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Sugary donuts and hot coffee lined blue tables at the front entrance of Kolter Elementary School as students, faculty, and parents covered their hands with bright-colored paint and marked the building’s exterior with vibrant handprints.

The festivities were part of a “Donuts before Demo” event designed to allow hundreds of community members the chance to say goodbye to their beloved building, which is being demolished and rebuilt due to damages sustained from Hurricane Harvey.

“It’s exciting,” Kolter Principal Julie Dickinson said, smiling. “Although initial circumstances weren’t ideal, we’re getting a new building. It’s worth the wait.”

Kolter is one of four HISD elementary schools being rebuilt as a result of Hurricane Harvey. The other elementaries include Scarborough, Mitchell, and Braeburn.

Design plans for the new Kolter — a foreign language magnet — are underway. Construction of the new building is slated to begin this summer with doors to open to students by January 2020.

To commemorate the day, students and faculty gave brief remarks about the impact the school has had on their lives. Principals from area feeder patter schools also attended to show their support.

Kolter fifth-grader Tanvi Dubay said she appreciated the fact that the tight-knit Kolter community always came together and could be counted on to turn lemons into lemonade.

“Kolter will always have a special place in my heart,” Dubay said.