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HANNIBAL, MO. -- The first class of the new Mark Twain Elementary School will step into some big change this year.

"It's just beautiful when you walk in. The people who've already seen it, they talk about how pretty it is and it's true," Principal Karen Wheelan said.

Next Thursday, close to 350 students will walk through the front doors into a completely new world of education, but you can guarantee a portion of the past will stick with them.

"They did take the archway of the west entrance off the old building and that's one of the main focal points as you walk into the new entrance of this building," Wheelan said.

Students will get to learn in the comfort of air conditioning for the first time in the school's history.

"It's a lot different work environment. You can work a lot longer since you're not so hot," Wheelan said.

The entire school is now one level and color coded by grade level. You'll find cheerful colors in much bigger rooms than before. Classes that may have not had their own rooms last year now have their own.

One of the biggest changes to the school's layout is the kitchen.

"In the past, we have not been able to prepare a lot of our own food. We had to have that delivered in from another elementary school within the district. And now, with the bigger kitchen and new equipment, we'll be able to prepare our own food and won't have to have it delivered in," Wheelan said.

Parents taking their children to school can feel more at ease with a new drop-off, pick-up lane that should help with congestion along Bird and Hill streets.