DAPHNE, Ala.—A total of 3,391 students were enrolled in Daphne public schools this fall semester, which began Monday, a Baldwin County Board of Education spokesperson said.

Daphne Middle School opened its fall semester with an estimated 550 seventh- and eighth-graders.

Students seemed glad to be back at school and meet new classmates from W.J. Carroll Intermediate who did not attend Daphne Middle last year.

Daphne East Elementary began the school year with a new principal, Becky Lundberg; an estimated 850 students attend the school, which includes a new sixth-grade wing equipped with a band room and computer lab. Soon after school started, students at an orientation event met the new principal and received news about the extra wing.

Smiles and tears were observed at both schools: Some students were glad to see friends they hadn’t seen during the summer break and parents and children shed tears before the first day of school.

In fact, Daphne East PTA offered a “Boo Hoo” room with breakfast and tissues for those parents to gather and meet others whose children started kindergarten.