Izabella DeToma, an eighth-grader at The Out-of-Door Academy, was the first student to walk into the new middle school facility on the Uihlein Campus in Lakewood Ranch on Sept. 8.
She walked around with nine of her classmates taking a look at the new furniture and upgraded technology.
"I think that it's much more accessible and it'll give us more room to learn and grow as students," DeToma said.
Students and faculty celebrated the opening of the facility with a ribbon cutting Sept. 8, which was also the first day eighth graders returned to campus for in-person learning. Students had been doing e-learning since ODA started Aug. 25.
The new facility includes a fabrication lab, virtual reality and media classroom and classrooms with collapsible walls to make two rooms into one.
Joanne Barrett, the middle school instructional technology teacher, looks forward to the new opportunities the facility offers.
"It's amazing," Barrett said. "I'm excited to have a new space to explore different (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activities with students inside and outside."
Eighth graders are excited to have a space they call their own that includes a quad.
"It's nice," said Katherine Triola, an eighth-grader. "It's going to be a lot better now. It makes us feel more independent to have our own building."
Eighth grade students wait to enter the new middle school building at The Out-of-Door Academy on their first day back on campus.
David Mahler, The Out-of-Door Academy's head of school, greets eighth graders for their first day back on campus for the new school year. The eighth graders are the first to use the new middle school facility.
Ashely Kozel, chair of The Out-of-Door Academy's Board of Trustees, cuts the ribbon to the new middle school facility.
Eighth graders Katherine Triola, Izabella DeToma, Josey Rubinstein and Gabriel Owen get a first look at the new middle school facility before starting classes for the first time on campus this school year.
The new middle school facility is filled with different seating options for students and upgraded technology.
David Mahler, The Out-of-Door Academy's head of school, explains the collapsible walls so two classrooms can become one as students tour the new facility.
Joanne Barrett, the middle school instructional technology teacher, takes eighth graders Sequoia Miller, Noah Knego and Izabella DeToma through the new middle school facility.
English teacher Kathy Dozier shows eighth grader Lila Tack and other students around the new facility. "It's amazing," Tack says. "I love it. It's absolutely beautiful."
Eighth graders Lila Tack, Chloe Cochran, Marvin Palominos and Andrew Schaffer enter the visual arts classroom on the second floor.
Ellie Hierholzer, an eighth grader, works on an assignment during class. Eighth graders were welcomed back to campus with a ribbon cutting for the new middle school facility.
Frankie Clark, an eighth grader, is drawing out an idea from his homework assignment. Clark is sitting in a classroom in the new middle school facility.
Ashley Kozel, chair of The Out-of-Door Academy's Board of Trustees, and David Mahler, the head of school, celebrate the official opening of the new middle school facility. The school has been working on the school for three years.
