Pictured is the newly construct Owego Elementary School. The school will officially welcome back students that were displace by 2011 flooding on Jan. 6.
Doors will open at the new Owego Elementary School (OES) on Wednesday, Jan. 6. The school’s opening is very welcoming to teachers and staff, students and family members, as well as the entire community since the flood of 2011. Nearly 500 students will return to school following the holiday break, with the added excitement of “going back home” to OES.
Several buses filled with eager students will gather at the Top’s Plaza in Owego on the morning of Jan. 6, and then be escorted through town by police and fire department vehicles.
Stephen Jensen, public information coordinator for the Owego-Apalachin School District, shared, “The buses will come down George Street and loop around the OFA parking lot and back into the new OES bus loop.” Jensen estimates the timing to be between 9:15 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.
“Going back home” also means that OES students will again be part of the district’s main campus, which includes the middle and high schools, as well as the new administration building slated to be open in mid-2016, and currently under construction on school property.
Students in kindergarten through fourth grades temporarily relocated to the former Linnaeus W. West School in Endicott, N.Y. following the flood of 2011, which was the longest commute of all OES students who had to relocate elsewhere.
Starting back to school in a brand-new building after a devastating experience like the flood of 2011 is exciting, yet some work still needs to be finished at the new school.
Jensen shared, “The school will be ready to make a fantastic first impression,” and he added, “The contractors will be working on campus after the school day is complete; and on weekends, as needed.”
Jensen said that decorative ceiling in the main corridor is one item to be placed after the first day of school, however other examples are difficult to identify until after contractors complete work through the end of the day on Jan. 5.
As the Jan. 6 date approaches, the 120,000 square foot, architecturally pleasing, state-of-the-art building has brought up questions and concerns from the community.
Jensen addressed those questions and concerns in three separate letters printed in The Owego Pennysaver last month, specific details of which can also be viewed at www.owegopennysaver.com.
A common concern among residents focused on the school’s overall size. The square footage of the new school is larger than the old OES, although classroom sizes are roughly the same. Overall square footage compared to the old OES has increased with the addition of an auditorium and three large-group instruction spaces, along with other offices and spaces, some of which are mandated by federal and state disability laws.
Concerns regarding the maintenance and cleaning costs associated with a larger building have also been raised. Jensen explained that during the design process, more cost-effective materials, surfaces and systems were selected to make maintenance and cleaning more efficient, including the new rooftop filtration system.
In addition, Jensen explained that a number of features promote energy efficiency at the new OES, such as a geothermal heating and cooling system and radiant heating in the flooring, double layers of wall and roof insulation and a higher insulating value associated with the thickness of the building’s windowpanes which in turn provide a passive solar effect, as well as LED lighting throughout the entire building, just to name a few.
As a send-off to their temporary home at Linnaeus West, the students last day on Wednesday, Dec. 23 featured a farewell by “Wizard of Oz” characters as they walked a real yellow brick road to the final bus ride from Endicott. In keeping with the theme, “There’s no place like home,” the OES Parent-Teacher organization is providing rainbow-inspired shirts of various colors for teachers and bus drivers to wear on the first day at OES.
An open house is planned for parents, guardians, and families the evening of Jan. 13. A separate open house for the community will be announced in the next few weeks.
For additional information, view the district website at oacsd.org or find OA Schools on Facebook.
