Even high school freshman Tiffany Ogata got lost a few times yesterday.

For 25,000 Hawai'i students, yesterday was one of the most anticipated — or dreaded — days of the year. While several students said the first day is a time to reconnect with old friends and make new ones, many new to their schools talked about the anxiety-provoking challenges such as trying to find their classes, someone to eat lunch with, and even the bathrooms.

With 186 public schools on year-round, modified or charter school schedules, the first day of school is no longer a single date, but rather a two-month-long series of

first days ending when the traditional school year begins on Aug. 23 for the other 99 schools.

The experiences of three students are like snapshots of an important event in the lives of Hawai'i's children.

Jessica, who just moved from Utah, stood in the hallways of 'Ahuimanu Elementary, her new school, shifting in her pink and purple slippers near the back of a line. But another student took her hand and said, "If you need any help, just ask me." Behind her curled blond bangs, Jessica's eyes looked more settled.

Ready or not, summer officially ended with jangle of bells yesterday at 7:45 a.m. for Jessica and the rest of the 480 students at 'Ahuimanu.

Hannah didn't know anyone when she arrived at Moanalua Middle School.

Hannah, whose military family moved to Hawai'i in June, was among 378 seventh-graders learning about their new school for the first time.

But unlike most of her classmates coming from nearby elementary schools — Fort Shafter, Red Hill, Salt Lake, Aliamanu and Moanalua — Hannah had been home-schooled in Clarksville, Tenn., the past two years.

By midmorning break, Hannah was talking to another student and felt comfortable enough to ask a question during a later group session, thanks to an orientation that gave students an idea of what was expected of them.

As freshmen and new students poured out of their Mililani High School classrooms after the last bell, many said they were overwhelmed by the size of the new campus. Buildings were hard to find and friends were difficult to distinguish in the sea of strange faces. By the end of the day, some whipped out their cell phones to find friends who often ended up being just on the other side of the courtyard.

Tiffany, 14, worries about how much harder it will be to get to classes today when the older students — at least 1,200 of them — arrive. Getting from class to class was difficult enough because of the distance between buildings, and "it's going to take longer to get to class ... because it's so crowded," she said.

Nevertheless, Tiffany said she is eager for the other students to return to campus today so school can start "for real."

Alyssa Almeida, 14, views the arrival of older students with more trepidation. "They're older and they know their way around and we might just get in their way," she said.

But Alyssa said her fears of meeting new students and teachers yesterday were unfounded.

"It was fun," she said. "They were all nice."