HENRYVILLE, IND. (WDRB) -- Five months after a devastating tornado leveled their school, students and teachers are getting ready to head back to classes at Henryville Junior and Senior High. But there's still some work to be done before the first day.
Eighth grade science teacher Josh Conrad says he was lucky: "I think out of all the glassware equipment I had, only two pieces were broken."
Conrad is amazed at how far Henryville Junior and Senior High have come after a tornado destroyed the school on March 2nd. Crews spent 400,000 hours getting the building finished on time, with a $54 million price tag.
There are new walls, lockers, office equipment, and fresh coats of paint, but still a few things that need to be worked on. "I need to get my gyms opened up," says Asst Principal and Athletic Director Bill Niece. "I've got one completed, final coat on it, other should be in by the end of the week, though."
The elementary school gym, which is on the same campus, has become a huge lost and found area, with dozens of boxes, chairs, and tables. Teachers are going there to look for items they've lost and reclaim them for their classrooms.
Niece explains, "It's a lengthy process when you walk back in their rooms with all the boxes they have, it may not get done all in one day."
To make heading back to school easier, students will each receive a new backpack filled with school supplies and snacks. Conrad says, "They came in last week on a semi truck and each kid is going to get a goody bag."
Niece explains, "I'm sure they are some things that haven't been healed properly yet. I think we're just in a hurry to have some type of normalcy, we're very happy to be back in our building, very gracious to have the opportunity to use Scottsburg Science Park, but so very happy to be back at Henryville."
Students will begin arriving around 7:30 Tuesday morning, since classes start at 7:50."
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