Let's make this simple:
You don't want to be running all of the workstations connections through the server to access the Internet. It could be done this way, but requires more software, as already mentioned.
What you should do is purchase a broadband router with built in firewall functions, like the SMC barricade (http://www.smc.com/index.cfm?event=viewProduct&localeCode=EN_USA&cid=1&scid=17&pid=924) , Dlink router (http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=1&pid=273), or Linksys router (http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1123638171618&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper).
This equipment will give you the capability to firewall your traffic and use the WAN side of the router to connect to your ISP/FiOS connection. Overall, the equipment is cheap - Between $50-$100
for the routers and you get the added advantage of having the switch ports built in. Some of them also have VPNs, which might be useful to you later.
The server should maintain the Active Directory or user accounts, print services, file sharing, DHCP, potentially e-mail, Anti-virus services, and DNS. It'll be plenty busy maintaining these services.
The reason I suggest doing it like this is because your infrastructure will probably continue to grow. There's no sense having to re-engineer it when your user base outgrows it's capabilities to not only provide domain services, but also maintain the Internet and security features that come with that.
Connecting workstations to the server is simple. Physically connecting cables is straightforward. Plug everything into the switch and they're good to go (barring any bad cables or cross-over cables). Next, you have to add the workstations to the domain on the server. They can then log on to the domain with the accounts setup on the domain controller. If you are planning on setting up AD, you should definitely check out Microsoft's site on how to do it.
If you do a peer-to-peer environment, most of that last paragraph doesn't apply. However, I don't recommend a peer-to-peer environment when you're already starting out with 8 clients. Peer-to-peer is as simple as setting everything up to the same workgroup name and assigning accounts on the server. If you choose this environment, make sure you store all of your files on the server and not on workstations, otherwise, maintaining the current version of a file can become tedious.
Good luck,
Don