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Obama Girls Off to DC

Malia, Sasha start off in their new school Monday morning

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 3, 2009 6:17 AM CST

(Newser) – Malia and Sasha Obama are on their way from the Windy City to Washington to start the new school semester on Monday, the Chicago Tribune reports. The family, who will be staying in a luxury hotel suite for the next 10 days, timed the move so the girls would experience as little disruption as possible when starting at their new school.

On Monday morning the sisters will be chauffeured by the Secret Service to separate campuses of the exclusive, Quaker-run Sidwell Friends School. Experts predict that the school's diverse student body and informal style will help the girls adjust easily, and the first break from their new routine isn’t far away: The first daughters-to-be—along with all their classmates—are getting Inauguration Day off from school.

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Sasha Obama, 7, and Malia Obama, 10, the children of President-elect Barack Obama, walk to school in Chicago after being dropped off by their father, Nov. 10, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, file)

President-elect Barack Obama and his daughters Sasha, left, and Malia, right, visit the Honolulu Zoo in Honolulu, Hawaii, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)

President-elect Barack Obama and his daughters Malia, 10, center, and Sasha, 7, right, visit the Honolulu Zoo in Honolulu, Hawaii, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)

Then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama is greeted by his daughters Malia Obama, 10, and Sasha Obama 7, in Pueblo, Colo. Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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It's better to do it now when everyone is returning from winter break than to do it in two weeks when the girls will seem even more exotic than they do now. - Former White House correspondent Bonnie Angelo

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Obama Girls Off to DC