LAURINBURG — From wide-eyed kindergartners learning to write their numbers to older students learning long division, Sycamore Lane Elementary School’s entire student body this year will be on equal footing at an unfamiliar school.

On Saturday, Sycamore Lane held a fun day to help students acclimate to the larger school and some of their new classmates. Students received notebooks, folders, pencils, crayons, and other supplies and munched on popcorn and flavored shaved ice while taking in their new surroundings.

“It’s much bigger than my other school,” said rising fifth-grader Miracle Capers, who comes to Sycamore Lane from Washington Park. “I think it’s a good thing, because I’ll meet new people and new friends.”

Constructed as a middle school in 1984, Sycamore Lane will open its doors on Aug. 24 for the first time as an elementary school. It will serve students who formerly attended Washington Park in Laurinburg and Pate-Gardner in Gibson.

The Scotland County Board of Education voted in June to close both of those schools over the summer and convert Sycamore Lane from a middle to elementary school. That vote was the first step in a district-wide consolidation plan expected to take shape in the coming year in an effort to reduce inefficiency in the school system.

“I’m hoping that it’s a good thing; I don’t know the teachers yet,” said Robin Campbell, the mother of two former Pate-Gardner students heading to Sycamore Lane this fall. “I’m glad that they came here — it’s closer to us and they like the campus.”

Though students from Washington Park will get a new school, they will keep their principal, as the school board appointed Pam Lewis as principal of Sycamore Lane Elementary.

This weekend students also had fun learning new dance moves, playing on a bounce house, and painting in the cafeteria.

“We just wanted to give the parents and students the opportunity to come out and mingle, get to know the staff and get to know each other with the two schools combining,” said LaTonya McLean, Sycamore Lane’s assistant principal. “This is to get everybody on the same page, excited, and geared up for the year.”

Constructed to serve a student body of around 700, the move to Sycamore Lane brings with it access to amenities not found in most of the county’s elementary schools: a gymnasium, larger cafeteria, and dedicated rooms for music classes.

“I like the pictures and all the details they’ve got in them,” fifth grader Jhamira McRae said of the wall murals depicting the school’s mascot Bucks. “It’s bigger, it’s got that basketball court, it’s just got more stuff. We can move around and do other stuff.”

Fourth-grader Shamarte Covington also voiced his approval for the gymnasium, which almost rivals his excitement about developing his mathematical skills.

“I’m a genius at math,” he said.

The conversion from middle to elementary school has required a period of renovation over the summer, primarily to adjust the bathrooms and swap classroom desks to serve shorter students.

“Every day I come back, there is a lot more done,” McLean said. “Just looking at the things that have transpired over the summer as far as the building and getting everything ready has been really exciting.”

Mary Katherine Murphy can be reached at 910-506-3169.

Sycamore Lane Elementary School teacher Jessica Mager applies a temporary tattoo to fourth-grader Billy Locklear on Saturday during a school fun day.
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_IMG_6277.jpgSycamore Lane Elementary School teacher Jessica Mager applies a temporary tattoo to fourth-grader Billy Locklear on Saturday during a school fun day. Mary Katherine Murphy | The Laurinburg Exchange

Students received a set of school supplies on Saturday during Sycamore Lane Elementary School’s fun day.
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_IMG_6290.jpgStudents received a set of school supplies on Saturday during Sycamore Lane Elementary School’s fun day. Mary Katherine Murphy | The Laurinburg Exchange

Jamesia Quick, a soon-to-be first grader, painting at the art station at Sycamore Lane Elementary School’s fun day on Saturday.
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_IMG_6302.jpgJamesia Quick, a soon-to-be first grader, painting at the art station at Sycamore Lane Elementary School’s fun day on Saturday. Mary Katherine Murphy | The Laurinburg Exchange

Third-graders Katherine Jennings, left, and Angel Jefferson practiced their arts and crafts skills during Sycamore Lane Elementary School’s Saturday fun day.
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_IMG_6311.jpgThird-graders Katherine Jennings, left, and Angel Jefferson practiced their arts and crafts skills during Sycamore Lane Elementary School’s Saturday fun day. Mary Katherine Murphy | The Laurinburg Exchange

Sycamore Lane Elementary School’s students got acquainted with their new gym on Saturday, Here, Nicholas Urie tries to block Zyterion Glenn’s shot in a basketball game.
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_IMG_6344.jpgSycamore Lane Elementary School’s students got acquainted with their new gym on Saturday, Here, Nicholas Urie tries to block Zyterion Glenn’s shot in a basketball game. Mary Katherine Murphy | The Laurinburg Exchange

By Mary Katherine Murphy

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