During free reading time, third-grader Courtney Trunde becomes engrossed in "At the Fair."

Chrissy Ragulsky
NewsRegister.com

Isaac Newell, who went to Memorial Elementary last year, arrived at his new school Tuesday morning ready to start third grade.

Actually, it was everyone's new school - Sue Buel Elementary. Teachers had started settling into the new classrooms just a week earlier, and public areas of the building were still being finished during the weekend.

Isaac and his fellow Sue Buel Huskies, about 575 of them, were the very first students to enter the building.

"You are the luckiest children in Oregon!" Principal Deborah Weiner proclaimed. And then the school's namesake, longtime educator Sue Buel herself, cut a long yellow ribbon and the school doors opened.

Isaac and several dozen other third-graders followed their teacher, Katie Arnold, through wide hallways and up a set of stairs to a large, well-lighted space in the northeast corner of the classroom wing. "Isn't this cool? It's going to be a good year!" Arnold enthused.

A second-year teacher, Arnold loves her new room. It's much bigger than the modular in which she taught at Cook last year - that was so cramped "we were lucky to fit all the desks in," she said. It has big windows and lots of storage space.

"And we're really part of the school, not outside," she said.

In addition, like all the new classrooms in the McMinnville district, it features the latest technology, including a document camera to project writing and drawing for all to see, and a Smart board that's like a large, interactive computer screen.

"I'm so excited!" Arnold said.

As they entered the new room, parents helped 8-year-olds heft bulging backpacks onto desks marked with neatly written names. Isaac dropped his black backpack onto the floor beside his chair, picked up the new pencil supplied by his teacher and quickly went to work on a word search. "I found my name!" he called.

He exchanged a thumbs-up sign with his parents, James and Rachael Newell, then returned to searching for the names of his classmates, written forward, backward or diagonally. Jazmin. Quynne. Estrella. James. Jorge. Alan. Monse. Courtney. Anahi. Erin. Tyler. Devon. Jesus. Kathrine. Yesenia. Katie. Juan. Ciara. Brenda. Kaylynn. Cody. Samy.

"It's going to be a good year!" Arnold told the Newells and other parents as they reluctantly backed out of the room.

Similar scenes played out this week at the district's five other elementary schools, two middle schools and McMinnville High School, the Media Arts and Communications Academy and Mac High's new Engineering and Aerospace Sciences Academy at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. About 6,500 students returned to school this week in McMinnville and Lafayette.

Most had their first classes on Tuesday, but high school upperclassmen didn't begin until Wednesday since freshmen had Mac High to themselves on the first day. And kindergartners are starting in small groups, with a few arriving each day so they can get to know the school and their teacher.

One of four third grades at the new Sue Buel Elementary, Arnold's classroom is filled with shelves and boxes brimming with books, blocks, games and puzzles.

Polka dot-covered bulletin boards await student work. An alphabet chart and posters about vocabulary and other lessons dot the walls, as do road signs with a twist: "No bully zone," says one, and another proclaims "Teamwork Avenue."

In one corner sits a cart filled with tiny laptop computers with keyboards just the right size for 8-year-old fingers. Arnold's students and all other third-graders in the district will use small, but fully functional laptops this year.

For children this age, technology is part of the natural order of things.

Even on the first day, the students didn't hesitate when Arnold asked them to print their names on the Smart board to indicate what they would be having for lunch. The tallest third-grader could stretch only as far up as the center of the board, but neither she nor her classmates had any trouble grasping the concept of writing with light on virtual paper.

After lunch count and a few other morning routine activities, Arnold led her class on a tour of their new building.

Students noticed the way the bathrooms are arranged, with "boys" on the left and "girls" on the right in one wing of the building and the opposite configuration in the other wing.

Third-graders also noticed that a side stairway is much closer to their classroom than the central stairs. However, the center stairs are closer to the hall that leads to all the important stuff: the library, music room, gym, cafeteria and playground.

As they were talking about the stairs, Superintendent Maryalice Russell appeared, ascending toward the second floor. "See how the superintendent uses the handrail and walks on the right?" their teacher pointed out.

Continuing through the school, the third-graders saw where each grade level is clustered, and the additional rooms for the Learning Resource Center, English Language Learner program and Title 1 reading. They peeked into the music room and the cafeteria, prompting Tyler to ask at 9:30 a.m., "What are we going to eat for lunch?"

Lunch was still two hours away. Instead, third-graders filed into a gym big enough to make the old Cook School gym look like a regular classroom. They'll have P.E. on Tuesdays, music on Wednesdays and library time or other special activities on other days.

In the gym, teacher Lance Trentham, or "Mr. T," introduced them to P.E. rules. "Who gets to be the funny guy here? Me," he told them.

An advocate of anything that gets kids up and moving, he also outlined his expectations: "I don't care how good you are at something; just do your best and have fun."

The P.E. classes are part of the emphasis on wellness at Buel School and in the whole school district. Along the same lines, Arnold talked with her students about choosing healthful snacks for their morning break.

"Are there any fruits that aren't healthy?" she asked as students shook their head no. They answered "no" again when she continued, "What about hot Cheetos? Do they give you energy and protein?"

By Wednesday, the second day, Sue Buel's new students and teachers pretty much had their school figured out.

"I was impressed with how much learning was going on today - writing, math, reading," the principal said. "I'm so proud of the nice job the kids did."

Weiner said she also was proud to see many of the students wearing their new school uniforms on Wednesday. Some had even worn them on the first day, as well.

Sue Buel students will wear dark blue "spirit shirts" - either those with a school logo or plain ones - on Wednesdays this fall, then move to full uniforms several days a week mid-way through the year.

Children and their families seem to be embracing the idea, the principal said. The first batch of logo shirts already is sold out and the Parent-Teacher Organization is ordering more.

"Kids were so proud with their school shirts on," Weiner said. "They were just beaming, like they knew it was special."