While students are enjoying their summer break, both Cartersville and Bartow County school systems are preparing for new facilities and new schools.

"Cloverleaf Elementary [School] was seen by the fire marshall on May 7 ... we are sending furniture to the assembly line right now and classrooms are being put up as we speak," Bartow County Director of Maintenance Pankaj Daiya reported during Monday's Bartow County Board of Education work session, adding playground equipment also has been installed.

The new CES is expected to open for fall 2012.

Adairsville Middle School, Daiya said, is on schedule to be completed April 2013, with the roadway currently being constructed. He also said the board is reviewing bids for construction of Emerson Elementary.

Two middle schools are to gain additional facilities in the fall, with South Central Middle School expecting a new band room and Cartersville Middle School to expand athletics and student activities with a new 7,000-square-foot multi-use facility.

"The facility will be big enough that we can have three wrestling matches going at one time, it will be large enough that we can use it for cheer practice and we could have small assemblies in there," CMS Principal Jeff Hogan previously told The Daily Tribune News. "Two things that I see as being positive -- one is that we're going to have a stage and right now we don't have any [facility] with a stage. Anything we have to do [that requires a stage] we have to go to [Cartersville High School], which we don't mind doing because it's exciting for the kids, but we can actually do something on campus."

Hogan added, "The other thing is our wrestling teams and cheer squads have to go [to CHS] because we don't have a facility for them to practice in on campus and so we'll be able to keep them on campus for practice as well as competitions and then eventually, hopefully when the economy gets better ... we can look into a speech and drama class and when we're able to do that, obviously [the class] would fit nicely with the stage, so we can see [the facility] as helping [CMS] classroom-wise as well."

The Cartersville Board of Education on Monday approved more than $35,000 in bids for items ranging from a wrestling mat to an activity table for the new facility.

Bartow Superintendent John Harper said the SCMS band room was needed as the band grows, citing recent accomplishments by the band.

"If you close your eyes, you would think you were listening to the Atlanta Symphony," Harper said.

For updates on school construction, including photos, read The Daily Tribune News.