LECK KILL - Elementary students hurried through the halls of Leck Kill Elementary School Friday, passing excitedly by stacks of boxes packed with school supplies ready to be taken away.
Outside, children laughed while an adult pushed them on the merry-go round and other kids played kickball on the field. Inside, their parents and teachers and relatives thumbed through the pages of old yearbooks and admired framed black-and-white photographs of classes from long ago.
By this time next week, Leck Kill Elementary School will be closed for good.
The 61 students of the 13,350-square-foot school at 3664 Old State Road will be attending classes in the newly named Line Mountain Elementary School in Trevorton next school year.
Hard to leave
At a farewell picnic Friday afternoon, teachers and parents were sad about the school's closure, but also hopeful for the future.
"When you start talking about the memories, the tears start to flow. I've driven home many nights with tears coming down," said fourth-grade teacher Lee Ann Bobb, who has been teaching at the school for 36 years.
"It's going to be hard leaving. I understand why (Leck Kill is closing), but it's still going to be hard," said second-grade teacher Roy Casey, who has been teaching at the school for 35 years. "I grew up in this valley. I'm related to half the valley. Leaving for the last time will be hard."
"It hasn't completely hit me yet," said Kristy Boyer, Leck Kill Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) treasurer.
Wednesday will mark the last day the elementary schools in Leck Kill and Dalmatia are open before they will be permanently shut down.
In the 2013-14 school year, all students in grades kindergarten through fourth will attend classes at Trevorton, where an addition is being constructed. An addition is also being built to the seventh- and eighth-grade wing at the junior/senior high school in Mandata to accommodate fifth- and sixth-graders.
Indoor picnic
On Friday, the rainy weather chased much of the event inside, and plans for a bounce house were nixed. By early afternoon, the weather had cleared up and students were allowed outside on the playground equipment and field.
Inside, Troutman Food Service catered the meal for students, employees and parents and relatives. Two farewell cakes were served. Students watched movies and made sand art while their parents and relatives socialized and waxed nostalgic. Some families set up their picnic blankets on the floor to enjoy their meals together.
Each student was given a gift bag of prizes, Casey said.
As head teacher, Casey set up a small table with old yearbooks and photographs of the current and former classes of Leck Kill.
Casey, 56, went to fifth grade at the school, and his mother graduated from the building when it was a high school.
When Bobb was hired 36 years ago, she was told by the superintendent that he was going to place her in Leck Kill for one year and let her decide whether she was going to continue to teach there.
When the school year ended, the superintendent asked her if she wanted to be transferred. Her response: "Absolutely not."
"It's very community oriented. It's very family oriented," Bobb said. "We're a team here. It's like one big family. The children get to know you, you get to know them. There's a sense of comfort and safety."
Denise Ferster, of Dornsife, attended the school as a child and her daughter, Jaya London, is finishing up third grade there. Her grandmother graduated from the building when it was a high school.
"It's such a small knit community. The kids get a lot of one-on-one time," she said.
Her two oldest daughters - who attended Leck Kill and are high school students now - had a rough time when they heard the elementary school is closing.
Judy Snyder, of Dornsife, was a student from kindergarten through fifth grade at Leck Kill, and now she has two children - fourth grader Nathan Snyder, 9, and second grader Rachel Snyder, 8 - who will be leaving Leck Kill for Trevorton next year.
"It's sad," Snyder said. "It's small here. The teachers know the parents and kids. It's a nice area and all our neighbors are here."
Her 6-year-old daughter, Laura Snyder, was one of the four students enrolled in kindergarten at Leck Kill who were transferred to Trevorton this year. Her youngest daughter, 4-year-old Mary Snyder, is not yet in school.
Transition programs
Nathan Snyder said he is "a little scared" about the changes (he'll be going to the high school building next year to take classes in the fifth and sixth grade wing currently being constructed), but said he liked the transition methods the school administration had implemented.
Elementary Principal Jeanne Menko said the events to help students transition and build a sense of unity over the last few months have been successful.
"I give a lot of credit to the teachers. They put a lot of time and effort and energy into making it work. They put the kids first," she said.
Students at each grade level from Dalmatia and Leck Kill visited Trevorton to meet their teachers, experience lunch at the cafeteria and tour the building. Activities were held throughout the day for students to meet others in their grade.
"I have seen so many smiles on students as they came to tour the buildings. We made sure to get them all here and see their classmates," she said.
Each student was assigned a pen pal from another school earlier this year, and were introduced to them when they visited the school, she said.
Each class that visited Trevorton made items they'll see next year: in one grade, all students made a puzzle piece and it will put together with their grade level next school year. Another grade made leaves and they will be placed on a tree.
Also, a picture was taken of each grade level for every student to take home with them, she said.
At the various field day events, the students were placed on various teams for different activities, but not by school, she said.
Even the elementary yearbook this year was changed. The history, traditions and memories of each of the three elementary schools were featured in the book, but the classes were only separated by grade levels and teachers, not buildings.
On to Trevorton
While the last day for elementary students is Wednesday, the last official day for teachers is Monday, June 3. They will work quickly after the final school day to move the items to their new classrooms at the Trevorton building, she said.
Boyer said the PTO will supply meals for teachers while they pack their classrooms up next week.
During the summer, Menko said Trevorton will be open for a summer reading program for students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade.
There will be no change in the number of teaching staff for the upcoming school year. Each grade level - with the exception of first grade, which will have four classes - will have five classes each.
This past school year, for kindergarten through fourth grade, there were 61 students at Leck Kill, 211 students at Trevorton and 202 students at Dalmatia. There were also 201 students in fifth and sixth grades at Trevorton.
'Tugs at your heart'
Friday's farewell picnic had a great turnout and was a nice celebration, Menko said.
Her emotions are mixed.
"When talking to the kids, one will have a smile, and another one will have a tear. It tugs at your heart," she said.
While there are always challenges in new ideas, Menko said she has confidence the consolidation will work due to the way teachers, students and community members came together.
"This is sad, but we'll be OK," she said.
Region 1 Director Lamont Masser, who represents Herndon, Little Mahanoy Township, Upper Mahanoy Township, Lower Augusta Township and Washington Township, said he was proud to see such community support one last time at the building.
"I'm sure the kids will do well no matter where they're at. The kids have an easier time with transition than parents do," he said. "I hope we have some level of community involvement in the other buildings as we experienced here."
Masser has consistently voted against consolidation in the past.
While Bobb is sad to go, she also admitted she is excited to be able to work with the other fourth-grade teachers in the elementary school.
"Things change. You have to make the best of it. You adapt, move on and find something positive in it," she said.
Dalmatia's farewell
The staff and students at Dalmatia Elementary School will be having their own final event. A picture presentation and parade around the school will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.