Students were lining up in the hallway and walking around as if they’d been in their classes for months.

“The morning has gone awesome,” said first-year principal Wanda Reynolds.

Teachers and staff were at the school early, at every door, letting the children know where to go, she said.

“We were organized - you can make it through anything, even the most chaotic of events, if you plan in advance,” Ms. Reynolds said. “We had procedures that we followed, and everything ended up going really smooth.”

Temple students started school Tuesday, with 8,228 enrolled system-wide.

Although it was Ms. Reynolds’ first day with Meridith-Dunbar, she said she wasn’t nervous.

“We’ve been busy,” Ms. Reynolds said. “We had a very successful night with our Meet the Teacher night, so I’ve had plenty of opportunities to talk to parents and meet people.”

The Temple ISD held a Meet the Teacher night at every elementary school campus Monday evening.

Ms. Reynolds had plenty of praise for new first-grade teacher Patrice Allen, who was hired on Monday, and came back later in the afternoon to clean out her classroom and meet parents.

“I had a lot of help,” laughed Ms. Allen, a first-year teacher. “I kind of expected to be rushed, though, because I was just hired.”

Ms. Allen admitted to being nervous about her first day of teaching.

“I was not a little nervous - I was a whole lot of nervous,” Ms. Allen said. “But things have gone extremely well so far. I just want to keep (the students) engaged, so they don’t get restless.”

Da’Ijah Pope, 9, a second-grader, said she was excited for school to start. Miss Pope said she found out who her teacher was going to be through a letter in the mail over the summer.

“I’m excited to see my friends again, and to be able to talk to them,” Da’Ijah said.

Juan Anzaldua, 10, a fifth-grader, said he woke up early Tuesday morning, as he was excited to be back in school. Anzaldua said he has older sisters who attend middle school in the Temple ISD.

“I’m excited about finishing this year and getting to middle school,” Juan said. “I’ll have a sister who will still be (in middle school) next year, and I’m looking forward to seeing her.”

Things at Lamar Middle School were typical for the first day of school. Students were wandering around the hallways looking for their classes.

“It’s a hectic day, but it’s neat to see our new students and meet their parents,” said Lamar principal Jennie Mathesen. “It’s a lot of fun.

“You kind of expect the first-year students to get lost, and have to be told where to go for their classes,” said Mrs. Mathesen, while she was directing hallway traffic. “But sometimes it can be even funnier when you have kids who have been here for two years still looking around, wondering where the 400-numbered classrooms are.”

Students are always interesting “at this age . . . Some of them want independence more than anything,” she said.

“We had an eighth-grader who came up here with her parents this morning, and she wanted nothing more to do with them after they dropped her off,” Mrs. Mathesen said. “I think she was kind of embarrassed that they wanted to help her out.

“There are always a lot of funny stories like that during first days,” she said.

Jerry Jones, 11, a sixth-grader at Lamar, said he was a little bit nervous about attending the school for the first time.

“I was a little bit nervous, and a little bit excited at the same time,” Jones said. “But things have been going good so far. I have a lot of friends in my classes.”

At Temple High School, principal Jason Bullock said teachers hit the ground running.

“Everywhere I’ve been I’ve seen the students in their classrooms, and the teachers engaging them,” he said. “It’s just a good teaching practice to begin the first day letting students know that time is valued.”

Bullock said the school’s teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators and support staff worked hard in preparation for the first day.

“There was a lot of hard work done over the summer in preparation for today,” Bullock said. “There’s a lot of focus that goes into kicking off a school year.”

In Jessica Mays’ senior English class, students were being introduced to their course syllabus. On the dry erase board, Mays outlined her plans.

“We’re going to learn 15 vocabulary words each week,” Ms. Mays told the class, before talking to them about a thesis paper she requires for the course.

“The thesis paper is going to be due at the end of the first semester,” she said. “Why? Because you’re seniors, and it’s possible that you could come down with ‘senioritis.’”

The ninth-graders at THS are mostly taught in a different area of campus, away from the rest of the student population.

“Sometimes freshman year can be very difficult for students because it’s a different environment and a different learning pace for them,” said ninth-grade geography teacher Jon Peterson. “But I have to admit, I’ve been very surprised by the politeness the students have shown this morning.”

Terry Denson, a 1998 THS graduate and ninth-grade social studies teacher, said he wasn’t nervous about beginning his first day with the district.

“My students have been very articulate so far, and asked a number of questions,” he said. “One of my goals for the year is to try to develop a relationship with them.”

Rachael Aker, a 2003 THS graduate and first-year teacher, said it was surreal to be teaching in the school where she was a student five years ago.

“It’s been an interesting experience,” said Ms. Aker, who also mentioned she had Bullock as a teacher when she was a student. “The district has been wonderful to me. They have helped me by giving me a mentor, and have provided me with everything I’ve needed.”

Dr. Robin Battershell, Temple ISD’s new superintendent, said she woke up at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.

“I was ready to go,” she said. “I was ready to roll. I love the first day of school. I love seeing the buses, and the looks on the kids faces.”

She was able to visit every campus during the school day, and ate lunch in the Kennedy-Powell Elementary cafeteria, she said.

“From what I saw during my visits everything went tremendously,” she said. “I heard someone say that it was a ‘banner day’ at their campus, so I would use those words to describe how everything went at every campus.”