JACKSON LUTHERAN SCHOOL MOVES INTO NEW BUILDING

JACKSON -- Things were a little hectic as students milled around the new building at St. Paul Lutheran School Wednesday trying to find their classrooms. But Principal Al Lipke said the day passed "without any major glitches."

Lipke said he spent most of the morning trying to "direct traffic" and help children find their classrooms in the new building. "They were somewhat lost and trying to find their way around," he said.

Construction of the building began about a year ago at a cost of $2.5 million. A dedication service is planned for 2 p.m. Jan. 16 at the St. Paul Lutheran Church and includes an open house at the school afterward for people who want to tour the building.

It took parent volunteers, teachers and staff only four hours to move the nine classrooms from the old building to the new one. Lipke said he expected the chore to take about two days, but with so many people helping it moved quickly.

Teachers then worked over the holiday break to prepare their classrooms.

Students in grades one through four moved into the building Wednesday, which was also their first day back to class after the new year.

The new building also houses a cafeteria and school offices.

Seventh-grade students, who were attending classes in the gym of the old school, are moving into classrooms of the old building. The old building is across the street from the new two-story building.

With its addition, the school has the potential to double the number of classes offered in each grade, Lipke said.

The school, which has been educating students since 1894, plans to begin a full-time kindergarten program during the upcoming school year. Currently the school only offers classes for students in first through eighth grades.

Most students come from the St. Paul congregation, but other Lutheran churches also send students, and non-Lutherans attend, Lipke said.

Plans for an upcoming Lutheran high school in Southeast Missouri are in progress. Informational meetings about Saxony Lutheran High School are being held throughout the month.