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LeBlond High School’s first-year principal Ken Girard keeps one foot in the classroom while teaching a speech class.

The sophomores brought what Ken Girard jokingly called “their game faces.”

They were quiet, didn’t show much expression and didn’t laugh much at his jokes.

Maybe they were tired. Or nervous. Or maybe that’s just teenagers on the first day of school.

“They say they’re not excited to be here, but also, they are excited to be here,” Mr. Girard said with a laugh following his first sophomore English class of the year Monday.

It was Mr. Girard’s first school day as Bishop LeBlond High School’s principal. After about 10 years as a LeBlond teacher and soccer coach, he’s now taking over for former principal Janet Wilcox, who moved into an assistant dean position at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan.

St. Joseph private schools, including LeBlond and St. Joseph Christian School, are back at school this week. The St. Joseph School District’s year begins Aug. 25.

Tuesday, teachers new to all schools were invited to the St. Joseph Country Club for the Women’s Chamber of Commerce’s annual luncheon for new teachers.

St. Joseph City Council member Donna Jean Boyer spoke, foreshadowing the ups and downs of the teachers’ experiences.

A down will be that someone might complain about you in the News-Press’ “It’s your call” call-in line, she said. Issues concerning the school district are popular topics in the feature.

Yet the opportunity for rewards is great.

“You will make a difference in the lives of our children,” Ms. Boyer said.

At LeBlond Monday, seniors were coming to terms with their new status. “I’m kind of waiting for last year’s seniors to walk by,” senior Rachel Justin said.

“I feel like a sophomore still,” senior Kaleigh Blakley said.

Soon, they’ll have to decide the next stop: college. “I’d like to go to Mizzou or Benedictine but will probably end up at Mo West because I won’t be able to afford anything else,” Rachel said.

New principal Mr. Girard just hopes he can keep up with his to-do list.

“This job is a phenomenal amount of work, it seems,” he said Monday before moving on to an unexpected to-do: talking to a family about a possible foreign exchange student.