Students returned to Meadows Valley School after spring break on Monday after afire gutted the school's music room and heavily damaged the gym a week earlier.

Fire gutted the band room in the early morning hours of March 25, about a day after spring break started. Everything in the room was destroyed including musical instruments, furniture and two pianos.

"The mood in the school yesterday by the students was that yes it was an inconvenience, but things will go on," Principal John Preston said Tuesday. "All of the students were happy to be back in school and ready to learn."

The community has responded with donations, but Preston did not specify what was given.

Two cleaning crews went to work after the fire to remove soot from areas touched by smoke including the gym, shop and a computer lab next to the gym.
Air quality in the school was good, Preston said.

The gym was sealed from the rest of the school, and access was blocked to the band room and the weight room, which are located behind the gym on the north side of the building.

Elementary age students understand things will be different but were doing "fine," and high school students were pleased the damage was not more extensive, Preston said.

No asbestos, which can be hazardous if inhaled, was found during cleanup, he said.

A structural engineer is investigating the effect of fire on the band room's cinder block walls. Workmen reported last week some blocks crumbled when they installed plywood in burned-out windows.