ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- She's normally a sixth-grade teacher at Orange Park Elementary School, but for the last year, Donna Hicks served another role -- chief warrant officer in the Florida National Guard.

Now she's back in the classroom with her students.

Hicks has been teaching at the school since 1987. She said it's become her second home.

"I've watched some of these students grow up from kindergarten," Hicks said.

Hicks had to leave that home last year when she was deployed for Iraq, where she trained soldiers on communications equipment.

She said she still remembers her last day with her class.

"I remember thinking someone else was going to get to take them on for the rest of the year, and I wasn't going to get to know them, so I was a little sad," Hicks said.

Tuesday was Hicks' first day back on the job at her elementary school.

Welcome back signs were posted on the walls with messages from her students. Little American flags lined the sidewalks, and at about 8 a.m., the entire student body, along with teachers and administrators, gathered in the school's courtyard to give Chief Warrant Officer Hicks a proper homecoming.

"When they were all waving their flags, I just realized they represent our future," Hicks said. "To give them a better appreciation of the world at a very young age, I'm glad to be able to do that."

As soon as the ceremony was finished, Hicks went right back to teaching.

She said she has one lesson in particular she wants her students to learn from her experiences overseas.

"Take life as it is," Hicks said. "Make the best of it, but don't get too excited or upset about the little things."