Marivie Mabuti bent close to her 5-year-old daughter, Abigail, to say goodbye on the first day of first grade.

"I asked her if I could leave and she said she's OK, she doesn't need me anymore," said Mabuti, hesitating for a moment in teacher Michelle Le's brightly colored Kalihi Kai Elementary School classroom.

"At kindergarten, it was different. She didn't want to stay the whole day. But now it's, 'You can leave, Mommy.' "

It was a bustling morning in Kalihi and across the state yesterday as 49 schools opened their doors to students on what was the first official day of school. Another 85 of the 252 public schools open today and 106 on Monday, with the remainder opening shortly after that.

Teacher Le thought her students were still "shell-shocked" about being back in school, but grandparent Brian Ortiz, who runs Big B's Fish Wagon, was happy the summer had been short and his grandson, Tre Auna-Thomas, was back in school.

"It keeps them fresh," Ortiz said. "Not too much time to forget what they already learned."

Despite yesterday's official opening day with the start of a unified school calendar, some schools, like Ka'iulani Elementary, brought kindergartners in a day early to introduce them to the school while they could still cling to Mom or Dad's hand.

Other schools used the first few days for teacher preparation, and plan to start classes Monday, Tuesday or even later.

Department of Education spokesman Greg Knudsen said yesterday's opening day went smoothly, but one school — Waiahole Elementary — will delay its expected opening today because of bacteria contamination detected in the community well. Because the Waiahole cafeteria also prepares food for Ka'a'awa Elementary and other sites, preparation will be moved to Kahalu'u Elementary.

"They're working on flushing it out but it may result in a bit further delay for the school," Knudsen said. "Hopefully it will open Monday."

Traffic, meanwhile, also moved smoothly.

"No major traffic problems," said Honolulu Police Department spokesman Capt. Frank Fujii. "But we should still remind people that as more and more schools start, we should remember all those beat-the-traffic-jam things." They include allowing extra time and watching carefully for children crossing streets.

At Waipahu High, like many of the state's high schools, the new freshman class had the campus to themselves — and heard principal Pat Pedersen tell them this was one of the best two days of their high school career.

"The second," Pedersen said, "will be in June four years from now, when you graduate and celebrate your achievements."

'PEACE MAKERS'

Along with going through a transition program to introduce the new ninth-graders to their large new campus — and the "house" to which they'll belong — more than 500 of Waipahu's 700 freshmen pledged to be "Peace Makers" as part of the school's unique citizenship program fostering personal responsibility plus a calm campus. It's a project launched by teacher Karen Shinjo two years ago.

"I see a lot of kids who have been in fights, and we need to bring people together and make peace," 13-year-old Renata Laupola said when she finished the pledge and slipped on the cool blue plastic wristband that showed her commitment.

"This means a more peaceful campus," said Robee Ballocanag, a 16-year-old junior who had come to school with other upperclassmen especially to lead freshmen in the pledge. "I encourage all my friends to join."

In every community throughout the state, the youngest children were holding on to parents and hauling classroom supplies along with school supplies, tucking pristine pencils and bright crayons into their desks and looking proudly at new sneakers as they sat cross-legged listening to the teacher.

Nicole Ishimine, 5, was also hauling her grandmother, Felisa Eclipse, who walked a mile to pick up the child and take her to school.

"I'm following her," Eclipse said. "She knows her room."

So did Roosevelina "Rose" Maddison's children, Mo-Lisa and Ramson Hiram, who were making a beeline for the right rooms. Because of the short summer, the family changed its usual plans, opted out of Summer Fun and spent more time going to the beach as a family, taking in movies, visiting cousins.

"I felt they had to rest," Maddison said. "But now they're anxious to come back. The past week they've been saying 'OK, three more days ... two more days ...' "

YOUTHFUL CONFIDENCE

With a year of kindergarten under their belts, the first-graders at Kalihi Kai oozed confidence. Teddy and Inez Motoyama didn't even need to awaken their children, Teddy Jr. and his first-grade sister, Teana.

"They were up at 5:30 with no alarm," said Motoyama, who, with his wife, was dropping the kids off before going on to his own classroom as a teacher at Central Intermediate.

Teddy Jr. was bouncing with excitement and nudging his sister toward her room. "Go walk in the class, my lady," he quipped.

But even kindergartners, especially those who'd been to preschool and were familiar with the routine, were confident. No tears there.

"He's been talking about this for weeks," said 5-year-old Justin Bethea's mother, Priscilla Jones-Cotton, as mother and son waited for Ka'iulani's first group of kindergartners to gather in the school library Wednesday for orientation.

Justin's smile — minus the front teeth — was as wide as his arms were flung as he headed off with the other children for an hour of assessment and play.

"Let's do it," said the ambitious 5-year-old, building a tower of wooden blocks along with his new buddy, Daniel De Vera. "Let's make the highest building in the world."

Justin said he can already write his name. "But I'm not so very good with the 'n'," he said.

Meanwhile, kindergartner Charles Danao was pushing a shiny dime down into a pocket.

"I'm going to put it in my police badge pocket," confided the child. "I don't want anyone to get it."

At Ka'iulani, across North King Street from Tamashiro Market, principal Thomas Moon told parents they were joining a unique new community that included the people at the school, but also every single one of them.

"That's the nature of education," said Moon, who told families the school would be offering a variety of parent events. "We all have to work together. It does take all of us."

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com.