The first round of students and parents walked through the new Oglethorpe County Elementary School at an open house on Tuesday.
“I like being in the building and having a ton of room, being with my coworkers and just getting to meet all the children,” said Rebekah Poss, the music teacher for third through fifth grades.
Tuesday’s group, for students with last names beginning A-F, was able to spend two hours exploring the school, which is scheduled to open to all students on Friday. Other groups were scheduled to visit on Wednesday.
Teachers and staff were excited to welcome the students into the new school, which consolidates students from the primary and elementary schools into one location.
“We’re used to being at the far end of the building, away from everybody,” paraprofessional Sheena Hathcock said. “Now, we’re right here in the middle of the building, so it’ll be nice to see everybody and be somewhere brand new.”
Kindergarten teacher Penni Stoudenmire said the new environment will benefit the students, thanks to “reliable” technology and a bigger gym and lunchroom.
“I do feel like they’ll have better opportunities,” she said.
The open house served as a way to help the students adapt to a new layout and to learn where their classrooms are located.
“I used to be on the other side of the school,” said Heather White, who teaches language arts and is the special education resource teacher. “I would have to walk all the way across the school to get to any of the students' classes that I teach, and now they’re all right here.”
The school will be home to kindergarten through fifth-grade students, with each grade having its own hallway.
“We’ve been gifted with so many resources and so much supplies, and it’s going to make the kids have a really good experience in their music class over the next three years,” Poss said.