Students in Melissa White's first-grade class may have noticed their teacher trying to stifle a few yawns Monday afternoon.

Despite being a teacher for 11 years, White still gets excited about the start of a new school year, even to the point of having trouble sleeping the night before classes start.

Brett A. Clark/Daily Advance (ENLARGE)

Renee Johnson (center) gives her son Randall, 10, a hug as he waits with his sisters Kiana, 6, (right) and Alexis, 11 (not pictured) before their first day of school at P.W. Moore Elementary, Monday.

Justin Falls/Daily Advance (ENLARGE)

Second graders Adriana Vandenbrink, 6, (left) and Tia Owens, 7, talk as they prepare to color pictures of themselves in Pat Harris' classroom on the first day of school for students in Pasquotank County, Monday

"I couldn't sleep last night," she said Monday morning. "(The first day of school) is a lot of chaos, but it's a lot of fun, teaching these kids and watching them grow."

White, who teaches at P.W. Moore Elementary School, was among the hundreds of public school teachers welcoming students back to campus from their summer vacations on Monday.

She wasn't the only teacher excited to see school start, however.

Second-grade teacher Linda Coleman, who has been at P.W. Moore for 20 years, was equally upbeat about the start of the school year.

"I'm excited. I'm ready to see my children," she said.

Most parents dropping their kids off at P.W. Moore Monday were also excited about the start of school.

Sam McNeal, whose daughter, Aleah, started the fifth-grade Monday, said both he and his daughter were looking forward to classes getting under way.

"I most certainly am ready," he said. "The kids are very excited."

Aleah, a cheerleader and former member of the Student Government Association at P.W. Moore, seemed happy to be back on campus.

"It's very nice," she said. "I like the teachers here."

Several parents had mixed feelings about the start of school.

Gordon and Villy Adams, whose son, Billy, was starting the third-grade, weren't as enthusiastic that their son's summer vacation was over.

"It's hard," Villy Adams said. "After a week, you get used to it. If you ask (my son) Billy, he'll say, 'I don't want to go back.' But then, he'll make new friends."

Parent Lisa Kight said she was excited about the start of school, but unhappy with the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools.

"I just don't like the fact that we're closer to two other schools and they bus (the kids) clear across town," she said. Kight added that she likes the teachers at P.W. Moore, and has had no problems with the school.

Across town at Northeastern High School, some of the new students were a little intimidated by the size of the school, but excited about seeing their friends again.

Freshman Leah Hill, 14, said the first day of high school was a little overwhelming.

"It's kind of scary," she said. "The halls are long and the classrooms are just all over the place."

Chudney Hill said she was very excited about starting high school.

"It's different. I feel grown up," she said.

Other freshmen, such as 15-year-old Christian McPherson, were not as excited about being at a new school.

"I'm not too excited about coming back," he said. "It stinks that summer is over."

Sophomore Danielle Cosgrove, 16, agreed.

"I'm excited, but it's still school," she said.

After school, students and teachers at Elizabeth City Middle School said the year had gotten off to a good start.

Caleb Sawyer, a 10-year-old sixth-grader, said he likes his new school.

"It's very nice. They did a good job welcoming us," he said.

Christopher Sanchez, 11, also a sixth-grader, said he noticed something about his new school right away its clean smell. He also noticed things that his last school didn't have.

"It was different because they have lockers here," he said.

Ten-year-old William Ferguson, also in the sixth-grade, said he was getting around the school OK, but it was a little confusing.

"It was unusual. I wasn't used to anything here," he said.

Sharon Creef, starting her first teaching job, said things went remarkably well.

"The kids were wonderful," she said. "It went as smoothly as imaginable."

ECMS Principal Cynthia Morris made sure every child found a bus or their ride home Monday afternoon.

"I love school, so I thought it went great," she said. "But the teachers are the meat and potatoes of school. They're the ones that make it all happen. We had a good time today."