1st-Day Jitters and Aspirations : Education: The new year means new cultures, cliques and classes for students from shy kindergartners to bold high school seniors.

Russian exchange student Dennis Habarov walked right into his first culture gap Tuesday morning at Nordhoff High School in Ojai.

Along with 1,000 of his classmates, Dennis, 15, was sent to the gym for a peculiar American custom: a pep rally to mark the first day of school. Moscow schools don’t have pep rallies on any day. Or principals who encourage students to stand up and make a racket.

Especially make a racket. “It was too noisy,” Dennis said, sitting by himself after the rally while classmates socialized in small cliques.

Although the first day of school is always daunting for new kids, a student doesn’t have to come from Russia to feel a little disoriented.

Take Nordhoff sophomore Chris Droney. When school ended last June, he was still short enough to stand up on the school bus without bumping his head on the roof. Tuesday morning, he found out the hard way he had become a bigger man on campus.

“I really hit my head,” said Droney, now a gangly 6-footer. “I grew enough during the summer to make a difference.”

Seniors get a whiff of real power on the first day on school. Deva Gatica, a 17-year-old Nordhoff senior, wheeled her red sports car into the school parking lot and asked a teacher to point her to the spaces reserved for seniors. After three years as an underclassman, she finally had a perk.

“You don’t have to fight for a closer spot,” Deva said.

Senior year is also totally liberating, said Alicia Carlson, 17. “I used to be so intimidated by people, but now I’m so free I can say whatever I want.”

Renewing friendships, Nordhoff students paraded their newly bought wardrobes and such accessories as peace symbols and diamond nose studs. In the insular world of high school, they had more on their minds than budget problems, voucher initiatives and global warming.

“The kids worry about having a good time,” said student body President Rachel McSorley, a 17-year-old senior. “There’s also alcohol and drug abuse and AIDS, but all in all, we just want to get through the year and get good grades.”

Letting the good times roll is a universal concern among high school students, said new Principal Michael McConahey at Royal High in Simi Valley.

“They’re probably more concerned right now about their personal life than their academic life,” said McConahey, who greeted 1,950 students at Royal.

While high school students were thinking ahead to their weekend social plans, the 31 kindergarten kids in Jim France’s class at Ojai’s Meiners Oaks School were just trying to remember their left from their right.

France was putting them through the paces on the first day of school, making them point their hands at various parts of their bodies. Then he had them put their crayons in the little cubbyholes on the right side of the room and place their desks neatly in a straight line.

Witnessing the children perform these tasks without tripping or pushing was school Principal Joan Adams.

“I’m pretty amazed,” she said.

Adams didn’t recall seeing many tears Tuesday among the kindergarten kids. “It used to be they’d cry,” she said, “but a lot of them have already dealt with separation from their parents when they went to preschool. They’re ready for kindergarten.”

In Isabelle Turpin’s sixth-grade class at Meiners Oaks, Kent Krumpschmidt wasn’t sure if he was ready for a structured school day after having spent last year traveling around the world with his family.

“It’s kind of strange to be back,” said Kent, whose father taught him the fifth-grade curriculum on the road.

But Kent impressed Turpin with his eagerness and ability, turning in the first classroom assignment a few minutes before his 33 classmates and then putting a block puzzle together in just seconds.

“You did that as fast as I can,” Turpin said. “We must be on the same puzzle wavelength.”

Turpin, 25, wanted to make the transition from vacation to school as painless as possible for her students.

“I take it easy on the first day,” she said, “so the kids can get back in the swing of things. It’s not always going to be like this.”

For some teachers, the new year is a chance to shed old reputations. At Knolls Elementary School in Simi Valley, Mariel Jenkins told third-grade teacher Mark Clark that she liked her despite warnings from her playground pals.

“They said they were sorry I got Mrs. Clark because she’s mean,” Mariel said to Clark, “but I think you’re nice.”

Times correspondent Brenda Day contributed to this story.