By: Kayla Bremer
kbremer@klkntv.com
Lincoln Public Schools opened its doors to a bunch of smiling faces Tuesday, but it was more than just the first day of school for one local elementary, it was the first day ever!
It was a big day for students, some starting school for the first time ever. But it was an important one for faculty and the facility too. Kloefkorn Elementary school opened its doors to students for the first time Tuesday morning. Kloefkorn Elementary school near 98th and Pine Lake put on its finishing touches within the last couple of months.
Principal Sue Braun greeted students and says she couldn't be happier it's finally the first day.
"We are so looking forward to just having children in the school. It's been a long time coming and lots of people have done hard work over the last few months to get to this point. This is the most important work we do is with children in schools," Braun said.
Hundreds of students arrived with their parents excited to see and spend their first day at the new school.
"Oh we are so excited. It's such a beautiful school and we're just so excited for her to get into kindergarten," Parent Megan Johnson said.
"She's our last child, she's our last baby and first day of school so it's exciting for her and it's awesome that she will be the first class to completely go though Kloefkorn so it's pretty cool," Parent Cathy Link said.
Many parents captured their "first day of school" pictures with their students in front of the brand new building. The $11.5 million dollar facility is home to about 325 new students including 4 sections of kindergarten.
"Everything is state of the art, everything is brand new. It's very exciting to have all new equipment, a whole new facility," Special Ed Educator Julie Dragoo said.
The school is named after famous Nebraskan poet, William Kloefkorn. He taught at Wesleyan University until he retired in 2002. Students began the day by learning about the man their school is named after. Kloefkorn passed away in May of 2011 but not before he learned the school was going to be named in his honor. The media center includes memorabilia donated by his family.
