SCHOOLS SAY START SMOOTH

Students resumed classes at Notre Dame High School in Cape Girardeau and the Jackson R-2 School District Thursday, and administrators at both said the new school year started smoothly.

"I feel it's an excellent start," said Jackson Superintendent Wayne Maupin. "I really got to hand it to all our people in getting the school year started. It appeared we had been in school a couple of weeks."

Sister Mary Ann Fischer, principal at Notre Dame, said, "We had a very good beginning. The students came back enthusiastic and we rejoiced in having an increase in enrollment this year."

The administrators reported no problems with the first day of school. School buses did run late at Jackson, but Maupin said that happens every year. He said it generally takes two or three days for the bus route schedules to be smoothed out.

"The weather was pretty good; that was another plus for us," said Maupin. "A little warm in some classrooms, but not bad."

Fischer said Notre Dame let out early, about 2:10 p.m. as opposed to the regular time of 3 p.m. "So we had a short day today, but the students met at each one of their classes and learned what the expectations are for the course."

Notre Dame's enrollment climbed 7 percent overall, Fischer said. The school has 247 students.

Enrollment at Jackson, which has 3,418 students, was identical to last year. That figure, though, came from "a very soft enrollment count," Maupin said. After the Labor Day vacation, he said, the school will take another, more accurate count.

Class breakdowns at Jackson and Notre Dame were not immediately available. Maupin said the Jackson junior high school with grades seven, eight and nine experienced the largest bulge in enrollment.

"I don't know which specific grades, but overall the junior high enrollment is up probably 40 or 50 kids over last year."

Maupin said the junior high school has 846 students; Jackson High School has about 800.

Freshmen had the edge at Notre Dame, both as far as the largest increase over last year and the largest class. About 70 students, Fischer said, are in the class. The number of freshmen last year was unavailable.

But Fischer said the enrollment increase at Notre Dame occurred "across the board."

Thursday was not the first day of school for freshmen at Notre Dame. On Wednesday, Fischer said, the students attended freshmen orientation.

Tonight, the freshmen will turn out for the school's annual freshmen lock-in, sponsored by the school's Students Against Drunk Driving organization and its senior class. The event is held as a mixer for the school's students who come from nine schools in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois. The lock-in ends Saturday morning.

"(The freshmen) tend to stay with their grade-school friends," Fischer said. "This helps them to meet other kids from other schools and have a fun time together."

Games and other activities are planned. Alumni will also speak to the students, along with other speakers, Fischer said. The speakers will talk on various topics that are important to beginning high school students and give the students pointers on how to make the best of their high school years, she said.