The summer is winding down and Pike County students are starting to prepare themselves for the first day of classes.

For some, it's the same old thing and aside from seeing their friends again, there isn't much to look forward to. But others are moving up to "bigger and better" grades and buildings and are excited about the change.

Joshua Quigley is going into the sixth grade and will be attending Goshen High School for the first time.

"I'm excited to see what it feels like to finally be in the upper grades and to finally be in middle school," he said.

His sister Natasha is also going into the sixth grade and she shares her brother's enthusiasm.

"Summer's been kind of boring," she said. "I'm ready to go back and see my friends."

She and her brother, along with their friends Jessica and Jonathan Parker and their cousin, Chelsea Freeman, were at Murphree Park Saturday making the most of the rest of their lazy days of summer.

Freeman goes to school at Zion Chapel in Coffee County, where she will be a seventh grader this year.

"I'll probably forget my locker combination," she said. "This is the first year we'll have lockers."

It's also the first time she'll have classes in the high school and she said she isn't sure what to expect.

"I don't know where any of my classes are," she said.

Freeman's concerns are not uncommon among students "graduating" to middle school or junior high. Lockers, new teachers, new classes and new friends are big adjustments to make during the switch from elementary to high school.

But even though the changes may seem a little daunting, this group of kids said they are ready for them.

"Elementary school was so easy," Natasha said.

And since she's older, she is looking forward to the atmosphere at the high school.

Jonathan has already been at GHS for one year, but will move to a different part of the building when he starts seventh grade this year. He said despite new teachers everything else should be pretty much the same.

And even though he'll miss the "freedom of summer," he's excited to get involved in high school sports.

"I'll probably do football," he said. "That is if I'm not doing basketball."