On a crisp Monday morning as fresh and promising as the new school year, North Haven’s children returned to their classrooms to commence the 2009-10 academic year.

Aug. 31, the first day of school, represented not only the end of summer, but also the beginning of new challenges and accomplishments for many within the town’s public school system. Younger students plied unknown hallways after a recent redistricting, a new principal enjoyed her first opening day, Montowese Elementary finally had room for its entire staff, ninth graders explored their larger habitat, sixth graders left behind elementary school, fresh faces journeyed into kindergarten and preschool, and new teachers opened their classrooms.

The mother of fourth grader Caterina Capasso dropped her off early for her first day in a new school. Capasso is one the approximately 50 students who were redistricted to Clintonville Elementary over the summer from Montowese.

“I’m a little bit nervous,” Capasso said, “but I have a couple of friends here from my old school.”

Local mother Maria Priewski arrived beforehand at Clintonville to watch her kindergarten and third grade children exit the bus for their first day. Her third grade boy was redistricted from Montowese to Clintonville, and like Capasso, was happy to have some familiar faces to alleviate the transition.

“The third grader is excited that friends from his old school will be here,” Priewski said, “but he’s a little nervous about the new environment.”

“Same thing for the kindergartener – he’s pretty much excited,” she added.

Michael Briscoe and his family also disembarked early to Clintonville to welcome their children, in kindergarten and fourth grade, to the beginning of the new school year.

“It’s a big event,” Briscoe said with a fatherly smile. “The whole family is here. When the kids get off the bus, we’re going to take pictures.”

The parents and students were not the only individuals experiencing new beginnings at Clintonville –Lauretta Dowling welcomed students back for the first time as the official principal of the school.

“It went great,” Dowling said. “It could not have gone better. It was a fun first day.”

Dowling was appointed interim principal to the school in April, replacing the retiring Claudia Grantham. Dowling was then selected by the Board of Education as Clintonville’s official principal in June. At present, she is directing a student population bolstered by new students formerly of Montowese.

“With the redistricting, there is a large influx of new children,” she said. “With me being new as well, we had to help each other.”

Dowling added that there are also many new students in Clintonville whom naturally changed schools or recently moved into town. The principal said that the school’s staff has greatly assisted helping the transition for all kids new to Clintonville.

“The teachers here have been just fabulous,” she said, “it really helps me and it really helps the kids.”

On her first day as official principal, Dowling met individually with every grade to go over the school’s workings. “It went great,” she said.

While Dowling was enjoying her newly gained students, Montowese was benefiting from the reduction of its formerly overabundant student population.

“We were real out of whack last year and other years,” said Montowese principal Anthony Mancini. “We had been approaching 590 kids, while the other schools had 30, 50, and even 60 kids less.”

The shuffling of students allowed Montowese to cut back on the number of classes per grade. The school had been running four to five classes per grade, according to Mancini, but now is on par with the other three elementary schools with three to four classes per grade. Lowering the number of classes in Montowese opened up several rooms, which the school quickly filled, including the construction of a much-needed science lab.

“We were not going to be able to have a science lab,” Mancini said of the school’s pre-redistricting prognosis. “The other three elementary schools all have science labs. And now we can.”

The principal said development has begun on the science lab. Mancini added that another opened classroom has been taken by a special education teacher, whom had been teaching in a “closet-sized classroom.” Another extra room is being utilized as auxiliary room.

The first day at Montowese was also successful beyond the school’s newfound space.

“It was uneventful,” Mancini said with a laugh. “Uneventful means smooth.”

Elsewhere, the 2009-10 class of ninth graders began the transition to high school life. New freshman Emma Tanguay said that her first day of high school went well, despite difficulties in navigating the big building.

“It was good,” Tanguay said. “I got lost in the morning, but otherwise it was fun.”

Fellow freshman Olivia Blee echoed Tanguay.

“It was good,” Blee said of her first day of high school. “The morning was a little confusing in trying to find were the classrooms were.”

North Haven High School principal Russell Dallai said that he was thrilled to see the students back in the building. “It went great,” Dallai said of the first day. “I stayed out front in the lobby to see all of them come in. It was really terrific.”

“I enjoy being around them,” he added of his students. “This is a nice town with a good culture.”

While ninth graders were making a leap toward adolescence, North Haven’s sixth graders were funneling from the town’s multiple elementary schools to the locker-laden, intermingled junior high.

“The sixth graders did a great job,” said North Haven Middle School principal Philip Piazza. “They knew their way around the building really quickly.”

Piazza said that the success of the new students in the middle school was due in part to the preemptive measures of the school’s staff. “We put things in place to help them find their way,” Pizza said. “I visited them at the end of last year.”

Piazza also credited the sixth graders for their quick transition to junior high. “They went to sixth grade orientation,” he said, “so there were a lot of familiar faces.”

The principal said that the first day of middle school was also a success. “It went great,” Piazza said. “It sounds clichéd, but it was the smoothest opening in the three years I’ve been here.”

“It felt like mid year,” Piazza added. “We have a few new staff. The new staff was walking the halls and it felt like it was deep into the year. Not a lot of kids were in the halls – they were in the classes. The staff really came through and the kids followed their lead.”

The opening day at Ridge Road Elementary was auspicious for a positive year ahead, according to the school’s principal Kathleen Peters-Durrigan.

“There were lots of good indicators of the students’ readiness,” Peters-Durrigan said. “Kids came prepared with their reading logs – they’d done their summer reading. Third and fifth graders had done their summer math packets. At lunch time, my upper grade students really remembered what to do.”

Peters-Durrigan added that opening day was also the first day of school for a new third grade teacher, two special education instructors, and a long-term first grade substitute.

“It was good,” Peters-Durrigan said of opening day. “Everybody seems to be on focus.”

Green Acres Elementary experienced an excellent first day across the board, according to the school’s principal Linda Cahill.

“It was a fabulous start to the new year,” Cahill said. “The teachers were well prepared. The custodians had the building looking immaculate. The secretaries and nurses were organized.”

“Everything went smoothly,” the principal added. “We’re very excited and ready for a great year.”

Also excited for the opening day of Green Acres was pre-school student Adelina Lachmund – that is, until it came time for that first goodbye. Adelina’s parents Teresa and Christopher dropped her off at Green Acres for her first day of pre-school.

“She was really excited until we left,” Teresa said. “Then the tears came.”

Shannon and Anthony Huff also arrived early to Green Acres on Aug. 31, to see off their first grader Angel and fifth grader Alyssa. When asked what excited her about the new academic year, Alyssa demonstrated that her wit and intellect were already in mid-school year form.

“I’m looking forward to next summer,” she immediately joked with a sly smile.