NATCHEZ — Summer has ended and school has begun at Cathedral School and Trinity Episcopal Day School.

Cars clogged the front and back entrances to Cathedral School as parents and students arrived to make the 8 a.m. bell on the first day of the new school year.

Meredith Faust arrived early to drop off her three children: Katey Belle Faust, 10, Alex Faust, 8, and Evan Faust, 4.

To them, the start of the school year holds no fear.

“They’ve been at Cathedral their whole lives,” Faust said.

Evan Faust was particularly excited.

“He said he was ready to rock this thing,” Faust said.

A little way away, Martha Adams, who teaches second grade, stood in the doorway to her classroom to greet students.

Like many of the teachers, Adams was wearing a bright green Cathedral Greenwave cape and a black t-shirt with a green Superman logo where a “C” replaced the iconic “S.”

“We have a superhero theme this year,” Adams said.

Even before the bell rang, students in Adams’ classroom were bent over their desks, pencils in hand.

“Everything’s laid out and ready for them when they come in,” Adams said.

But Cathedral students weren’t the only ones experiencing their first day. Over at Trinity, students and families hurried to make the 8 a.m. bell.

When the day was over at 2:45 p.m. for students aged 3 through fourth grade, a similar scene to the one that took place at Cathedral played out, only in reverse.

At Trinity Lower School, children gathered their belongings from their cubbies and got ready for their parents to pick them up.

“This is about to be the hectic part of the day,” Nancy Harveston, a second grade teacher at Trinity, said.

The school’s carpool line stretched throughout the parking lot and toward the street. Teachers supervised the pick-up, making sure each child got home safely.

Myla Waddill, who substitutes at the school, parked near the high school and walked down to get her daughter, Maggie Waddill, 8, whose father is Jim Waddill.

“Until the routine kicks in, the line’s long,” Waddill said.

Maggie Waddill, who just entered the fourth grade, said she was looking forward to one thing more than anything else.

“Getting to know my friends better,” Waddill said.

While Myla Waddill said the summer was nice, she said her daughter had been running out of things to do and was ready to go back to school.

Maggie Waddill nodded in agreement.

Fifteen minutes later at the high and middle schools the bell rang again and older students got ready to go home.

Seth Blattner, the 16-year-old son of Mike and Sharon Blattner, and Mark McGraw, 15, the son of Keith McGraw, had similar feelings to Waddill’s.

“It was probably for the better,” McGraw said, referring to the end of the summer.

Both agreed they had been running out of things to do during and were ready for the 10th grade.

McGraw said he was looking forward to geometry, while Blattner was more excited about A.P. U.S. History.

“History’s my thing,” Blattner said.

And while there might be some lingering sadness over the loss of freedom in the next few days, most people seemed to feel the same way as Adams from Cathedral.

“It’s always nice to have a fresh start,” Adams said.