PEDRO- The sound of children playing will again resonate through the halls of the former Rock Hill Elementary School No. 3. The newly renovated building will open next week as the Rock Hill Child Development Center. Those who attended the school board meeting Tuesday evening got the chance to see the facility.

The old elementary school will now be used as a day care, preschool and head start. Superintendent Lloyd Evans said 73 children are so far enrolled in the new child development center.

The day care will have extended hours to accommodate working parents: 6 a.m. until 6:30 p.m.

The first floor of the building has been transformed into a brightly-colored children's haven - on miniature scale.

The classrooms feature play mats on the floor and each is equipped with its own rest room.

Work continues to turn the front parking lot into a playground that can be directly accessed from the classrooms in the front of the building.

"The playground will be totally secure, with a fence around it," Evans said. "It will have a rubberized surface on it for safety reasons."

The front entrance has been revamped with a sign-in desk and the trophy case that used to house Redmen Sports honors will now feature a large aquarium.

Two classrooms are on the second floor, but most of the upstairs will house administrative offices.

"We outgrew our old building," Evans said. "We had no storage space. We'll have twice the square footage over here."

Evans said board offices have yet to be completed, and staff will probably not move from current quarters until Christmas break.