When students and staff in the Region 18 school district returned to class Thursday they found a refinished track and gymnasium floors at all the schools, a new elementary school principal, three outdoor classrooms and new laptops for teachers.

There was also a return of normalcy for the approximately 1,300 students in the district which is comprised of Lyme and Old Lyme.

Superintendent of Schools, Ian Neviaser, talked about changes for the new school year earlier this month.

“I think the big thing is getting back to normal. I mean, COVID is not completely gone, but it’s not going to drive everything we do anymore,” he said, noting that students haven’t really had a full normal year since 2019.

The district maintained in-person learning during the 2020-2021 school year, but required masks until February of 2022.

Lyme Consolidated School will be starting the school year with a new principal following the retirement of Jim Cavalieri after 20 years in the position.

He has been replaced by Allison Hine, formerly the principal of Brownstone Intermediate School in Portland. She is an Old Lyme resident with more than 20 years of experience as a classroom teacher and administrator.

Hine, who began work July 1, said by phone Tuesday that she has spent her time refamiliarizing herself with the school that she and her children attended.

“It’s a very high functioning school, so I’m finding places where I can complement that and work with that,” she said.

A project to refinish gymnasium floors in all five school buildings that began two years ago has been finished with the completion of the Mile Creek School gym floors this summer.

“Some of these things hadn’t been done in quite a number of years so they look completely different,” said Neviaser.

Likewise, he said, the track, which serves Lyme-Old Lyme High School and Middle School and Center School and is used by members of the public, has been resurfaced and repainted. He noted that the $175,000 project marks the first time the track has been resurfaced since it was built in 2009.

Three post and beam construction outdoor classrooms, one each at Mile Creek School, Lyme Consolidated School and the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, are also complete. In line with the fresh-air philosophy that exists at the three schools, the spaces are available to teachers for full classes, small group activities or gatherings according to Neviaser.

The 150 teachers in the district also received new laptops.

Neviaser said that the district was fortunate to get the laptops in the face of supply chain issues.

“Once the budget was passed, we were able to order them and get them in place for this year,” He said.

He said it allows teachers to do their jobs more efficiently.