FERRIDAY, La. – The first day of kindergarten did cause 5-year-old Gregory Jones a moment of anxiety, but not the kind you would think.

&uot;He’s been overly excited about the first day of school,&uot; said Jones’ mother, Misti Freeman. &uot;So when he saw the school bus pass our house, he said, ‘Oh, mama, we’ve missed school!’ &uot;

But not to worry — Freeman, along with hundreds of other parents, brought her son to Ferriday Lower Elementary herself, just to make sure he got settled in.

Concordia Parish’s littlest public school pupils were among almost 4,000 students who returned to school Monday. &uot;I’d say it went very smoothly,&uot;&160;said Superintendent Lester &uot;Pete&uot;&160;Peterman. &uot;Everyone seems to be getting adjusted just fine.&uot;

Not that there haven’t been some changes. Since last year, kindergarten and pre-K classes in Ferriday have been moved from Ferriday Kindergarten Center to the lower elementary. The latter school will now house pre-K through second-grade students.

But the majority of students arriving at Ferriday Lower Elementary between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. weren’t shedding any tears.

In fact, they were wide-eyed and ready to find out which classrooms were theirs, with first- and second-graders also giving waves and hugs to classmates and teachers they recognized from last year.

&uot;They’ve been so excited about this that they were putting on their school clothes last night,&uot; said Stacy Jefferson, gesturing to her twin daughters, Ebony and Diana., both first-graders. &uot;They’re definitely ready to go.&uot;

&uot;She’s been very excited,&uot; said Angela Johnson, standing in line at the school’s front door with daughter Desiree, 5, a kindergartner.