RUMFORD – It was a great first day back to school.

Steve Saunders, the new assistant principal at Mountain Valley High School, said the students and staff were enthusiastic.

“I expect the unexpected on the first day and we have a lot of new staff. They jumped right in,” he said.

A cookout to welcome freshmen Sunday night helped the young students feel right at home, he said.

“They had a chance to tour the building and find their adviser,” he said of the class, which with their parents, made up a large group of 300 Sunday night.

Parents and students had a chance to ask questions and learn their way around while Superintendent Jim Hodgkin, SAD 43 board Chairman Arthur Boivin and others cooked hot dogs and hamburgers.

Principal Bruce Lindberg explained the Maine Learning Results to the freshmen class, the first class from MVHS that must meet all state standards before graduation.

About 600 high schoolers attended classes on Tuesday, close to 100 percent attendance, said Saunders, and all the buses arrived on time.

At Mountain Valley Middle School, Principal Charles Lever said the same about his students and staff. “People were where they were supposed to be, doing what they were supposed to do.”

The middle school has a high number of new staff, as well, but because the middle school concept uses team teaching, Lever said new teachers have mentors who help them find their classrooms and help them along the way.

About 430 students, a few more than expected, arrived at school Tuesday morning.

“Some years, students are more ready than others. This year, they seemed ready to return to school,” he said.

A feeling of really positive energy emanated from Meroby Elementary School in Mexico, said David Walton, a guidance counselor at the school for a dozen years.

“The staff is rejuvenated and the kids are anxious to get back with their friends,” he said.

The entire kindergarten-through-grade-five student population, about 235 students, and their teachers, were greeted with a schoolwide assembly first thing in the morning, complete with music and a celebration of summer birthdays.

“Everyone is focused on supporting the kids,” Walton said.

Anne Chamberlin, principal of Rumford elementary and Virginia elementary schools, shuttled back and forth between the two schools on the first day.

“Everything went extremely well. We usually have a pretty smooth start,” she said. “Some need a little transitioning, but it was a nice start.”

SAD 43 expected just under 1,600 children to begin classes this year, down about 20 from last year.

eadams@sunjournal.com

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