HERMISTON – The freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors at Hermiston High School stepped into their first day of school Wednesday with new surroundings that offered a hint of familiarity.

Friends, familiar faces, the “old gym” and hallways that opened at the end of the school year last spring provided the hundreds of students a security blanket of sorts while they ventured into the vast building that is their expanded and refurbished school.

“When I came in this morning, it didn’t look like everyone was here,” Principal Dave Ego told groups of students during their tours of the building. “Everybody is so spread out.”

Junior Shawn Hubbard agreed that the building feels bigger than its britches.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Hubbard said. “It’s pretty big. It’s kind of easy to get around, but my classes aren’t all over the place like some people’s.”

Juniors Erin Collins and Kristina Gibson are two of those people.

“I couldn’t find my class,” Gibson said. “I kept going in circles and it was, like, underneath the stairs.”

During the couple of days before school began Wednesday, the staff was busily trying to figure out ways to get students moving full-force on the first day, said Activities Director Greg Smith.

“Even the seniors need help learning about the building,” he said. “Planning the logistics has just been -” he began to add, but then just nodded.

Vice Principal Scott Hudson worked closely with other administrators and Jimmy Allen, the school resource officer, to keep traffic moving around the building while students and teachers attempted to park their vehicles.

The side streets have become a makeshift parking lot for the sandwiched cars. Buses slowly pulled out onto Highland Avenue after dropping students off amid wedged cars trying to get in and out of the packed parking lots.

“For sophomores, we have to deal with them getting their licenses,” Allen joked to the touring groups. “If you find a dent in your door, you can almost bet it was a sophomore that did it.”

Crews continued to work on the parking areas outside while doing some last-minute cleanup and fix-ups inside.

The remaining grounds and parking area is expected to be completed by October. Until then, parking on the surrounding streets will be the norm.

The construction project added more than 200,000 square feet of new classrooms, an auditorium, kitchen, commons and office spaces. About 60,000 square feet of classroom space was renovated

The newest wing features an up-to-date media center/library that faces Highland Avenue and serves as a hub for the newest classroom wing, which will be used for the first time this year.

The $26 million project created a lot of space for the growing student population. Already this week, the high school has welcomed 90 more students than last school year, Ego said, and more are expected after the Labor Day holiday weekend.

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Teri Meeuwsen is a reporter in the East Oregonian Hermiston Bureau. She can be reached at (800) 522-0255 (ext. 1-302 after hours) or by e-mail tmeeuwsen@eastoregonian.com.