The long-awaited opening of the new Westbrook Middle School, plagued by construction delays, was still a day of celebration as students and staff held classes there for the first time Wednesday.

Sitting in the gymnasium of their new school Wednesday morning, most of the 600 or so middle-school students hadn’t been around the building yet, but they were already impressed.

“It’s just absolutely amazing,” said sixth-grader Greg Buotte. “It even smells new.”

The long-awaited opening of the new Westbrook Middle School, plagued by construction delays, was still a day of celebration for students and staff.

“This is an incredible opportunity to set the tone for a building that’s going to be around 50, 75 years, maybe even longer,” Principal Brian Mazjanis told the kids Wednesday morning. “This is a really cool time to be a student at Westbrook Middle School. Welcome.”

The past few weeks leading up to the first day were challenging and uncertain for students, teachers and officials trying to decide when the school would be ready. Unfinished construction work delayed the opening, and students and teachers who were expecting to start classes in the new building on Jan. 4, after their winter vacation, instead returned to the old Wescott Junior High School.

Because teachers had already packed most of their supplies before the break, the learning environment at Wescott was far from ideal. But Mazjanis said the faculty did a great job making do with what they had, and teachers said the kids stayed focused.

It wasn’t until Thursday that Mazjanis got the green light to start classes at the new school Wednesday. Discussions by both the School Committee and the building’s steering committee last week were lengthy and divisive. Several officials felt strongly that the school shouldn’t open until Monday, Jan. 25.

But Mazjanis said it was important for students and teachers to get into the building as soon as they could, and he wound up winning the support of the majority of the members of both committees.

“For me, it was the sooner the better,” said Spanish teacher Martha Parker, as she hung decorations in her classroom Tuesday. “I couldn’t wait to get in here.”

Teachers used a professional development day Tuesday to get their classrooms ready without students there. Some kids, however, came in to help their teachers unpack boxes. But seventh-grader Lea Hopkins admitted there was another reason she was there.

“I wanted to come in and see it,” she said. “I just couldn’t wait another day.”

The $34 million, 135,000-square-foot building was approved by voters in 2007. Though the initial plan was for the school to open in September 2010, Harvey Construction, the project’s general contractor, told the school department it could get the job done sooner.

However, city inspectors, who were expected to issue a certificate of occupancy on Dec. 15, said more work would need to be done before they considered the building safe. A dedication ceremony planned for Dec. 19 had to be postponed, and, as inspectors continued to find issues with the building, it became clear that opening the school as scheduled wouldn’t be feasible either.

Christine Latini, chief organizer of the dedication ceremony, said Wednesday her committee would start to meet again in February to plan the event again. All the pieces are in place, she said, and it would just be a matter of figuring out when to hold the dedication.

Latini and several other officials who worked on middle school planning were there Wednesday morning to greet students as they came in the doors.

Sixth-grade science teacher Travis McCutcheon said, as students gathered in the gym, the sense of excitement was palpable.

“It feels like the first day of school all over again,” he said.

Construction delays pushed the opening of the $34 million Westbrook Middle School back two weeks, but students and staff were excited to start their first day of classes Wednesday morning. (Staff photo by Brandon McKenney)