The Richmond Hill Middle School hosted an open house Thursday evening for students and parents to meet the teachers and visit classrooms. A lot of happy faces graced the hallways and excitement was in the air.
Principal William McGrath said he and the teachers had a busy day getting their classrooms ready and lesson plans organized. Before the open house McGrath made a trip down the hallways to touch base with the teachers and welcome them back.
“(The teachers) are very enthusiastic and excited,” he said. “There are a lot of good things going on at RHMS.”
For returning students, it was a good opportunity to catch up with friends and meet new people. Among them was Justin Havmann, a member of the RHMS football team who was handing out fliers and pointed new students and parents in the right direction and where they could find their homeroom teacher.  
“It is a hectic day and it is fun, because I get to meet new people,” he said.
Bailey Carter was one of the new students at RHMS, having moved from fifth grade in elementary school into sixth grade in middle school. She was visiting her new classrooms with her parents and sisters.
“She is taking her own bus for the first time this year,” said Baily’s mom, Amy Carter. “She is branching out a little bit. We will see her grow a lot this year.”
McGrath said he worked hard on taking a big part of anxiety out for those moving up to RHMS.
“We had a great orientation at the end of the school year and we brought over all the fifth-graders from Carver,” he said. “They have already been welcomed to the school. They saw the facility, we discussed policies, procedures and how things work here. Be prepared — they won’t get that automatic feedback from their teacher, because they have more than one teacher. Be patient. We love and we care about every student that walks through these doors.”
And if the principal’s advice doesn’t resonate, there’s the advice of Nathan Welch, an eighth-grader with plenty experience.
“Behave yourselves and try to have a good time.”