It was a successful first day for Park City’s private schools. The Weilenmann School of Discovery opened its doors on Monday and the Park City Day School started its academic year last Tuesday, Aug. 23.

According to Weilenmann Principal Mary Kimball, the teachers have been in their classrooms preparing for the last three weeks. She said it was a smooth start.

The school’s theme for the 2011-2012 school year is “See The World Through Different Eyes,” an idea inspired by a fatal snowmobile accident involving a student last winter.

Kimball said the parents of the student shared that their child’s eyes were donated to someone without sight.

“We want our students to embrace life’s experiences and be able to appreciate the world through someone else’s experience,” Kimball said. She added that the school is creating a mural of students’ eyes in the school’s entryway. The project will be completed sometime in September.

Kimball said it’s surreal to look back on the first year.

“I said this to the parents and students last year too: ‘When you’re a part of the beginning of something, you get to watch the evolution of what it becomes,'” she said.

Weilenmann enrollment numbers

Kimball said it’s hard to calculate enrollment numbers during the first month of school, but she projects enrollment will stabilize at between 550 and 599 students. Last year at this time the school had about 550 students.

Kimball said additional staff was hired this year to share administrative and faculty responsibilities.

“What we found in our initial year is that because we’re a district unto ourself, we needed another administrator. We hired an assistant administrator and we’ve added a few more full-time teachers,” she said.

According to Kimball, the middle school students enjoyed the off-campus physical education program so much last year that the school will implement an outdoor survival program this year.

“We have added a few teachers that will teach the students all they need to know about survival in the outdoors,” she said adding that students will learn how to pack a backpack and navigate in the wilderness, change a bike tire and build a fire.

The program will tie into the fourth- through eighth-grade curriculum.

“It’s a day built around the passion of learning and by teachers that are not only teaching, but are passionate about what they are doing,” she said.

Kimball said the county is working on widening Kilby Road and has completed the area in front of the school as a safety precaution.

“They haven’t widened it all the way, just the section in front of the school. But I think it will make things a lot safer. It will be much easier for our school patrons and for Summit County,” she said.

Classes begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3:05 p.m. for first- through eighth-graders.

Kindergarten enrichment begins at 8:15 a.m. and ends at 2:45 p.m. Half-day kindergarten will run from 8:15 a.m. until 11:45 a.m. and afternoon sessions will begin at 11:45 a.m. and end at 2:45 p.m.

Weilenmann has contracted with the Park City School District transportation department this year.

“We were thrilled. They’ve been wonderful to work with in supporting our busing efforts,” Kimball said.

For more information regarding Weilenmann visit http://wsdpc.org .

The Park City Day School enrollment numbers

Headmaster Charles Sachs said that despite the heat, the Park City Day School had a great first day.

“We have about 12 or 13 more students than last year. We did a lot of work over the summer with staff and continued to broaden and improve our program to make the limited space work. You never really know until you put it into practice,” he said.

There are about 150 students returning from last year. The school currently has 184 students enrolled, according to Sachs.

“We started last year with about 170 students. We had lost some from the previous year to Weilenmann, but during the course of the year, many of those students returned,” he said.

The Park City Academy and the Colby School merged in 2010 to become the Park City Day School, and is located in Pinebrook.

According to Sachs, the school was recently approved for an expansion that will include 10,000 square feet of new classroom and cafeteria space and improvements for the middle school program in the main building.

“We have the plans in place and the permits in place. We have our i’s dotted and T’s crossed. We just need the $2.5 million to pay for it,” he said.

Sachs said the school has a committed parent body, but construction may not start as quickly as some would like. The project will most likely begin in the spring.

Classes begin at 8:15 a.m. each morning. Three- and four-year-old students attend for half a day until 12:30 p.m. or for a full day until 3:30 p.m. Athletics are from 3:45 to 5 p.m.

For more information regarding the Park City Day School visit http://www.parkcitydayschool.org .