Swansboro schools show off improvements

SWANSBORO - The new wing at Queens Creek Elementary School is more than walls and a roof over the heads of its students.

Walk the hall with principal Elaine Justice and she quickly points out the room dedicated as a science lab, a place where teachers can use experiments to show students science concepts or bring in speakers and experts to explore topics and lessons.

In the next classroom she points to the ceiling and the projector that allows the teacher to display lessons, videos and presentations via her computer onto the whiteboard for students - technology made possible with a new building.

"One of the things about a new building, with the new (electrical wiring), is that we are able to provide technology that would be difficult to have otherwise," she said.

An open house held Thursday night at Onslow County schools in the Swansboro district gave the public an opportunity to view the new classroom additions and other projects made possible through the $90 million school bond approved in November 2005.

Queens Creek Elementary, Sand Ridge Elementary, Swansboro Elementary, Swansboro Middle School and Swansboro High School participated in the event.

Swansboro Elementary principal Lisa Rice saw the open house as another example of connecting with the community and showing the public what the school is about.

"We're very proud of our community partnership. We're doing everything in our power to open our doors," she said.

The school now has a multi-purpose room with a stage, three new classrooms, a music room and an art room that includes a pottery kiln. There is also a new media center with a "Creation Station," which is one of two computer labs now in use at the school.

A new auditorium at Swansboro High School houses classrooms for drama, band and chorus and gives the students a state-of-the-art venue for their performances.

At the middle school there is a new media center, computer lab and new classrooms.

Sand Ridge Elementary celebrates a new wing with additional classrooms, a resource room and office area for instructional use.

"We're blessed that we got 10 new classrooms," said Assistant Principal Bridget Grady. "We're growing and we really needed it."

Grady said the new wing has meant additional space but it has also allowed the school to bring its third, fourth and fifth grades together rather than having them scattered in different areas. There's a greater cohesiveness in the school and greater connection among the teachers, who have closer communication and can more easily plan and work together.

Back at Queens Creek Elementary, fifth grade teacher Joell Curtis is eager to talk about the new wing at the school.

The lights dim and brighten, a sign of the building's energy efficiency, and she waits to greet open house visitors from a spacious and new classroom.

The building itself is wonderful , and comes complete with the artistic touches of art teacher Phyllis Willis, who painted a mural, but what's equally exciting to Curtis are the ways she's better able to help her students learn.

She uses the new projectors put into the classrooms daily, displaying lessons, searching the Internet with her students or playing educational videos that explore their subject for the day.

"Instead of writing on the white board, this really gives them better visuals," she said.

And with fourth and fifth grade classes - including some that were once housed in trailers - now under one roof, communication with fellow teachers is easier.

For her it has also meant the opportunity to team teach for the first time, working with a fellow teacher to present lessons to their classes. One covers reading and social studies and the other does math and science and they each cover writing skills.

"I love it," Curtis said. "It allows me to focus more on the lessons I plan for them."

Justice said it's more than a building, it's a learning environment. And she thanks the community for making it possible.

"We're very proud of this building and proud that the taxpayers of Onslow County were willing to give the kids this type of facility," she said.

Staff writer Jannette Pippin can be contacted at jpippin@freedomenc.com or 910-382-2557.