By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Alabaster’s Meadow View Elementary School will reach a milestone this year, and the school will celebrate it during a Wednesday, May 1 reception.

MVES opened its doors 13 years ago, meaning its first kindergarten class is preparing to graduate from Thompson High School this May.

The reception will be held from 3:30-5 p.m. at MVES, and school officials are asking attendees to RSVP to 682-5740 by April 26. Local businesses will provide gifts for the students who attend the reception.

“It’s a time for reflection of two major milestones of these Shelby County schools,” said Shelby County Schools Child Nutrition Program Accounting Clerk Melody Bailey. “Meadow View opened 13 years ago with its first group of students placing their handprints on the wall in the lunchroom.

“Some of these same students who were the first class of kindergarteners will be a part of the last graduating class for Thompson High School as a Shelby County school,” Bailey added, noting the Alabaster school system is planning to finalize its split with the Shelby County School System before the 2013-2014 school year begins.