It was a beautiful first day for the students of Monmouth Middle School as they entered the school doors for the first time after a nice, long summer vacation. At the beginning, there were some schedule problems, but near the end of the day most of the goofed schedules were fixed and replaced.

The problem was caused by a new schedule setup. Instead of a nine period schedule they now had a 12 period schedule. “The students and staff spent a long and boring morning,” claims a student. The new schedule ate through time that pleasant Tuesday morning as the students learned about the shortened classes.

When we asked Mr. Stott, the band/music teacher of Monmouth Middle School, about the mix up with the schedules, he answered, “I don’t care about the schedule mess up. But I do hope they get them fixed soon.”

We then asked him about the new students. He said, “I can’t wait to see all of the new and familiar faces.” Knowing all of the students who love band, we couldn’t resist asking him, “How will you fit everyone in the band room?” He paused and then replied, “Hey, it’s no problem.” He paused again, then said, “Well, no problem yet, anyway, but if it happens we will cross that bridge when we need to.”

We also asked a student from Mr. Driscoll’s class about how her first day of school was and she replied, “I had a lot of homework for the first day, but over all it was okay I guess.” That was all she had to say and got back to her homework.

Some of the students received homework on the first day that was difficult, but over all most were given easy assignments. “It was a strenuous day for some, but before you even knew it, the day was over just like that,” quoted a student in eighth grade.

By 2:15 p.m., all the teachers had smiles on their faces, seeing the students loaded onto the busses which represented the end of a very long first day. Over all the first day of school was a hassle, but the students and teachers expect a great year in 08-09.