WATERLOO - Seventh-grader Amanda Kinman has been "bored all summer."

That made it particularly exciting to tour the new George Washington Carver Academy in advance of classes starting today. But those feelings were overshadowed by one concern: "It's confusing," she said.

Classmate Myah Fisher added that the building is "a lot bigger than" Logan Middle School, which it is replacing.

"I just hope I don't get lost," said Mechail Hunt, another seventh-grader.

The three were among Carver sixth- through eighth-grade students and some parents who filled the gymnasium's bleachers Wednesday morning for an orientation session. The event was designed to alleviate the students' first-day worries.

Teachers led groups on tours around the building, with a special emphasis on the classroom pod for their grade level. And they laid out expectations with the help of administrators, everything from the school's dress code to its policy on cell phone use.

"With this new building comes some very, very high expectations," said Principal Brad Schweppe, in reference to academics. He noted that the students and staff have already been working to meet those, "but our scores are still far too low and our discipline is still far too high."

Schweppe said students need to show up every day, try their hardest and always show respect. "If you do all those things, nothing will hold you back."

Earlier this week, Waterloo Community Schools' officials announced that the students and staff at Logan last year achieved an important milestone. The school won the Swartzendruber Award for Academic Excellence. Logan showed the most growth among district buildings in the percent of students proficient on the math, science and reading portions of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. The award has been handed out since 2002 and is named for former Superintendent Arlis Swartzendruber.

"We made huge gains in academic achievement, and we expect to continue that this year," Schweppe told the students.

Later, he added that the Instructional Decision-Making system the school put in place last year contributed to those improvements. The system provides struggling students with multiple opportunities to master each individual class objective. But mostly, he said, the improvements had to do with the work of the staff and students.

"Without the dedication and hard work of the staff, no one program can turn that around," he said. The school will continue using the system this year and have more technology available, like Promethean Activboards in every classroom, plus a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics curriculum.

"We feel like we can engage our students much better than we have in the past, which should give us a much better opportunity to be successful," said Schweppe. "I believe every student deserves a high-quality education and we will do everything we can to make that happen."

Teacher Jake Young-Kent called the new building "shockingly beautiful." He believes unique amenities like a greenhouse and special classes like robotics have piqued student interest and will impact achievement.

"I think talking with the kids about some of those ideas, they seem really excited," he said.

Teacher Sara Gonzales believes the new school will have an impact, as well.

"I think we have higher expectations with the new building," she said. "Y'know, new building, new attitude."