Eastern Elementary School students will now have a place for physical education classes, rain or shine, and a facility for school meetings.

A.R. Chesson Construction Co. ceremonially broke ground on the school’s new multi-purpose building on Wednesday afternoon, a building to be situated around the back of the school near the already existing playgrounds.

School staff, Beaufort County Board of Education members, county commissioners and A.R. Chesson employees gathered for the event, some of who were asked to shovel the first clods of dirt in celebration.

Will Gautier, project manager at A.R. Chesson, said the building is expected to cost $806,605 and will take about six months to complete.

The company was chosen for the project by public bid, and according to Gautier, they are all glad to do the project, as their office is just right up the road from the school and some employees have children at Eastern.

“We’re all local. We all live in Washington,” he said.

Melissa Dana, principal at Eastern Elementary, said the multi-purpose building has been in the works for over a year, and she said the project is being funded at the local level.

While waiting for state- and local-level approval of the project, Dana said the staff used to joke that they wouldn’t believe the project was happening until they saw the dirt moving. And the staff is excited that the day has come, she added.

Dana said it is important for the school to have a facility where students can still get exercise even when it rains, as physical education (PE) is an important part of the students’ development.

“It is an area of focus,” she said. “They have to burn off a lot of extra energy.”

Learning basic aspects of physical activity also helps to improve the students’ motor skills, Dana said.

“You don’t think of it as important to learn how to dribble, to skip,” she said. “It helps them to develop those (motor) skills.”

Dana said Eastern is grateful they will be able to soon hold scheduled PE classes every day, just like the rest of the schools in Beaufort County.

“It just means a lot to our staff,” she said.