More than 200 youngsters in two of the region’s three school administrative districts attended their first day of school on Wednesday in new schools.
Tom Ward, superintendent of SAD 21, said he was very pleased with the way things went on Wednesday, particularly with all the changes his district is experiencing.
One bus got overheated along Route 108 on its way from the Canton/Peru area, prompting a 15-minute wait while another bus arrived to take children to classes. The 45 pupils in kindergarten through grade 4 from Canton Elementary School began classes at Peru Elementary School, while Peru’s students in grades six to eight were bused to Dirigo Middle School.
Children had several chances to get to know their new schools and teachers at the end of the last school year and again just before classes began, he said, an action that helped in the transition.
Brenda Gammon, principal at Peru Elementary, said pupils from Canton Elementary had school-sponsored breakfast for the first time when they began classes at Peru. Due to the reshuffling of pupils, the school’s student population dropped from 172 last school year to 145 this year.
Ward said 405 students turned out for class at Dirigo High School, about 25 more than originally expected.
“We’re waiting for guidance to learn where they came from,” he said.
With the merger of Peru and SAD 21 and a number of families moving into the district, the student population stands at 1,050, the same number that Superintendent David Murphy welcomed at SAD 44.
Murphy, as is his custom, visited all 60 to 70 classrooms during the first day of school, including Andover Elementary School.
He said the student population at the school rose to 56 in kindergarten through fifth grade, up from 50 last year.
One bus run transported all students to their respective schools, a change from two runs in recent years. Murphy said the change was a cost-saving measure. A few buses were late arriving at Telstar High School due to route changes, but the problem was minor, he said.
“We had a good, smooth opening,” he said.
At SAD 43, about 80 former Virginia Elementary School pupils began classes at either Meroby or Rumford elementary school for the first time, with Meroby Elementary receiving most of them.
Superintendent Jim Hodgkin said five new classrooms were created at Meroby to absorb the new pupils. At Rumford Elementary, 25 former Virginia pupils in kindergarten through fifth grade were placed in classes throughout the school.
Principal Ann Chamberlin said the pupil population is about 272 now, with three or four more expected in the next few days. The Meroby enrollment is just over 300.
Hodgkin said a few more students enrolled than were expected, prompting concerns about class size. Most Meroby classrooms house 19 or 20 pupils. The unexpected numbers brought those figures to 22 or 23. The matter will be taken up at the school board meeting next Tuesday.
Mountain Valley High School enrollment came in at 615, up a dozen or so from last year. In fact, said Hodgkin, this year’s freshman class is one of the largest ever, with 168.
However, the student population has dropped at Mountain Valley Middle School to 379.
The total student enrollment came in at 1,593, about eight fewer than last year.
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