BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- New desks, new lockers -- and a new era for MacArthur Elementary.

"It does start a fresh new beginning for us all," said fifth grade teacher Ann Marie Bogart. "I taught at the school when it flooded. That was my 10th year teaching. I lost everything in that flood ... When I was sitting at my desk today, I just felt like a real teacher again."

It's been a long time coming since the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee washed out the old elementary school in 2011, forcing the students to be split between two temporary buildings. But it's the four years of challenges that make this new school that much more amazing.

"I think we have a lot to look forward to," Bogart said. "And I guess just being able to sit at my desk and have a spacious room where the kids weren't so cramped together, it just felt right."

For both the students and teachers, though, it was hard to say goodbye to their temporary home at St. Francis.

"I kind of feel like Saint Francis was my home, just because I've been there so long," said one fifth grade student.

"When I was taking down things in my room at Saint Francis it was really bittersweet," Bogart said. "But I think now it's just too surreal yet to me, it's just overwhelming still."

While it might have been a tough goodbye, that didn't stop the students from enjoying their first day in their new school. And they said it all started with the teachers.

"When I got off the bus this morning, there was just a line of teachers with posters that said 'Welcome home,' and I felt very special," said fifth grader Carmella Direnzo.

"I saw one of my students just smiling from ear to ear. He was just so happy. Just turning around, looking around at everything. He was just in amazement," Bogart said.

But of course, the most important question is: What do the students think of their brand new school?

"It's a little bit better," said one fourth grader.

"A little bit?" replied another.

"I want to explore everything, I want to touch everything. I want to look at everything,” Direnzo said.

"When I first came in, I was so excited," said fourth grade student Zymere Bugress. "My friends were jumping around and stuff. We were so happy."

And to make things easier for students learning their way around the new school, each hallway is color-coded, right down to the tiles in the floor.