GREENSBORO, N.C. - The first day of school usually happens in August, but on Monday, that will be the reality for hundreds of Guilford County students after Peeler, Hampton and Erwin Montessori Elementary Schools were heavily damaged by an EF-2 tornado.
The 840 students have been out of school all week while the district transitions them to new schools: Bluford, Alamance and Reedy Fork Elementary.
On Sunday, Hampton students can come to Reedy Fork to check out the new school before the bell rings Monday. They've had a week to process everything, and the students say they're both nervous and excited.
Hampton Elementary students Nathan and Justin have been making the most of the week off but they say, they’re ready to get back to the classroom.
“I want to learn more,” said Nathan Moore, “It's taken are learning time from our school.”
But they won't go back to Hampton - not for the rest of the year.
“I’m disappointed because we have very good memories of that school,” said Nathan.
“When I saw the front of [Hampton], I just started crying,” said Justin Taylor.
“Right after it happened when they said that the school got hit, I did drive over there, and I just completely broke down,” said their mother, Latashia Moore.
It's more than just a building to the students, teachers and parents like Moore. She's the PTA president at Hampton.
“All the teachers and the staff laughed and cried together, we've been to our low point, like you would never think that anything like this would ever happen,” she said.
Her boys will finish the year at Reedy Fork. They're looking forward to the open house, to see inside their new classrooms for the first time. She says the only thing to do now is to move forward, and hope for the best for the remainder of the school year.
Bluford, Alamance, and Reedy Fork Elementary schools will all have open houses, to help their new students acclimate. They're on Sunday afternoon, from 2:30 to 4:30.