AUGUSTA – Thousands of students across Maine are making their way back to the classroom as a new school year gets under way.

Many elementary, middle and high schools held their first day of classes Wednesday, while classes are to resume at others next week. Many schools in Aroostook County opened a couple of weeks ago to account for the two-week break that will occur for the annual potato harvest in late September and early October.

The start of the new school year was a special occasion in Augusta, where upperclassmen on Wednesday joined freshmen who reported a day earlier to a new, $30 million high school that is outfitted with the latest technology while bearing a likeness to the historic structure it replaces.

The new Cony High School, designed to resemble the brick “flatiron” building that capital city students attended, is equipped with wireless Internet access throughout, interactive Smartboards, a 950-seat auditorium and an open food court. The opening of the new school will present its challenges.

“People are going to get lost,” Principal James Anastasio predicted earlier this week. “There is going to be some confusion. Patience is going to be an important word.”

Classes resumed at Lewiston High School on Wednesday, while in Bangor, freshmen report for orientation today and classes begin next Tuesday. Portland schools begin classes Sept. 7.

As students returned to classes, officials urged drivers to use caution, particularly where children board and leave buses. The York County Sheriff’s Department said it will beef up enforcement for the next few weeks in school zones as a reminder that schools are back in session.

Colleges in Maine also are reopening. Colby in Waterville held orientation and a special dinner on Tuesday for the Class of 2010. Sophomores, juniors and seniors return Monday.

Bowdoin in Brunswick formally opened Wednesday and scheduled the first day of classes for today, and Bates in Lewiston resumes classes Sept. 7. In Orono, the University of Maine opens its doors to incoming first-year students on Friday and begins classes on Tuesday.

Marking the new school year, Gov. John Baldacci planned to visit on Wednesday with middle school pupils from Jay who were enrolled in the Gear Up program, which is designed to enhance students’ aspirations to seek higher education.

The students were to showcase their summer projects during their meeting with the governor at Central Maine Community College in Auburn.