Lions and Bears, oh my

COEUR d'ALENE — Curious fifth grader Evan Wallace pondered, "Why is it Borah Lions? Why not Borah Bears? Why not Bryan Lions? Ooh, that's it! Bryan Lions!"

Former Borah Lions were gladly received by their Bryan Bear buddies as they began at their new school last week, marking the first school year of Borah Elementary's closure.

Fifth grader Gracie Bergsma went to Borah from kindergarten through fourth grade. She said she likes Bryan and the transition to the new school has been a smooth one.

"It wasn’t bad," Gracie said Monday. "When I walked through the door, I just saw a couple of my friends and new faces and felt welcomed at the same time."

Evan has been at Bryan his entire elementary school career, following in the steps of his older siblings.

“At one time I was in kindergarten, my sister was in fifth and my brother was in third,” he said.

Bryan Elementary took roughly 117 former Borah students who were displaced after the Coeur d'Alene School Board voted this spring to end the building's use as an elementary school. As a $1 million cost-saving measure in the face of a $6 million budget shortfall that has since been corrected, Borah now houses the Coeur d'Alene Early Learning Center.

Evan said he's excited about his school expanding.

"It’s going to be interesting to see how our new students handle Bryan and how it’s been going for them and if they have any trouble," he said.

The school issued a “find a buddy” challenge to the students, encouraging them to meet new friends and receive character cards when they introduce the friends to school adults. All students were given special shirts to wear Thursdays depicting a bear and a lion with the words, "A great place to be" to serve as another show of unity among the student body. Pictures of some of the school's newest students have been displayed on the walls.

“We really wanted them to be in the hallway and see themselves when they came back to school,” Bryan Principal Kristin Gorringe said.

As well as welcoming the former Borah students, Bryan also warmly welcomed new students who moved to Bryan's zone from across and outside the district.

“We’ve got a whole new mix,” Gorringe said. “That’s every year, it’s just on a magnified level this year.”

She said the first week went great.

“It’s been a little bit like opening a new school," she said. "I really appreciated the flexibility and attitude of parents last week figuring out pickup, drop-off, traffic flow. All those things are new. But everybody was really great and patient, and by the end of the week we were getting in our flow.” 

Bryan, which turned 100 in the 2005-06 school year, was originally a four-room brick schoolhouse. Its current building was constructed in the early 1960s. According to attendance numbers tallied the first week of this school year, Bryan's three-day average attendance was just shy of 400 students, up 135 students from the 2023-24 school year's average. It is expected to serve over 400 students this school year.

The school is now at capacity, Gorringe said.

“We are filled to the rim,” she said. “We have every nook and cranny, and then some.” 

The nice thing is many Bryan and Borah kids live near or are familiar with each other due to the close proximity of the neighborhood schools, she said.

“There are a lot of kids who know each other already,” Gorringe said.

Paula Austin, president of the Bryan PTA, said in a news release the organization has an abundance of opportunities for parents, guardians, Borah/Bryan alumni families and neighborhood residents interested in volunteering for the fall fundraising campaign, teacher appreciation events, the Bryan Bounce in the spring, communications, board positions and more.

"We especially want to extend a warm welcome to the parents and supporters of those students who are coming to Bryan this year from Borah Elementary," Austin said in the release. "We welcome you to the Bryan community and are here to offer support and opportunities for involvement at Bryan."

Visit tinyurl.com/bryanpta for a short interest survey.

    Kelly Breakie and son Odin Breakie pet Llamah Owen, Bryan Elementary comfort dog, Aug. 28 during the Bryan Elementary open house.
  

    Bryan Elementary Principal Kristin Gorringe on Monday shows off the bear and lion mascot shirt given to every student to wear Thursdays in honor of Bryan becoming the new school of more than 100 students who were once Borah Lions but are now Bryan Bears.