What better way for a Charleston County School district Palmetto Gold winner to celebrate than to open their new school at the start of the school year. Whitesides Elementary School principal Lona Pounder has been busy setting up furniture, giving parents tours and readying her staff to open the doors on their new facility at Rifle Range Road.

The new school is just down from the old facility, next to Mount Pleasant Waterworks. It is a 91,200 sq. feet, two-story building designed for 800 students in grades K-5. The school was completed in January and cost $22.8 million to build.

There are many significant features to the school, such as the donated front office counter tops from Creative Countertops, art work donated by Carroll McGill and the front entrance statue donated by Mount Pleasant Waterworks. And there are other little things that most schools already have that Pounder is excited about.

Visitors must still sign in at the front desk, but now they can only be buzzed into the building by a front desk employee. There are also security cameras all over the school.

The school boasts three computer labs and has enough extra room to expand to educate 800 students; however, Pounder said enrollment numbers are expected to be about 630.

Each hall is color coordinated by grade level, making it easy for the students to find their wayl. In fact, many of them have given their own parents tours of the school.

The classrooms all have light sensors that turn on and off as a person exits or enters a room, and all classrooms have smart boards and sound systems. Each teacher has a take-home laptop as well.

To accomodate multiple age groups in one classroom, the rooms are spacious and boast a full compliment of age-appropriate curriculum. These are classes where first and second graders are combined and stay with the same teacher for two years.

There are 38 classrooms, all with new furniture, an administration area, multi-purpose room, kitchen, cafeteria, courtyards and play areas. There are three stairwells all used by different age groups, and each classroom boasts large windows with special light-filtering blinds which allow inside students to look out but not vice-versa. Pounder said that there are bathrooms in all the kindergarten rooms and plenty of storage. In fact, there is actually room for a kiln which the art teacher did not have at the old school.

The multi-purpose room features a performing arts stage and cafeteria which will double as an activity room for indoor physical education classes and the after-school programs.

This portion of the building also has a separate entrance so the community can utilize the building after hours.

The bus drop-off line is now covered with a canopy.

Parents will drop off children at the front of the school and walkers will see the same friendly face of Billy Simmons, the school's crossing guard.

Whitesides is known for offering extensive special needs education, and an entire portion of the building is set aside to provide services to those students. There is even a PTA/Parent room for meetings and planning sessions.

The kindergarten playground was an added bonus paid for by the PTA through fundraising. In addition, a courtyard will feature tables with covered umbrellas, and as a good behavior incentive students will be treated to lunch in the courtyard if they are selected by their peers for being outstanding students.

The property has been extensively landscaped with potted plants to greet visitors at the front door.

To reduce student anxiety, tours are available on Tuesdays and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fact and Fee Day is Aug. 17 from 4 to 6 p.m.

For more information on the construction, visit www.southernmanagementgroup.com/smg_schools/index.html.

To contact the school, call 849-2838.