Chicago: Daughters of US President elect Barack Obama - Malia and Sasha - began their first day of school at Sidwell in Washington as waiting photographers and media people jostled for pictures of the Obama girls.

Accompanied by Obama s wife Michelle, Sasha aged 7 and Malia, 10,went to Sidwell Friends school yesterday.

Sasha, in the second grade, is attending classes at the Bethesda, Md, elementary-school campus, while Malia is in the middle school campus in the District of Columbia. She is in the fifth grade.

An expansive motorcade of US Secret Service agents accompanied Michelle Obama as she escorted her two daughters to their new school, according to media reports.

Obama meanwhile headed to Capitol Hill to meet congressional leaders, the Chicago Sun Times reported.

The Obamas are trying to find a balance of guarding the privacy of their daughters and with the enormous public interest in their kids.

Former US President Bill Clinton's daughter Chelsea and son of former Vice President Al Gore, Al Gore III are alumni of the school.

At present, the Obama family is temporarily staying at the Hay-Adams hotel in Washington. They will move into the White House on January 20 after Obama is formally sworn in as the nation s 44th president.
Source : PTI