Teachers and administrators have been hard at work setting up classrooms and offices that will be showcased Saturday during self-guided tours of the new Armstrong Junior-Senior High School in Manor.
More than 4,000 people are expected to take a tour of the school on Buffington Drive between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., said junior high Principal Kirk Lorigan.
“We still have a lot to do to get ready for the first day of classes, but we're really looking forward to being able to show the public the new school,” Lorigan said. “There have been a lot of people in the district who have been curious about this building. I'm looking forward to giving them an opportunity to satisfy their curiosities this weekend.”
Work to ready the school for the first day of classes on Sept. 8 has been going on since early this month. While every room will not be ready for the tours, high school Principal James Rummel said officials plan to give the public access to both gymnasiums, the fitness center, library, cafeterias, 1,000-seat auditorium, computer and science labs, and several classrooms throughout the three-story building.
“We're excited to be nearing the finish line with the new school. We're going to give the public a very good sampling of what we've got,” Rummel said. “We were expecting to see something special with this new building, but it's really exceeded all of our expectations. I can't wait for the public to see it.”
Construction began on the 270,600-square-foot building in 2012. The $55 million building was designed to house 1,775 students in grades seven through 12 from Kittanning and Ford City schools that closed in June.
Thomas Caves, a metal technology teacher, said moving equipment from Kittanning and Ford City high schools into the new space has been an arduous, but worthwhile task.
“It takes a lot of time and effort to get things just right when you're moving,” Caves said. “I'm excited to get to see the students come in and take advantage of this new school. It's been a long time coming.”
Rummel said he has given several tours of the building to student council representatives who will show their classmates around on the first day of school. Members of the River Hawks Marching Band and some people curious to sneak a peek have also been shown the school prior to this weekend's formal tours.
“Every day, without fail, we see someone coming up to the building to see how things are going and to ask questions,” he said. “It's nice, because it shows us that this community is really excited about this new school.”
Brad Pedersen is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-543-1303, ext. 1337, or bpedersen@tribweb.com.
