SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — Junior high and elementary students in the Jordan School District headed back to the classroom on Tuesday.
Some of them attending Aspen Elementary in Daybreak, which is a brand new school opening in the district.
Construction crews, teachers and staff have spent the past several weeks putting the finishing touches on Aspen Elementary, making sure the building is ready to welcome in students.
On Tuesday, students in kindergarten through sixth grade, as well as preschoolers filled the halls of the elementary.
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“I’ve been down at the district offices the last several months, there are no kids there, it’s terrible, so I’m looking forward to meeting the kids,” said Suzanne Williams, Principal of Aspen Elementary.
The new school was needed to fit the growing population in the Jordan School District, right now about 450 kids will attend Aspen Elementary.
“We know that, that will grow, the projections in the next five years are that we will double in size,” said Williams.
Aspen Elementary is top of the line, decked out with the latest technology, a stem lab, and open spaces where students can gather to learn.
“Those will be great for our new walk to read program, for pulling small groups, or pulling whole grade levels at a time, for singing, dancing, art,” said Williams.
Teacher Shellie DeHaan has been prepping her classroom for the last few weeks, hoping her students feel welcomed when they walk through the doors.
“ I like lots of color and lots of things for them to look at, and to read lots of things for them to see,” said first grade teacher, Shellie DeHaan.
And she’s just as excited for the year to start as the students are.
“ I think I love the kids the most, they’re different every year, there’s always a new challenge and first graders, they just love you no matter what,” said DeHaan.
Teachers and staff say the goal of this new school, and for this year is to make students feel at home and to foster a love of learning.
“ our vision, that our team leaders came up with is that, all belong, all learn, all succeed, and we want to know kids names, we want to be able to call them by name, and we want them to feel important here,” said Williams.
