Elementary schools generally stand empty on weekends, but that was not the case Sunday at Burlington Elementary.

Current and former employees gathered for a reception and a stroll down memory lane.

“It’s a sentimental thing for us,” said Harriet Ramsey, a 30-year employee of the school who originally proposed the idea of holding a reception. “There are a lot of memories here and a lot of people have passed through these doors. And we thought this was a good opportunity for us to see each other and see people we haven’t seen in many years.”

Roughly 100 people attended the reception entitled “Cherishing the Past, Embracing the Future.”

Old and new friends shared food, stories, pictures and memorabilia from the school’s nearly half-century of history.

Shortly after Christmas, South Point High School classes will move into a new facility, and Burlington students will take their place.

The old BES will be demolished to make way for a new building on the same site.

“I think the new building will help the atmosphere.

They’re going to have state of the art technology that they can’t have in this building,” said Superintendent Kenneth Cook. “We’ll have wireless technology and smart-boards in the classroom, and we couldn’t provide that in this building.

We couldn’t provide it in the new one without the help of the Ohio School Facilities Commission.”

Although the building will change, one important thing will remain — the people.

“This has always been a building that cares, a family-type atmosphere,” said Cook. “This is a great place to work, and not only that, but they take a real genuine interest in kids.”