Sean Naimi, like all of Montgomery County's public-school students, had 74 days to enjoy summer vacation. Unlike some of the other 145,000 students in the county school system, Sean was fired up to return to school on Monday, Aug. 27. A Beverly Farms fifth-grader, he plans to savor a year of being at the top of the heap of elementary school.
"It's our last year so we want to have it good," Sean said.
High schools, with first bell at 7:25 a.m. were the first to get back to business. At Winston Churchill High School, students getting off the bus were welcomed back to school by seniors sporting 'Senior Sergeants' outfits.
Middle-schoolers were up next; they had to be in the door at 7:55 a.m. Sean and other elementary school students had until 9 a.m. to begin the day. Shortly after that time, Ethan Denicoff and Danny Gordon raised the U.S. and Maryland flags in front of Wayside, and the 2007-08 school year was officially underway.