helsinki on Wednesday afternoon. The Indonesian foreign minister, who was also planning to attend, will no longer do so.
A BBC correspondent in Jakarta, Tim Johnston, says the seniority of the delegation reflects the importance that Jakarta places on achieving some kind of permanent breakthrough in the long-running insurgency.
But some observers worry that a lack of a clear agenda might mean the talks lack direction, and that the government will have a tough time convincing hardliners in the army to come on board.
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