Dropping in on Kimberly Elementary’s (temporary) Digs

Principal Salley and his team are making great use of their temporary learning space.

At mid-morning, our tour arrived at Park Middle School, which is serving as the temporary home (ugh! l don’t temp sites) for the Kimberly Elementary School Stingers. But the good news is, their 50-plus-year-old Kimberly building will be undergoing significant renovations over the next two years, so they will be staying at Parks for some time. Therefore, I wanted to follow up on their transition, especially since Parks was built for secondary school students.

Principal Salley and his team have made a smooth transition to the larger middle school setting. It’s such a big place for such little people. While not perfect, the staff worked hard to make it feel more elementary. And they brought the first-day-of-school excitement for Day One.

There are still some adjustments to be made. The HVAC system was being fine-tuned, for example, although it still feels cool in the building.

Despite some reports, the Kimberly piano did make it to Parks (as evidenced by this video/pic of Board Member Matt Westmoreland playing the theme to Forrest Gump). While the playground equipment made it as well, it didn’t come assembled. So our crews are working non-stop to get it reassembled in the field out back.

Families don’t be concerned about the strange school setting. It was great to see familiar faces, including Marie Hambrick in the Ben Carson Waiting Room. Mrs. Hambrick has volunteered with Kimberly for some 35 years.

The name Carstarphen really is easy — Just think “Car” and “Star” and “Fin!”

I also enjoyed visiting Dr. Edwina Mosley’s second grade classroom, where I helped sharpen pencils so she could continue providing instruction on this first day. It also gave me time to meet some great kids and give them a tip on how to pronounce my name. (Think: CAR – STAR – FIN!)

It was great to see Board Member Eshe’ Collins at Kimberly. I’m looking forward to seeing Board Member Steven Lee at our next stop, Jean Childs Young Middle School.