Namesake on hand for late opening of school

Monday, Sept. 19, 2005 | 10:03 a.m.

After an extra three weeks of summer vacation, students reported this morning for the first day of classes at the new Joseph E. Thiriot Elementary School.

The campus opened three weeks late because of construction and design-related delays. It is the first time in more than a decade that one of the district's new schools was not completed in time for the start of the academic year.

On hand was the school's namesake, 99-year-old Thiriot, who welcomed the more than 400 students as they arrived at the West Harmon Avenue campus.

For Thiriot, who turned 99 on Aug. 20, the school's opening was a belated birthday present.

"It's wonderful, a wonderful honor. I still can't believe it. Look at all these cute little kids," he said as he surveyed the lobby crowded with families.

Roland Munoz, who was at the school this morning enrolling his son in first grade, said the delay in opening actually worked better for his family.

"It gave us some extra time to get him ready," Munoz said as his son buried his face against his father's pants leg. "At his age it can be a little scary."

Mona Rosario had a tougher time convincing her daughter that the first day would eventually arrive. All summer 5-year-old Lisa Rosario has talked of almost nothing but starting kindergarten, her mother said.

Dressed in a khaki skirt, yellow tank top and brand new white sneakers with pink glitter trim, Lisa said she knew all about what to expect at the first day of kindergarten.

"We go inside and sit down on the carpet. We listen to the teacher. We raise our hands and she calls on us."

Lisa and the other Thiriot students will attend classes for three weeks longer than the rest of the district's nine-month schools in order to compensate for the late start.

The $17 million school is the first of a new, two-story prototype designed for smaller urban sites.

The Clark County School District is about two-thirds of the way through its $3.5 billion capital plan approved by voters in 1998. The district opened 10 new schools in August. A replacement campus for the Miley Achievement Center, serving students with severe behavioral and emotional issues, will open in December.

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