As Abigail Owenby sat closely next to her mother waiting for the first day of school to begin, she was eager to reach the best part of the day - recess. Not wanting to risk the small possibility of being late, Abigail, a first-grader, awoke around 4:40 a.m., three hours before the school year was set to begin. "I didn't want to miss school and oversleep," she said. Her mother, Lisa Owenby, added: "She is very excited." The Warren County R-III School District began the 2009-10 school year last Thursday, Aug. 20. As school officials prepared for classes to resume following the summer break, the first day was a mixture of enthusiasm and sadness for students and parents alike. Kindergartner Ayden Aery was full of smiles when his mother, Michelle, dropped him off at the school. No tears were shed as both had prepared for the moment. "He's ready for school," Michelle Aery said. "We're ready for school." Bonnie Horton, meanwhile, had trouble holding back her tears as she waited for the bus to arrive carrying her kindergarten son, the youngest of her four children. "He's my baby," she said. "I had to be here." Ashley Mareschal caught her son, kindergartner Konner Butler, by surprise when he walked off the bus. He ran straight toward his mother to get one final hug. "There's going to be peace and quiet," Mareschal quipped. "But it's kind of scary him being gone all the time." Superintendent Dr. John Long described the start as the "smoothest" in his six years in the district. Other than normal adjustments to bus routes, he said few problems have been raised so far. "We've been waiting for something to happen and it hasn't," Long said. "It has gone very smoothly. We were able to hit the ground running." The district welcomed around 30 new teachers and had several administrator changes this school year, including the hiring of two new principals. Dr. Jill Schowe, who has worked in the district for 14 years and most recently was the assistant principal at Daniel Boone Elementary, is now principal at Rebecca Boone. She replaces Rebecca Parks who left for a similar position in the Troy School District. "It was a good first day," Schowe said. "They entered with smiles on their faces for the first day. I am excited to be here." At Black Hawk Middle School, Tracy Kemp also received a promotion from assistant principal to principal. He enters his fourth year in the district. He takes over for Stacy Ray, who is now a middle school principal in the Wentzville School District. Other new administrators in the district are: Lisa Pirrung, high school assistant principal; Tina Sutherland, middle school assistant principal; Emily Wilson, Daniel Boone assistant principal; and Jill Lawson, director of curriculum/instruction. School officials also are pleased about having two former graduates returning to area classrooms. Fourth-grade teacher Lindsay Smith and Title I teacher Jaime Strain are both at Rebecca Boone Elementary. Strain, who spent last year student teaching at Warrior Ridge, is excited to find employment in her hometown. "I feel at home and know the routine," she said. "I am excited. I wanted to give something back. I know what the community is about."