Bilan Houssein enjoys table tennis with fellow freshman Arminda Kayijamahe at Deering High School on the first day of school Tuesday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

On Tuesday morning, a few ninth grade girls played table tennis in a brightly decorated classroom at Deering High School. Flags hung in a row above the whiteboard and basketball jerseys reading “Black Lives Matter” and “Love Wins,” decorated the wall. A few feet away, a group of boys dealt a new hand of UNO.

“I actually expected we would go to class today,” Bilan Houssein, 14, said during a break in her game of table tennis “But this is a nice surprise.”

On the first day of school in Portland, the new freshman class – Deering High’s largest in recent years with more than 200 students – had the school to itself for a few hours. Activities were set up around campus so students could play cards or soccer or draw with sidewalk chalk. The idea was to give ninth graders a chance to get to know their new school before the upperclassmen arrived at lunchtime, Principal Jake Geissman said. In the afternoon, students ran through their class schedules.

It’s the second year students in Portland have faced the possibility of getting reassigned to a high school that wasn’t their first choice.

Last year, the district reported that everyone had gotten their first choice because an approximately even number of students said they wanted to go to each high school. This year, a spokesperson for the school district said that everyone who submitted their selection in the winter again got their first choice, but students who enrolled this summer were automatically assigned to Portland High School.

Houssein said starting high school felt “nerve-wracking,” and she was grateful to begin the day playing games with some friends she knew from middle school. One of those friends, Ahlaam Yousef, 14, said she felt the same way.

“It feels good to start school, but overwhelming. Like how big the school is, I’m not used to a school this big,” Yousef said.

At a table nearby, Emmett Brady, Jude Blackwell-Moore and Mason Shaddox, all 14, played UNO. The three boys were friends in elementary school but went to different middle schools. They all said they were happy to see each other on their first day.

“I did not expect coming in that I’d be playing UNO with two people I knew from elementary school,” Brady said.

Mason Shaddox, center, plays UNO with classmates, Emmett Brady, left, and Jude Blackwell-Moore, right, on the first day of school at Deering High School on Tuesday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

The two other boys nodded in agreement. They said they felt a mix of nerves and excitement to be starting at a new school.

“There’s going to be a lot more people than I’m used to,” said Blackwell-Moore. “It’s kind of exciting because there’s more people to meet and experiences to have.”

“I’m happy we can be off campus for lunch so we can have a little more freedom,” Shaddox said.

A few doors down in another classroom, three girls who were friends in middle school sat watching a movie.

Eve Glessner, 14, said that while she felt overwhelmed by the transition to high school, joining the cross country team has helped her adjust. She’s been coming to school for practice for a few weeks now. But she said having the morning for just ninth graders helped, too.

“I think that they’re doing a pretty good job of getting us adjusted and it’s just good to see friends again after summer,” she said.

Her friend, Stefany Chingo, 14, said being in the new school still felt strange to her. Speaking in Spanish, Chingo said she is excited about the diversity at Deering High and hopes to meet more Spanish-speaking students. At her old school, she said, not a lot of other students spoke Spanish. She speaks a little English but is more comfortable expressing herself in Spanish.

Out on the field, other freshmen played pickup soccer under the cloudless sky. The air was crisp.

Deering High freshmen Cleybin Vasques Galicia, left, Khalid Abdi and Khalid Yussuf play soccer on the first day of school. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Drew Pisani, who has taught English and physical education at the school since 1996, stood on the sidelines watching. He said he was glad that the ninth graders had a chance to get out some energy on the first day.

He also is optimistic about the new school year. In part because for the first time in his 28 years at the school, he’s teaching a new class this year, personal fitness, which students can take instead of the traditional physical education course. He said the class will focus more on individual workouts instead of team sports.

“I’ve taught here a long time and it refreshes me as a veteran teacher to have a new class to offer and see students excited about it,” he said.

At about 11:30 a.m., as upperclassmen started trickling in, Geissman, the principal, stood in the cafeteria greeting them as they filed in for lunch.

This is Geissman’s second year as principal. And as kids fist-bumped and waved at him in the cafeteria, he said he is looking forward to  the upcoming year.

“We had an excellent year last year and there’s a lot of positive momentum to build on,” he said.

He is especially proud of the culture at Deering High and its exceptional diversity. Last year, students at the school spoke a total of 32 languages, according to a spokesperson for the district. Enrollment data for this year hasn’t been collected yet because the official enrollment period doesn’t end until Oct. 1.

“There was a time when Deering’s growing diversity was a pain point, and now it’s really universally a point of pride for families, staff and students. Here we’re kind of living in a micro-community of what we wish the rest of the world was like,” Geissman said.

This story was updated at 11 a.m. on Sept. 4 to correct information about the freshman class size. It is the largest class in recent years.