OXFORD — “We’re in. We’re happy,” Oxford Hills School District Superintendent Rick Colpitts said on the opening day of classes for most students Wednesday.

Students in grades 8, 10, 11 and 12 will report for their first day Thursday.

“We had a great opening,” Colpitts said. “The high school runs were super. They all came in on time. The freshmen are going through their orientation” at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in Paris.

“We’re very excited to see the building filled,” he said. “The teachers are very pleased and we’re happy.”

Hebron and Otisfield elementary schools remained closed Wednesday due to power outages and road closings from Tropical Storm Irene that swept through the area Sunday.

“We would have loved to have Hebron and Otisfield come in. We’re monitoring it,” he said. Calls to Central Maine Power Co. are made three times a day for updates.

“We’re hoping we can get these schools open in the next day or two,” he said.

While those students had to wait for their first day, most others in the eight-town district went to classes. Some waited with anticipation for the school bus to arrive.

“It’s like a long wait because we came out here a little early,” Danielle Emery, a fifth-grader student at Oxford Elementary School said as she waited. She said she was excited and a little nervous but glad to be going back after a two-day delay due to Tropical Storm Irene.

Asked if she was glad to have the school opening delay, her thoughts were mixed.

“It’s kind of good. I get to spend time with daddy, but at the end of the year we have two extra days,” she said.

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