Teachers, pupils at Sasebo's Darby Elementary enjoying new surroundings
By Greg Tyler, Sasebo
bureau chief
Greg Tyler / Stars and Stripes
Sixth-grade teacher Shannon Egbert and her students, in their classroom in the new
three-story annex at Sasebo Naval Base's Jack N. Darby Elementary School. |
SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — Teachers and pupils at Jack N. Darby Elementary School
are excited about their classrooms in a new three-story building annex that was completed
this fall.
Louise Thompson, a first-grade teacher and Darby’s spokeswoman, said teachers and
pupils are enjoying the new space.
"Most of the students seem to be pretty excited," she said Wednesday
afternoon. "It took a couple of days for them to get used to where their new
classrooms were.
"And the teachers are glad to be getting into their rooms. At the first of the
school year, they had to move a lot [of materials]," she added.
Construction began in March 2000 and completed Sept. 30. According to the Japan Defense
Facilities Administration Bureau in Fukuoka, the annex cost about $6.1 million. The
expense to the U.S. government was $215,000, base officials said.
Teacher began moving into the new building during the first week of October. Some
teachers continued to move materials this week.
"Actually, we’re still waiting on the new furniture to arrive, but it’s
on its way," Thompson said. "We’re using other furniture now."
The first story is a large covered parking garage, and the first and second floors are
used for instruction.
"The first floor is used by Sure Start, kindergarten and first-grade classes, and
it’s actually sized for smaller kids. It has the classrooms and a music room,"
Thompson said.
On the second floor, classrooms are used by the fifth and sixth grades. It also
contains a large computer lab.
"We already have a computer lab in the main school building, and we’ll have
two after we have all the new computers installed."
During American Education Week from Nov. 12-16, the school plans events for parents to
get a close-up view of the annex.
"There’ll be plenty of activities for the parents then, including a big
potluck dinner."
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