By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

As the last weeks for Washington Elementary School approach, events to celebrate its 89 years of history are scheduled, beginning with the school’s last musical program starting Tuesday at 6:15  p.m and a  farewell open house Wednesday from 3:30 to 5:15 p.m.

In February, the Hays USD 489 school board voted to close Washington Elementary and re-purpose the building to house Early Childhood Connections.

Washington Principal and Transition Coordinator Allen Park said the music program will end with all students coming together to perform Washington’s school song, written when the school celebrated its 75th anniversary.

Park said he and staff are trying to make the school’s last weeks special, and invited the entire community to Wednesday’s open house.

“It’s for families and friends, our school community … past alumni, anybody who would like to come by and walk through the school, look though some of our archives of different things we have done in the history of Washington,” Park said. “It will just be nice to recognize the 89 years of service for our community that Washington has provided.”

Park said participants can look through staff and student pictures, old yearbooks and scrapbooks of past accomplishments, adding Washington Elementary has a rich history of “firsts” when it comes to education in the Hays community.

“Washington was the first school in our community  to have a special education program … the first to have the hot lunch program,” Park said. “We were the first leaders to take a Head Start classroom … and we were also part of starting the first after-school programs.”

Park is also scheduling a day in mid-May when each student will board one of four buses and visit their newly assigned schools for the 2015-16 school year.

“We want to make the transition as positive as possible for the kids,” Park said, adding more activities to finish the school year are planned.