Day one at the new LHS

Bengals were welcomed to their new educational hub Monday as Lewiston High School staff introduced its students to a new building and the start of the 2020-21 school year.

Students who arrived at the new Lewiston High School campus were separated into groups by grade level prior to the start of the first day of school.

“I’m excited and a little nervous,” freshman Sydney Ball said. “I’m ready to see all of my friends, because I didn’t really get to see them (this summer) because of quarantine.”

Prior to Monday, Ball had only been in the commons area of the new school, so she was eager to tour the rest of the building.

The experience was a new one for all of the students at the high school. Lewiston ninth graders are for the first time attending high school after the district reconfigured its grade levels at all 11 schools. Sophomores also embarked on their first steps of their high school journey.

“Half of our students are new to high school life and 100 percent are new to the high school,” LHS Principal Kevin Driskill said. “We have some kinks to work out, but we’ll get it all figured out.”

Driskill spent some of the morning trying to figure out traffic patterns in the parking lot of the school, but overall he said things went well. He was excited to welcome students back, many of whom hadn’t stepped foot in a classroom since the district closed its schools in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hallways and staircases in the school have one-way traffic patterns, so students don’t intermingle as much as they transition to their classes, Driskill said.

While masks are not mandated in the classrooms, all students must wear one as they enter or exit the building, and during transition times.

Students will spend the first two days of their school year attending all eight classes so they can familiarize themselves with high school and the building. On Wednesday, the high school students will begin their normal A/B schedule of four classes a day.

Driskill said staff has arranged their classrooms with limited furniture like bookcases or file cabinets to provide more space for students to spread out.

“We’re trying to physically distance them as much as we can in the classroom. Will it be 100 percent of the time? Probably not, but our teachers have done a good job,” Driskill said. “I’m really proud of our kids. No matter what side of the mask issue you are on, I couldn’t believe how many kids had masks on today. ... It shows our kids really want to be here.”

High school science teacher Jeff Karlin, who has been teaching for around 25 years, said he’s never been this excited to start a new school year.

“We are bigger, better and brighter — we really are,” Karlin said. “(The school) is more than I expected and it opens a world of opportunities. A lot of people here today are new and enthusiastic.”

School board member Brad Cuddy was at the high school to observe the first day.

“It’s a big day,” Cuddy said. “Everybody is glad to have everyone back.”

All schools in the Lewiston School District held their first day of classes Monday in a traditional, face-to-face learning environment.

Tomtas may be contacted at jtomtas@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2294. Follow her on Twitter @jtomtas.