SCOTT, La. (KLFY) – Westside Elementary will officially re-open next week to students, after being out of commission for nearly 2 years after the historic flood of 2016.

For teachers like Debbie Duplechin, while their classrooms may be empty now, they’re preparing for a fresh start.

“Being out for 2 years it was very stressful, but being back here, it’s like we’re back at our home,” said Duplechin, a teacher at Westside.

That’s because they are set to open again, next Wednesday. the school was shut down after water entered the building during the historic flooding in 2016.

“Inch of water in the school, it was destroyed. We had to pack up and move right before school started,” said Charone Babineaux, Assistant Principal of Westside Elementary.

Initially officials didn’t think they would be out for more than 6 weeks, but after more investigating by the school system.

“They realized they were going to have much more work to be done than just 6 weeks work,” said Lisa Thomas, Principal of Westside Elementary.

The school has been renovated to accommodate the roughly 430 elementary students headed there.

Students and teachers have been attending other schools during while Westside was being repaired.

“Now we’re in our own building, we’re back together again. I know these halls, I know the playground, I’m familiar with everything, so it’s just a since of calmness,” said Thomas.

Now that they will be back home, Principal Thomas says she has a mission.

“Our focus is to continually grow and get to the top, we want to be an A or B school,” she said.

The school is hosting a Back to School Bash on Saturday morning from 9-11, where students and parents can meet their teachers and staff, and fill out any remaining paperwork before the school year starts.

School officially begins on Wednesday, August 8.