CHATSWORTH —
Dressed in Mountaineer black and gold, North Murray High School Principal Maria Bradley stood at the foot of the new school’s grand staircase Tuesday morning directing students to their classes.
As Murray County Schools students resumed classes on Tuesday after a three-month summer break, Bradley beamed as she described her students’ reactions to the day they’ve been looking forward to for more than two years.
“It wasn’t like they were coming to school,” Bradley said. “It was like they were coming to a tourist attraction.”
This is North Murray’s second year as a school, but students spent last year in the former Gladden Middle School building on Green Road while they waited for the 280,000-square-foot building on Mount Carmel Church Road to be completed.
Administrators took the first hour-and-a-half of the day for student orientations and a tour of the school. Work on the building was ongoing through the weekend, and Tuesday was the first time students were allowed inside.
“I was really amazed,” sophomore Nicole Gibson said. “The lunch room looks like a restaurant.”
Teachers had to complete their preparations by Thursday night with some staying as late as 11 p.m. as fire alarms were tested on Friday. Music teacher Lynn Infanger, who is in her first year at the school but has been a teacher since 1978, said North Murray students for the first time will have steel drums in their music program. Many of the students have little or no music background, she said, so they’ll be learning at the same pace.
Bradley said she and her staff worked to design a school that would have a modern, relaxed feel that mirrors the kinds of things students like to do when they’re outside the school building. The cafeteria features brick dividers lined with benches and walls almost entirely of windows so students can see a few of the mountains while they eat. The seating consists mostly of regular and tall tables similar to the kind of seating at a shopping mall’s food court.
Students had not seen the media center on Tuesday as books were still being unpacked and moved in, but Bradley said she looks forward to having a Barnes and Noble-type atmosphere where students can get coffee and small snacks while inside and lounge with their drinks and books in soft chairs by the windows. The library will be a place where students can go to learn and have fun at the same time, she said.
“So many times the media center has been off limits to kids and you have to be quiet,” Bradley said. “This is not about the quiet zone anymore.”
Zach Vess, a sophomore basketball player, was impressed with the school’s basketball court, scheduled to be completed in a couple of weeks. The main gym is one area of the building still under construction, but there are several details throughout the building — a door fixture here, a decorative covering for a handrail there, and so on — yet to be completed.
Still, it was nowhere close to being the unfinished, unpainted product that some students said they had feared. Among the things several students said they liked was the grand staircase leading up to the second floor.
Junior Elliott Perez said his favorite aspect of the building is its newness.
“It’s really nice,” he said. “It’s new. It’s big. It was a lot more than I expected.”
Junior Katie Claxton said the school is “really nice.”
“It’s just different from most schools,” she said. “There’s more space, and you’re not running into everybody.”
Bradley said she wants the school’s design and its atmosphere to make it stand out.
“I don’t want this to be your traditional high school,” she said. “I want it to be the ultimate kid experience.”
At Murray County High School, Principal Gina Linder said the opening of North Murray continues to alleviate some of the crowding at her school. First day enrollment figures showed Murray County High had 1,134 students while North Murray had 763, but officials said those numbers will likely rise some over the next few days.
Last year, Murray County High had 1,471 students on the first day, and there were 486 at North Murray, which didn’t have an 11th grade then. The year before that, before North Murray existed, Murray County High had 2,004 students the first day.
“North Murray opening and taking on that junior class has really made a difference,” Linder said.
Seniors Allison Peden and Jade Mathis said they haven’t been able to tell a difference in how crowded Murray High is, but they said they’re glad to be back after the summer break.
“I love how friendly the teachers are,” Peden said. “I’m real excited to be back.”
Education
Related Photos
-
Payton Caylor, a kindergartener in Tollis Bonds' class at Northwest Elementary, smears shaving cream on her desk to practice writing her name and drawing shapes in it on the first day of school Tuesday. (Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen)
-
Students sit in the lunchroom during the first day of class at North Murray High School on Tuesday. (Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen)
-
Hannah Goble, a second-grader in Kelly Page's class at Coker Elementary School, reads about herself to her classmates sitting near her during the first day of school on Tuesday. (Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen)
-
Anita Scott, a math teacher at Murray County High School, goes over her class expectations on the first day of school Tuesday. Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen
-
Chef Clyde Rush introduces his culinary arts class to some of the equipment they will be using this year during the first day of school Tuesday. Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen
-
Kendra Roach, a junior at North Murray High School, begins learning a song on the steel drums on the first day of school Tuesday. Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen
-
Omar Romero, a freshman at North Murray High School, takse notes as Steve Colley, the public safety teacher at the school lectures on the first day of school Tuesday. Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen
-
Cynthia Stanfield, a third-grade teacher at Coker Elementary School, uses the Active Board while teaching her class math on the first day of school Tuesday. Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen
-
Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen Jacob Lawless, a first-grader at Northwest Elementary School, plays the cow bell during Candy McArthur's music class on the first day of school Tuesday.
-
Students at North Murray High School make their way down the main staircase during a class change on the first day of school Tuesday. Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen
-
Students at North Murray High School make their way down the main staircase during a class change on the first day of school Tuesday. Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen
-
Michael Tatum, a fourth-grader in Stephanie Petty's class at Northwest Elementary, draws his self portrait on the first day of class on Tuesday. Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen
-
Students at Murray County High School go through the lunch lines during the first day of school on Tuesday.
-
Maria Bradley, principal of North Murray High School, directs students to their class during a class change on the first day of school on Tuesday. Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen
-
Morgan Bowman, a kindergartener in Tollis Bonds' class at Northwest Elementary School, shows her classmates her hand after touching shaving cream on the first day of school Tuesday. The students smear the shaving cream on their desk then practice writing their names or drawing shapes in it. Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen
Discussion
‘Neer building opens to 760
- Education
-
-
Northwest students place high, take tech to next level
Several Northwest Whitfield High School students placed high in the Sequoyah Regional Georgia Educational Technology Fair. Pictured from left are Josh Rountree, Audrey Edds, Bryan Cooper and Eli McMahon.
Several Northwest Whitfield High School students placed high in the Sequoyah Regional Georgia Educational Technology Fair.
Continued ... -
Dalton student on GPS May Court
Christian Bryant of Dalton has been elected to the May Court at Girls Preparatory School and will serve as crown bearer to the May Queen during the May Day festivities in April.
Continued ... -
Northwest Whitfield High School Sweetheart Court
Northwest Whitfield High School's Tip Off Club hosted the 2012 Sweetheart Dance at the school recently.
Continued ... -
Art student’s work on exhibition
Gary Sanchez Soto will represent Murray County High School in “An Artistic Discovery: The Congressional Art Competition” at the Derrell C. Roberts Library on the campus of Dalton State College.
Continued ... -
Professor to speak on the Oscars during 'Lunch & Learn' program
Jonathan Lampley, assistant professor of English at Dalton State, will present “The Oscars: Winners, Losers, and Weird Moments” in the College’s James E. Brown Center, room 105, on Feb. 15 from noon to 1 p.m.
Continued ... -
Local high schools recognized for AP classes, exams
State School Superintendent John Barge named several local high schools as Advanced Placement (AP) Honor Schools.
Continued ... -
The Perfect Polish
Cosmetology and Skills U.S.A. at North Murray High School recently sponsored a community service project in which Donna Blankenship’s students gave manicures to the residents of the Murray County Senior Center.
Continued ... -
MCHS accepts letterman's jacket
James “William” Butler’s family presented his letterman’s jacket to Murray County High School Principal Gina Linder during halftime of a varsity boys’ basketball game recently. The jacket, which has a “1962 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP” patch on it, will be displayed in the school’s trophy case. Presenting the jacket to Linder were Butler’s nieces, Chloe Brown and Ashley Strong; his wife, Patsy Butler; his daughter, Robin Baggett; and his grandchildren, Jaden and Janna Baggett.
Continued ... -
Mountain Creek Academy honors December teacher of the month
English teacher Jennifer Weninger (center) was selected by her peers as December’s Teacher of the Month at Mountain Creek Academy. Principal Paula Martin (right) and Curriculum Instructor Facilitator/Counselor Jennifer Lents presented her with the award.
Continued ... -
Mountain Creek Academy honors December staff of the month
Mountain Creek Academy Lisa Sanford, center, accepts a certificate from Principal Paula Martin and Counselor Jennifer Lents (left) as she is recognized with a December Staff of the Month award. Sanford has worked at Mountain Creek for 12 years.
Continued ... -
Med students visit Murray High
In December, students from Murray County High School and North Murray High School were invited to meet with fourth-year medical students Allen Ligon of Augusta and Heath Petty, an MCHS graduate.
Continued ... -
Gladden honors December student of the month
Joey Ecklebarger is the December 2011 Gladden Middle School Student of the Month. Joey is motivated and puts forth great effort in all classes. His behavior and attitude towards school, other students and teachers is also outstanding. Sean Hammond, Joey’s social studies teacher says of Joey, “He is great to have on our team.”
Continued ... -
Coker honors students for Week 14 good behavior
As part of Coker Elementary School’s PBIS or Positive Behavioral and Interventions Support system, students that follow the school expectations are recognized each week for their Great Behavior.
Continued ... -
Gladden students use Facebook in lessons
Gladden Middle School eighth-grader Shaley Stafford shows her Facebook page model on the book “Alice in Wonderland.” Eighth grade reading teacher Keith Rollins had his students choose a book from the library to do a book report on. However, this was not an ordinary book report. After the students read their book, they were to do their report by making a Facebook page about their book.
Continued ... -
Gladden assigns January Dreamcatcher award
Every month, one of the faculty members at Gladden Middle School is recognized for having the most clean and organized room. The award given is called the Dream Catcher Award. Seventh grade social studies teacher Jennifer Bennett was awarded the Dream Catcher Classroom of the Month for January and will hang the Dream Catcher model in her room until the next month.
Continued ...
-
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
