The staff and students of Bath Elementary will move into their new building in the next school year and the old building will come down in the forthcoming summer.

Bath Elementary Principal Dan Fry is currently completing his ninth year at the school. He spoke about some of the changes that the new building will have and his feelings about moving into it.

“I am very excited about the new building. The Bath staff has been so involved in the design and planning of the building and it has been rewarding to see all of those ideas come to fruition. Because the building is being constructed right behind our existing school, we have had a front row seat for all of the construction. We have seen each phase of the process and have even developed a relationship with the construction crew,” Fry said.

Fry touched upon how the staff of Bath has been included in the planning of the new building.

“The entire Bath staff was heavily involved in the planning and design of the new building. The architects wanted our ideas, asked for our input, and  incorporated it into the design and layout. We were all encouraged to design our own classrooms and work spaces,” Fry said.

Fifth grade teacher Sandy Kahoe also expressed her excitement about moving and how the new building fits in line with modern changes in education.

“[The building] is going to have so many creative work spaces.  It allows for us to use our technology resources. Education and the way kids learn is changing, and this building goes right along with it,” Kahoe said.

Fry described the creative work spaces that Kahoe mentioned even further and added a few details.

“Each floor of the academic wing will have flexible learning space with moveable walls and doors that spill out into an extended learning area. It will be a totally different design from what we are used to,” Fry said.

Fourth grade teacher Lisa Gergely also expressed her excitement, but also touched on her concerns and other feelings about having to make such a change in her everyday life.

“I am really looking forward to moving into our new building, but it will be bittersweet for me.  The old Bath School building is all I have known since I started teaching in Revere, so I will definitely shed a few tears when I have to say ‘goodbye’ to it. The school holds a lot of good memories for me and many others. . . . One concern I have about moving to the new building is the amount of space I will have in my classroom. Having taught reading and language arts for so long, I have amassed quite the collection of books and resources.  Even though I have purged quite a bit already, I hope I can find a spot for the materials I have kept,” Gergely said.

Kahoe shared that she will miss the familiarity of the new school and also shared her favorite memories and aspects of the current building.

“I have seen a lot of kids grow in that room.  I love our old kickball field and how kids would sit behind the fence and scream for games.  The school just always felt like home to walk in to,” Kahoe said.

Fry mentioned that the part of the new school with most progress currently done is the academic wing; the drywall is hung and the workers are beginning to paint. The official date for the ribbon cutting ceremony of the new school is scheduled for August 29th.