First day unique for Coshocton kids
Third graders play during lunch on the first day of school, Aug. 21, at Central Elementary School.
COSHOCTON – Four classes of third graders happily mixed together on the playground during the first day of school at Central Elementary School.
“The kids are really getting along well,” said Denise McPeak, who teaches third grade at the school.
The first day of school for Coshocton City School District elementary students was spent getting to know new buildings, teachers and classmates. Students from the existing three elementary schools were pulled together to make new classes that they will move to the new Coshocton Elementary with in October.
All of the district’s fifth and sixth grade students started at Central Elementary School, which also has three kindergarten classes, four first grade classes, two second grade classes, four third grade classes and three fourth grade classes. South Lawn Elementary School has one kindergarten class, one second grade class, one third grade class and one fourth grade class and Lincoln Elementary School has two kindergarten classes, two first grade classes, two second grade classes, one third grade class and one fourth grade class.
McPeak did her best to make students in her class feel as comfortable as possible on the first day.
“I had them raise their hands when I asked who went to what school and they saw that there were several of them from each school in the room,” she said. “We also did getting to know you activities and read ‘First Day Jitters’ and then talked about what they were nervous about. Most of them were pretty glad to be here.”
Some of the teachers also were experiencing their first day in new buildings.
“I’m glad to be here,” said Kelly McCoy, who is an intervention specialist. “I’m back in the district after 12 years.”
Both she and McPeak are looking forward to the move to the new elementary school.
“It’s going to be chaotic to start, but it will be good,” McPeak said. “It will definitely be nice to have air conditioning.”
The students will spend a little more than 20 days in their current buildings. They will then enjoy an extended fair break and start at the new elementary on Friday, Oct. 4.
“It will be a trial run so we have the weekend to workout issues before starting things as normal on Monday, Oct. 7,” said Dr. David Hire, superintendent of the district. “That Friday will be the first time the kids have seen the building so the day will be spent getting them familiar with the building and the layout.”
A dedication and open house will be planned at a later day. Also in the works, are final public open houses for Central, Lincoln and South Lawn.
“We want to give the public one last time to walk through reminisce in the old buildings,” Hire said.
The district plans to demolish Central and Lincoln.
“Lincoln is 103 years old and Central will be 100 years old at end of school year,” said Dave Skelton, who will be the principal at Coshocton Elementary. “They have seen a lot of use.”
Attempts will be made to sell South Lawn.
“South Lawn is handicapped accessible and the least costly to renovate,” Hire said. “We have had some people express interest and wonder what we were going to do with it, but if it doesn’t sell it also will be demolished.”
After the schools are demolished, the district will retain ownership of the property they stood on, but right now there are no definite plans for what will be done with them.
“We know we want to focus on this campus,” Hire said. “This is a new chapter for our school district, the community and public education.”
Coshocton Elementary was built on a formula for 971 students, but Hire said it can house 100 more depending on how you configure the classrooms. Right now there are a little more than 900 elementary students in the district.
The school day in the new building will start at 9 a.m. and end at 3:15 p.m.
“I’m thrilled to be part of this and have been for months,” Skelton said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for the Coshocton community and will be a blessing for children for several generations to come.”
josie@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
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