Pine Hill Middle School pupils took pride in kicking off the school's history Friday.

"We can always say we were the first," said Kentrell Monroe, 13. "It kind of makes you feel special because we get to make a mark."

The school has more than 500 pupils, with the seventh- and eighth-graders who were drawing from Hephzibah, Sego and Spirit Creek middle schools.

"Our theme this year is 'new beginnings, new opportunities'," said Principal Glenda Collingsworth. "It's very appropriate considering (Friday was) the first day of school in a brand new school."

Brittany Perkins, 13, reconnected with several old classmates.

"It's cool but it's weird," the eighth-grader said. "I've been to both Hephzibah and Sego, so I see a lot of people I haven't seen in a while."

For sixth-graders, starting middle school means they are growing up.

"It's better than being in elementary school," said Robert Furr, 11. " We're the youngest in the school, but we're not the real little kids anymore. It's fun to be in the middle of the little kids and the teenagers."