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Schools

Fenton Students Head Back to School

Kids report good first day of school; administrators and teachers excited about new academic year.

The first day of school isn't without some bumps in the road, but students, teachers and principals are excited about the new academic year.

A new locker combination takes a little getting used to, and so do new classes, but the first day is really fun, said seventh-grader Ethan Krantz, of He's looking forward to meeting new people and having gym class next semester, but he said he had a good summer as well.

"Most of the time, I just sat around but I went on a couple of cool trips," he said. "And I got to sleep in, which was really nice."

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Sixth-grader Alexis Skinner said she was a little nervous about her first day of middle school, but now she's excited and "it's been great."

She met new students and teachers.

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"I'm looking forward to meeting new friends," Alexis said. "I'm excited about all my classes."

"It's going great, other than the rain. That's probably the only kink in the entire day," said AGS Middle School Principal Heidie Ciesielski.

Assistant Principal Eric Rettenmund said staff helped some students open their lockers and get to class. Enrollment at is about the same as last year, with approximately 766 students.

An eighth-grader, Erin Tesner, sat with friends during lunch. She was having a good first day, she said, and she likes having an earlier lunch this year.

It was "weird" walking into school for the first day, but "we don't have any homework," Erin added.

Seventh-grader Cassie Menzies said she likes having classes with some of her friends. Her science class is exciting, because of the teacher, Todd Mills, she said.

Seventh-grader Sam Deardorff said he thinks it will be a fun school year and he'll have a good time in his new grade. "I like my teachers so far, and I just joined band so I think I'm going to like that, too."

Ciesielski said staff are working on improving students' test scores in science, math, reading and writing this year. Another school improvement goal is to increase the sense of belonging among kids. A primary way of doing this is Positive Behavior Support Interventions, she said. Students will have a chance to play a "minute to win it" game in late October or early November.

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