As strains of “We are many starfish stranded on the shore” filled the cafetorium at the celebration for the official ribbon cutting at Marigny Elementary School, proud parents, educators and administrators joined in the fun with the transitional first-graders headlining the entertainment.

The T-1 students participated in an adaptation of many old favorite tunes including “I’m a little starfish at Ma-ri-gny; this is where I want to be.”

Many of the students have known each other from previous school days around the corner at Magnolia Trace Elementary School. Three schools are uniquely located next to each other, each providing education at different levels. Marigny will encompass pre-kindergarten through first grade; Magnolia Trace, second through third; and Lake Harbor Middle School fourth through sixth. The oldest children at the school this year are the T-1 class. First graders will be added next year, bringing the full enrollment from this year’s 322 to about 500.

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Leslie Martin, principal of the new school, said, “This is a special day for the school. We have many hopes and dreams for the school, a dedicated faculty and staff. We want this to be a warm, nurturing, fun place for learning.”

School spirit for the new Mandeville school that holds the youngest students was evident as an already active PTA hosted a mini-buffet include a cake baked by parent Carla Lagarde. The active and involved PTA served as hostesses for the event as Principal Leslie Martin touted the wonderful parent involvement already present at the school.

Superintendent Gayle Sloan also lauded the parent involvement and PTA participation in the school and throughout the parish noting that of 26,000 PTA members across the state, 24,000 come from St. Tammany Parish, with every school in the parish having an organization.

There are 38 classrooms, including an art room, a music room, two T1 classrooms, two preschool early intervention rooms and two resource/special education classrooms. There are 30 regular general-purpose classrooms. Everything is geared for the smaller students, including pint-size basins and bathrooms and lower whiteboards.

The new school is situated on 23.6 acres and contains over 81,000 square feet. The cost was about $16.4 million, included the roadways and bus lanes. Martin said, “This is an amazing facility — just top of the line.”