Leaving in droves by bus, car, bike, and foot, excited students streamed out of Wareham Public Schools on the last day of school Monday morning.

Though they were pleased to be set free for the summer, Minot Forest Elementary Principal Joan Seamans said she also saw a few teary eyes among the students who would be moving on to middle school.

“It’s really sad to see them leave,” Seamans said. “You develop these bonds with the kids, and they become part of your life, until you set them free.”

Dawn Underhill, a kindergarten teacher at Decas, agreed.

“If I could take all of them home with me, I would,” Underhill said. “These kids are my life.”

This year, Decas held Moving Up Day on the last day of school, in which students were able to visit their classrooms for next year. Decas art teacher Ellen Osborn said this was a way to mitigate any fears or anxiety they may have about leaving their current teachers, and also a way to familiarize them with their new classmates.

“It’s a good transition activity,” Osborn said. “It’s great, because they got to talk to the teacher, and all of that. It was nice for me, too, because I got to see who is going to be there.”

Middle school Principal Daniel Minkle said he thought the middle school had an “exciting year … and made an effort to celebrate the student, and student work.”

“Part of what we’ve tried to do is reach out to kids, and find them where they are, and give them reasons to be excited about coming to school,” Minkle said. “That’s been an overarching goal for us.”

Minkle said he sees this mindset as a departure from the past, where the focus was more about enforcing discipline, and setting limits.

“I think you have to have rules, but I think … to get us where we need to be, you have to approach it at both ends,” Minkle said. “Rewarding kids, giving them chances to shine -- reinforcing them, while you are setting limits. That’s still a balance that we are looking for, and will continue to work on next year.”

High school Principal Scott Palladino said he is excited about the eighth grade dual enrollment program, which allows eighth graders to get a leg up on their high school education by applying to take high school courses. It was the first year the school had instituted the program, and Palladino said he was already seeing positive results.

“All [the students] stuck with it, and all achieved success,” Palladino said of the 42 students in the program. “Each kid is starting their traditional freshman year with 20 credits in their back pocket.”

Palladino said the school will also be starting a new culinary class next year. Unlike traditional home economics courses, this particular class would approach cooking from the business standpoint of a restaurant or hotel.

“The students are going to learn to mass produce quality dinners, and learn ordering and cooking,” Palladino said.

Palladino added that, though he is looking forward to the new opportunities for the students next year, it’s a good thing the school will be empty for a bit.

“We have … a lot of work to do to get the building up to speed, from a maintenance standpoint,” Palladino said.