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From left to right, Maria Reynosa Lopez, Audrey Sullivan and Asli Hassan help unveil a plaque Thursday at Pine Elementary.
Principal Adriana Vargas speaks Thursday at the opening ceremony for OPS's Pine Elementary School, one of two new elementary schools opening later this month.
Faculty and staff at Pine Elementary help lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance Thursday during a ceremony celebrating the school’s opening.
Cheryl Logan, Omaha Public Schools superintendent, speaks Thursday at the opening ceremony for Pine Elementary School, one of two new elementary schools opening later this month.
A classroom at the newly opened Pine Elementary School.
The gym at Pine Elementary School used to be part of Grace University, which previously occupied the site where the elementary school now sits.
A porcupine from the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium makes a special appearance Thursday during a ceremony celebrating the opening of Pine Elementary School in Omaha’s “Little Italy” area. Pine’s mascot is a porcupine.
The 112,000-square-foot Pine Elementary also has an outdoor learning space. The school is half a block north of Cascio’s Steakhouse and a block south of St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church.
The library at Pine Elementary School, one of two new Omaha Public Schools elementary schools opening later this month.
A classroom at Pine Elementary School, one of two new Omaha Public Schools elementary schools opening this month.
A porcupine from Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium makes a special appearance Thursday at the Omaha Public Schools opening ceremony for Pine Elementary School. Pine's mascot is a porcupine.
Pine Elementary School is one of two new Omaha Public Schools elementary schools opening later this month.
A classroom at Pine Elementary School, one of two new Omaha Public Schools elementary schools opening later this month.
The new home of the Porcupines is looking sharp.
Officials from the Omaha Public Schools on Thursday celebrated the opening of Pine Elementary School — a celebration that featured porcupine quills, a person in a porcupine suit and a live porcupine.
The school built at 10th and Pine Streets lies in Omaha’s historic “Little Italy” area — half a block north of Cascio’s Steakhouse and a block south of St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church.
Built with a capacity for 600 kids, the school initially will enroll about 300, relieving overcrowding at Castelar and Bancroft Elementary Schools, according to Pine’s principal. Students will report Aug. 17.
Principal Adriana Vargas said her previous school, Castelar, where she was principal, had 650 kids.
“We actually even had two houses across the street that we were using for classrooms,” she said.
Darland Construction Company built the new school. The architect was Jackson-Jackson & Associates.
The new school is one of several built with a $409.9 million bond measure approved by voters in 2018. It cost about $19 million, officials said.
School board President Shavonna Holman spoke at the event. She called the school an important investment for students and thanked the voters who made it possible.
Superintendent Cheryl Logan told the crowd that children deserve “a place like this that’s warm, inviting and is special.
“It’s all about the relationships, and we look forward to many years of relationships where children will be known, will be loved and hopefully they will be inspired,” Logan said.
According to OPS, among the key features are main-floor kindergarten and pre-kindergarten rooms that exit directly to their respective playgrounds. The upper-floor art room has large windows, and the media center is near the technology center to allow for collaboration.
The 112,000-square-foot facility also has an outdoor learning space.
Giant oak trees, located on the school property along 10th Street, were preserved during construction, providing a shady spot for students.
The design of the school incorporates the gymnasium of the former Grace University that occupied the site previously. While larger than the typical elementary school gym, it will benefit students throughout the district, officials said.
“I can now brag that I am in the only elementary school in OPS with a college-size gym,” Vargas told the crowd of about 250 people who gathered in the gym for the celebration.
Vargas noted the area around the school has a rich Italian culture.
“As a matter of fact, a couple of weeks ago was the Santa Lucia festival, and they were just a block away,” she said.
About 70% of the students who will attend the school are from Latino families, she said.
Many parents with children were invited to join in the celebration and tour the new school.
Tammy Mancilla said she was involved with the committee that named the school and chose the colors and mascot — porcupines. After the formal ceremony, she took pictures of her daughter, Lindsey, on the gym floor. Lindsey will be a third grader at the school.
“I’ve lived here my whole life — moved away for a year and a half — other than that I’ve been here for 44 years,” Tammy Mancilla said. “It would have been pretty neat to have the name Little Italy for the school, but I thought of it a little too late.”
Emily Echeverria, who will attend third grade at the school, was among a crowd of children and adults who got a close-up look at a live porcupine, compliments of the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium.
The well-behaved animal stood on a table and nibbled on treats.
What did Emily think of that?
Allison Pulaski hula hoops in the crowd at Maha Festival on Friday night.
Sasha Quattlebaum and Kirsten McCormack show of their rollerskating skills at the entrance of Maha Festival on Friday night.
Maha Festival 2022 wraps up with headliner Beach House on Saturday.
Princess Nokia, an American rapper, dances on stage on Saturday at Maha Festival.
Festival goers watch Friday's headliner Car Seat Headrest perform at Maha Festival.
Tony fish lay dying in a puddle in a mostly dry Platte River bed underneath the Highway 81 bridge south of Columbus, Nebraska on Thursday.
Nick Soulliere, right, poses for a portrait with his daughter Kennedy, 11, Highway 81 bridge south of Columbus, Nebraska on Thursday. They were four-wheeling in a mostly dry Platte River bed.
Jaren Frost picks up a fish from a puddle underneath the Highway 81 bridge in a mostly dry Platte River south of Columbus, Nebraska on Thursday. Frost was hoping by moving it to a deeper puddle to the east, he could spare the fish from the fate of the one behind him.
A car heads south on the Highway 81 bridge over a mostly dry Platte River south of Columbus, Nebraska on Thursday.
People used beach towels to mark spots early in the morning at Memorial Park before the Sheryl Crow concert that night on Friday.
A butterfly drinks nectar from a flower at City Sprouts Community Garden on Friday. The property has been certified by the National Wildlife Federation as an official Backyard Wildlife Habitat site because it provides the four basic habitat elements needed for wildlife to thrive: food, water, cover, and places to raise young.
A family of ducks swims across the pond at Fontenelle Park on Saturday evening.
A man fishes at Spring Lake Park on Saturday.
Barrels remain at the site the site of Nox-Crete located at 1415 S 20th which burned to the ground on May 30th, 2022.
A newly renovated building at 24th and Ohio Streets is part of the historic North 24th Street business district that is undergoing a revitalization.
CharDale Barnes poses for a portrait next to his business, Stable Gray, in a newly renovated building at 24th and Ohio Streets on Tuesday.
Dr. Sarah Woodhouse with the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium gives Vera, a 5-year-old tiger, a COVID booster shot at the safari park.
joe.dejka@owh.com, 402-444-1077
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Joe covers education for The World-Herald, focusing on pre-kindergarten through high school. Phone: 402-444-1077.
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A petition drive that sought to give the Nebraska governor substantial oversight of K-12 education failed Thursday.
There's more work to be done, but Nebraska schools are "light years ahead" of where they were even four or five years ago, according to the state's school safety and security director.
The Nebraska State Board of Education agreed to hire a consultant to examine the process for writing academic content standards — a process that yielded controversial health-education standards.
Omaha Archbishop George Lucas Wednesday notified Catholic school administrators, priests and deacons he is delaying implementation of gender-identity policies that were intended to go into effect Jan. 1.
From left to right, Maria Reynosa Lopez, Audrey Sullivan and Asli Hassan help unveil a plaque Thursday at Pine Elementary.
Principal Adriana Vargas speaks Thursday at the opening ceremony for OPS's Pine Elementary School, one of two new elementary schools opening later this month.
Faculty and staff at Pine Elementary help lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance Thursday during a ceremony celebrating the school’s opening.
Cheryl Logan, Omaha Public Schools superintendent, speaks Thursday at the opening ceremony for Pine Elementary School, one of two new elementary schools opening later this month.
A classroom at the newly opened Pine Elementary School.
The gym at Pine Elementary School used to be part of Grace University, which previously occupied the site where the elementary school now sits.
A porcupine from the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium makes a special appearance Thursday during a ceremony celebrating the opening of Pine Elementary School in Omaha’s “Little Italy” area. Pine’s mascot is a porcupine.
The 112,000-square-foot Pine Elementary also has an outdoor learning space. The school is half a block north of Cascio’s Steakhouse and a block south of St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church.
The library at Pine Elementary School, one of two new Omaha Public Schools elementary schools opening later this month.
A classroom at Pine Elementary School, one of two new Omaha Public Schools elementary schools opening this month.
A porcupine from Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium makes a special appearance Thursday at the Omaha Public Schools opening ceremony for Pine Elementary School. Pine's mascot is a porcupine.
Pine Elementary School is one of two new Omaha Public Schools elementary schools opening later this month.
A classroom at Pine Elementary School, one of two new Omaha Public Schools elementary schools opening later this month.
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