MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A little rain did not dampen the spirits at Suncrest Elementary School where teachers, parents and students returned Tuesday morning for the first day in a brand new facility.
“I really like it. It’s huge,” said one 4th grade girl drawing out the word huge in amazement.
“It’s so much bigger than the old school and so much cooler,” exclaimed a 4th grade boy.
For weeks ahead of the school’s opening along Collins Ferry Road, parents had been advised of the new drop-off and pick-up routine along with bus information and arrival and dismissal times.
“Even though it is a rainy first day back from Christmas break, I think it went really well,” said mother Perri Jo DeChristopher.
DeChristopher and Cara Esposito were two of the parents to escort their youngsters into the school nearly 18 months after students participated in a ceremonial groundbreaking in May 2015.
“They’re very excited to get started. It’s kind of like a fresh start for everybody. They have all kinds of things we haven’t had access to before. The kids are super excited and so are the parents,” Esposito proclaimed.
With the opening of the new school, students, staff and faculty are leaving behind a school built in the 1930’s.
Principal Joanne Hines, all smiles, greeted students and parents at the door where visitors are greeted with bright blocks of color floor to ceiling in shades of blue, green and yellow. She breathed a sigh of relief when the school day could officially begin.
“It seems as if things went very, very well. The car rider line was fantastic. The buses were all here in great timing.”
An outside play area, gymnasium and a cafeteria that is not a shared space are a few if what many Suncrest families would consider amenities.
Esposito predicted Suncrest Elementary will become even more of a community engaged school.
“We also have a lot of things we can do in the evening in planning some STREAM nights and activities to involve the community and parents and grandparents. So, that’s pretty exciting too now that we have the space and access to all these things.”
STREAM stands for science, technology, reading, arts and math.
It is Suncrest’s variation of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) focused learning.
Even the youngest students in the PreK-5th grade school are learning the new jargon.
“My little kindergartener was telling me that he has a STREAM room in his new school. To think that even a kindergartener knows what that means and that it’s important is really significant, I think, in the lives of our grade schoolers,” DeChristopher explained.
When considering a design for the elementary school media center, Brandy Tuck, the media specialist, wanted a space that could be shared not only as a library but also as a research lab with classroom space.
Teachers can work together, incorporating one theme across a number of subjects including science and art.
Mobile glass walls used in the construction of the media center allows teachers to enclose their classrooms to avoid interrupting students who may be using the library.
Tuck seemed more than thrilled Tuesday as she quickly rattled off information about a hydraulic desk for use by her and students, new bookshelves and the promise of even more technology installation to come in the 5,000 square foot space.
Just the space alone was an improvement for her. It was so limited at the older school on Junior Avenue, at one point 4th and 5th grade students were transferred to another school in the county.
At the start of the 2016-2017 school year, administrators chose to keep all Suncrest students together
“It’s very exciting, very exciting. I’ve spent the last four months in a closet literally because there was no library. We kept those 4th graders from bouncing back and forth to schools. So, it was a sacrifice that had to be made,” Tuck pointed out.
Meanwhile, there is a heavily active walkway right through Tuck’s work space. Students strolled through, wide eyed and smiling, pointing out everything new.
DeChristopher was able to express what her Suncrest Stars, the school’s new mascot, were feeling on day one. “This is so far removed from what they have known as the library and recess or play area. We didn’t have a gymnasium at the old school. We have science rooms here. So, it really is like they’re seeing things for the first time that they’ve never seen before.”
A community open house will be scheduled for later in January.