Freshmen Orientation, Aug. 26

Another summer gone, another school year beginning.

Personally, I don't mind school beginning, but I hate the feeling that you get when school's just about to start, but you're still living your summer lifestyle.

Change is tough.

That change was especially tough for the new freshmen in Nashua South, the class of 2012. With the new assistant principal, Ms. Marianne Busteed, organizing the entire Freshmen Orientation Day with the help of the Principal's Leadership Team (PLT) and other volunteers from school organizations, the day was, though somewhat chaotic at times, a success. The tours were jam-packed with information, classes were (hopefully) not too stressful, and the pep rally was both short and sweet.

Despite all the first-day jitters that are expected when entering one of the biggest schools in New Hampshire, having random kids with neon-green shirts shuttle you around hundreds of other people in the hallways, and not knowing where exactly Upper E was (to name one of many, many problematic areas), it seemed as though the freshmen left with a gratifying sense that, as Ms. Seusing constantly reminded them, they were no longer Fairgrounds Falcons, Elm Street Eagles, or whatever odd mascot name with which they chose to adorn themselves.

They were panthers.

And, odd mascot name or not, that's not a bad thing to be.