POULSBO — When Poulsbo Junior High’s students return from summer vacation next fall, they could quite possibly be second guessing whether or not it is in the right place.

But once it hits the Panthers that it is truly their school, there will undoubtedly be enormous smiles on their faces.

A $5.2 million renovation project, which began in June 2005 scrambled PJH throughout the duration of this past school year. It forced teachers to “pack up and move” entire classrooms and even placed the administration out in the cold — in portables outside the building, said North Kitsap School District capital programs manager Dennis Burch.

“This whole area was basically torn down and rebuilt,” Burch said, pointing to a newly structured classroom wing on the upper floor of PJH Monday, noting the second and third phases of the project. “This summer is more of cleaning up and getting out of the building.”

The final phase of the renovation, which enhanced school’s foyer and administrative offices, will be complete by the end of the month. Then crews from the NKSD contractor Higler and Associates will focus on floors and finishing touches with project culmination planned for the end of July.

“There’s a whole different attitude, it’s like a home atmosphere. If it’s well-kept kids will feel more comfortable,” said PJH interim principal Wally Lis. “But if it’s rundown they’ll feel like they can trash it, which is not good for anybody.”

On the outside, PJH has gotten a complete face lift of steel siding and new paint, matching that of the NK community pool and auditorium. And thanks to a NKSD-positive bidding process at the beginning of the project, the district was also able to spruce up the outside of the PJH gym and cafeteria.

On the inside, substantial upgrades to the school building’s structure, infrastructure, data closets and classrooms should carry it into the foreseeable future, Burch said.

“We don’t do this because it looks good, we ask, ‘What will last and how can we maximize every dollar?’” Burch said, noting resistant and easily-replaced medium density fiberboard wall covers and low-maintenance varnished cement hallways that will take the brunt of student traffic.

However, student traffic should be limited with the school’s new configuration of classrooms, Burch said.

The building is now divided into three wings, which will host grade level specific clusters of classrooms. The new format should induce a more collaborative day for teachers and a calmer day for students, Lis said.

“The sixth-graders will be coming from a one classroom setting in elementary,” Lis said, adding that by grouping their classes as much as possible, those sixth graders won’t have to journey across the building when the district transitions into a grade 6-8 middle school format.

“Mentally, they will not having to make as big of a transition. For them, all of their classrooms will be enclosed in a wing,” Lis said.

And directly across from what will be the sixth-grade wing in 2007 is the remodeled and relocated counseling center.

At the other end of the school, a relocated Special Ed classroom is situated on the top floor right next to a new elevator, which will allow less mobile students easy access to the bottom level gym and cafeteria.

During the renovation of classrooms and office space, the school’s mechanical and digital systems received upgrades as well, Burch said.

“When the staff comes back, everything will be where it’s supposed to be,” Lis said, adding that when students return they will enter the foyer looking directly into the school trophy case with a brass panther statue standing proudly. “The first thing they see will be these symbols, so the standards of excellence will already be set.”