I am always nervous when school starts

Tomorrow morning, I will have my first day with students for the 14th time, and I have been a ball of nerves every single time.  It doesn't matter that last year I was a veteran of the school and now I am a rookie.  I was every bit as nervous last year as I am now.  That's one reason why teaching is a wonderful profession, at least for me.  It never gets dull, because I'm hitting the reset button every year.  Will I be able to connect with this year's kids as well or better than last year?  Will I be able to communicate physics as well or better than last year?  I ask myself that every year.  This year, I'm also asking questions like "Where are the bathrooms in the physics building?" and "Will I trip on my gown in the cathedral?"  Yes, I had to buy a graduation-style gown for the several times I will need it this year.  I just got the basic model, though there are myriad styles depending on where you went, what you studied, and what degree you earned.  When I tried on the gown at the Cambridge robe-maker shop, the girl asked me, "Will you be needing a hood?"  I replied, "No, but do you have any wands?"  One of us thought it was funny.

The first day of school feels like opening night of a play.  No matter how prepared you are, you always feel nervous.  It's a good thing.  Nerves keep you sharp.  They help you focus.  The only time I really get worried is when I don't know what I'm doing.  To avoid that, I just prepare for everything I can control.  I have asked everyone I can to walk me through the first day or week in detail regarding what they need from me.  I overly detailed my calendar just to make me feel comfortable.
6:30 wake
7:45 breakfast
8:15 meet my tutor group at their boarding house
8:30 take my tutor group to get registered and pick up their timetables
8:45 take my tutor group to my classroom to get to know them a bit
9:15 take my tutor group back to their boarding house
10:00 opening of term ceremony in Ely Cathedral
10:45 meet the rugby coach in the common room for a chat
11:15-12:05 Lesson 1--Year 10 GCSE level physics (motion)
1:00 Lunch
2:55-3:45 Lesson 2--Year 11 GCSE level physics (atomic structure)
4:30 go for a run
6:00 dinner

I have a very busy morning, but only two lessons, so I lucked out a bit.  There is a system for taking attendance I have to figure out, as well as a system for recording book numbers.  If I really get confused, my department head is right next door.  That's very convenient.

So, I spent all day yesterday and today planning lessons, reworking powerpoints, retyping my class rules, fiddling with the equipment in my classroom, and pacing a lot.  Of course, I thought "Why didn't I start doing this earlier?"  But I say that every year, so it was actually a little calming.  My tried and true method goes like this:
1. Enjoy the summer (i.e. do nothing productive).
2. As the start of school approaches, remind myself I better enjoy the summer while I can.
3. The day before teacher meetings, go out for several beers.
4. A couple days before students return, freak out because I've been doing nothing productive.
5. Stop freaking out by realizing I just need to plan my first week.
6. Plan  and organize obsessively, feel great about being productive, and ask myself several times why I didn't start working earlier.
7. Repeat procedures in a condensed form every weekend.

One of the reasons the first year or two of teaching is so difficult is because we don't yet realize this anxiety is part of the job.  We assume it's our fault because we're not good enough, that better teachers don't get nervous like this.  In truth, the ones that don't get nervous often are the ones that just don't care anymore.  Personally, I am very nervous, and that's a good thing.