Gockley Elementary School hosted a book parade June 3 to commemorate the old school building and introduce students to the new building.

All kindergarten and first-grade students could be seen walking from the old building to the new building, located just a short distance away on the Whitehall-Coplay School District campus, carrying a book of choice and a book plate on the inside of the front cover with their names and a drawing.

School librarian Erin Engler assisted with the project. During her weekly classes, she assisted students in choosing a book and designing the book plate to accompany.

“Most of our students cannot read fluently yet, so they chose books that looked interesting to them based on the cover and the illustrations. They were encouraged to draw a picture of something related to school,” Gockley Elementary Principal Denise Saylor said.

Some students did exactly that.

Gockley student Emery explained Saylor had laid out a bunch of books to choose from. Emery said she picked “A Unicorn Named Sparkle” because of its look and color.

Other students chose books based on how interesting they sounded. Zarah chose “The Retired Kid.” She said this book taught her to try new things.

The previous Gockley Elementary building held approximately 550 students. The new building will allow space for nearly 150 additional students.

“The students were extremely excited when they saw the new gymnasium, which has a small track area,” Saylor said. “They also enjoyed being on the second floor and looking out onto the campus since the current building only has one floor.”