PARKERSBURG - The sound of children competed with the noise of construction at the elementary. Boys and girls let loose happy shrieks and squeals Wednesday as they scrambled on playground equipment and chased classmates.

Most ignored the vacant space to the east where the high school used to be and an abundance of housing projects to the south. They also didn't pay much attention to construction workers fixing the school's roof.

Moms and dads focused on memories in the making, snapping pictures and watching backpacks disappear into the building.

A fairly normal first day-of-school moment.

For some students, the what's different part - scenery, faces and class assignments - contributed an extra dose of anxiety to typical back-to-school uncertainty.

"The kids are a little anxious not knowing where to line up," said Crystal Birch, a parent from Parkersburg.

Familiar faces proved good medicine.

"Once they saw their friends, they were OK," Birch said.

For the next year, about 140 Aplington elementary students will go to school with Parkersburg kids. On Wednesday, about 430 students attended what was temporarily christened Aplington-Parkersburg Elementary.

Administrators with the Aplington-Parkersburg School District shuffled building assignments after an EF5 tornado in May took out the high school in Parkersburg. About 240 high school students will attend classes in the elementary in Aplington. The adjoining middle school, as in past years, will continue to serve students from both towns.

Despite efforts to prepare for the changes, administrators predict most everyone will go through an adjustment period. Those running the show in Aplington and Parkersburg feel the pressure of a multifaceted challenge - effectively managing an influx of students around ongoing construction projects, not to mention additional bus routes and parking issues.

"Today and the rest of this week is just figuring out if these plans are going to work," High School Principal Dave Meyer said.

Administrators expect glitches, chaos and frustration. They also expect to survive.

A T-shirt for sale in the district, worn by some faculty Wednesday, communicates the rallying cry: Upward! Onward! Forward! The shirt also expresses hope that in "just one year" the classroom portion of the new high school will be finished and most of the academic headaches will be over.

In the meantime, classes and extracurricular activities will be business as usual, according to administrators.

"We are trying to keep it as normal as possible," Meyer said.

Logistical challenges

Wednesday presented first-day-back hassles and tasks as well as tornado-specific frustrations. Some students got lost. Others misplaced backpacks. Just 10 minutes after the tardy bell, the hallways at Aplington-Parkersburg Elementary were remarkably empty, Principal Amy May noted.

"When it's 8:30 a.m. and it's quiet in the hallway on the first day, that's a good thing," she said.

May kicked off the morning with back-to-back assemblies. She relayed advice about safety, respect and learning new things to recent changes at the school. She also offered assurance.

"There may be some new faces you don't know and you'll get to know them," May said.

As a Parkersburg resident, third-grader Kelsie Tingle is familiar with the building. But to some extent, the changes created somewhat of a new-school feel.

Administrators intentionally integrated Aplington and Parkersburg students, and Tingle was relieved to recognize a couple of girls from her soccer team.

"I was really nervous because I didn't know if the Aplington kids would be nice," Tingle said.

"They seem to be nice," she added.

In Parkersburg, preschool teachers wondered how to fit their collection of toys, books and materials into their new space in a portable classroom unit. Preschool starts next week.

After the tornado went through the area, volunteers boxed the items, teacher Beth Andersen said. Her portable unit only recently became available for occupants.

"I'm just finally getting through my stuff," Andersen said.

Flexibility may well be the word of the day, or perhaps year, guidance counselor Karah Spahn said. Since some cramped quarters and chaotic scheduling seems unavoidable for the moment, the prevailing attitude is to treat the situation like one big adventure, she said.

"We try to make the best of it," Spahn said.

After a busy and unusual summer, Andersen thinks teachers and students are glad to be back in a routine. Some students were affected directly, displaced from their homes by the storm. Others, like sophomore Michael Eastman, helped friends and neighbors clean up.

School is a good change of pace, Eastman said, even if some of the tables seem a bit small.

"It's really different," he said. "I feel like I'm back in elementary school."

Eastman's woodworking class in Aplington had little to do Wednesday. Many of the program's tools were damaged by the tornado or subsequent rain, instructor Brian Surratt said. Surratt plans to bring items from home to supplement available equipment.

"We are going to start working on something tomorrow," Surratt said. " … Hopefully the wood comes."

Making work benches and storage units to furnish the room may be a good place to start, he said. His classroom used to be a shop class but was most recently used as a fitness room, he added.

Keeping frustration at bay is difficult, Surratt said. He lost curriculum and other materials in the tornado. His troubles Wednesday were just some of a number of loose ends.

"There are a million things that have to get done around here," Surratt said.

In Aplington, physical education classes, athletic practices and games and lunch will likely create the most challenges logistically, Meyer said. A new gymnasium in Aplington, which Meyer hopes will be available by mid-October, should alleviate some of the congestion.

To accommodate high school students who drive to school, the city of Aplington turned part of a street near the building into a one-way road and added diagonal parking, Meyer said. Pre-engineering, business and computer assisted drafting classes will take place in portable units, he added.

The transition is easier because the Aplington building used to be a high school, Meyer added. And despite changes in environment, administrators managed to maintain course offerings, he said.

High school students are taking the changes in stride, said Mark Haren, a business education teacher and football coach. He attributes their flexibility to maturity.

"They know it's going to be nutso," Haren said.

Upperclassmen may understand, but some at least wish they were back in their own school. Senior Molly Eastman, 17, of rural Aplington, took the loss of the high school hard.

"I was really hoping to graduate from there," she said. "It's kind of devastating in a way."

Mycala Mett, 15, a sophomore from Parkersburg, regrets the storm but notes one positive. Future classes will enjoy a new facility.

Principal Meyer understands the displacement is tough, especially for seniors. He also expects they will grow and learn and can handle the adversity.

" … If there's a group that's meant to be in this position, it's this class," he said.

Contact Karen Heinselman at (319) 291-1581 or karen.heinselman@wcfcourier.com.