The Beginning of the Year

I just recently started my lab placement at an elementary school in town. (I'm a lab student because I'm college majoring in elementary education). Its near the beginning of the year. In fact, they've only been in school for roughly a month. This got me started on how teachers begin the school year.
I remember back in my elementary school days, some teachers were intimidating and some were not. I remember one teacher who scared me to death. I had heard she was "tough" and that is what terrified me before I even stepped into her classroom. It turned out that, that very teacher is the one teacher who impacted my life the most. Yes, she was tough, and the beginning of the school year was scary, but we knew what she expected of us and what we weren't supposed to do. I respected her more than any teacher I ever had. This teacher started of the year enforcing every single rule, and making examples of those students who were disobedient.
This makes me think of how I want to start out the school year in my classroom. I want my students to respect me and get the most out of the school year. This is why I feel it is important to be "tough", especially at the beginning so that my students will know what to expect.