The 487 students and 62 staff members of Barstow Elementary School will move into their new school on Wednesday, Nov. 5.  

“It feels like Christmas Eve,” said Principal Donna House.  “The anticipation has been growing … we are all so excited that the day is so quickly approaching.”

Since the first day of school on Aug. 20, Barstow students have attended class in other facilities, waiting for the construction of the new school to be finished; 87 fifth graders attended class in Calvert Middle School and approximately 400 students attended classes held at Calvert Elementary School.  

Students were assigned to classes with other Barstow Elementary students and will move as a unit with their classroom teacher into the new school. “Our first marking term has been very smooth and we greatly appreciate the hospitality of our two host schools.  We have been counting down the days until we move into our new home, but we will miss our Calvert Elementary and Calvert Middle school families,” said House.

This 75,000 square feet, state-of-the-art facility wears a construction price tag of $16.2 million contracted by GFG Builders, Inc. The building’s architect is GWWO Architects.

Barstow Elementary boasts two new computer labs, as well as four computers in every classroom, all wired to the Internet. Barstow teachers are big fans of the smartboards in every room; an interactive white board that allows students and teachers to see the lesson on a large white board – you can write on the board, save notes to it, even play games on it.

In addition to smartboards, the technology savvy school utilizes Senteo software- a testing system. The Senteo interactive response system provides a direct wireless connection between the teacher and students. The Senteo system includes a radio frequency remote for each student in the class, a central receiver, which tallies student responses, records attendance, posts test results and provides individual feedback. The equipment cost for the entire school rings in at $1.8 million.

Students and staff at Barstow and Calvert elementary will be out of school Friday, Oct. 31 and Monday, Nov. 3 to allow staff time to set-up their new classrooms and offices.  

Barstow Elementary School parents and students are invited to attend an Open House in the new school on Tuesday, Nov. 4, from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.