Local News - August 2003

New schools open doors

North, St. James

By SARAH GRANO, LTN Staff Writer

Lincoln County Schools’ students had to say goodbye to summer vacation on Thursday.

“The summer went by really fast, but I’m just excited about school starting,” said Hannah Mosley, a sophomore at North Lincoln High.

More than 11,000 students are expected to attend county schools this year, and the number is growing.

Two new schools, St. James Elementary and North Lincoln High, have opened their doors for the first time. The schools should help relieve overcrowding.

Faculty and students at both of the schools expressed their excitement over the first day of class.

“At 5:15 this morning I bounced right out of bed ready to go,” said Rick Freeman, principal of North.

“It’s really exciting to finally see a whole year’s worth of work for me come to fruition.”

Freeman welcomed the students to North during an assembly. He told them that they would be creating the history of their school.

“North Lincoln is not known, but it will be, and what it will be known for is for what you do,” Freeman said.

He told the crowd about first visiting the school site after he had interviewed for the position of principal.

“I saw a big hole in the ground with some steel sticking out of it,” said Freeman. “A lot has happened since then.”

The schools are ready for students, but North’s cultural arts wing and athletic fields have yet to be completed, and St. James still needs landscaping on the exterior of the school.

An unusually rainy spring and summer caused the construction delays.

The lack of completion did not seem to bother parents, students or staff.

“I can’t wait to see it with grass,” said Pam Hallman, who has two daughters attending St. James.

“It’s a little muddy, but of course they can’t help the weather. I don’t hold anybody responsible for rain.”

Emily Owens, a junior at North, thought her new school looked more like a college than a high school. She looks forward to not having to push through other students in the hallways to get to class.

The amount of room in both of the new schools is a drastic change for the students.

“I hope that we won’t see any trailers here for overcrowding, and I also hope we’ll be able to get rid of the trailers at the other schools that are there,” said David Turner who has a daughter in first grade at St. James.

Although students were excited about their new schools, some were sad to leave their friends behind, and many of them felt nervous.

“This is her second year, but it’s a brand new school,” said Turner of his daughter. “She was nervous and excited last night.”

Freshmen at North Lincoln are thrilled to be the first students that complete all four years at the school, and juniors look forward to being the school’s first graduating class.

The parents are pretty excited, too.

“We’re looking forward to every inch of it: the school, sports, friends, teachers,” said Patricia Cavazos who has a son attending North.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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