VISTA – When the first students arrive at Vista Magnet Middle School on Monday, they will be greeted by new carpeting, tiles and paint, bright posters to welcome them, and an excited teaching staff.  Technology teacher Barbara Franklin prepared the new computers at Vista Magnet Middle School for Internet access. Classes will start Monday at the former Lincoln Middle School.The computers are the latest, and the science labs are up-to-date.But not everything is brand-new on the 70-year-old campus. A few historic touches, such as the tiled drinking fountain, remain.

The magnet school campus on Escondido Avenue started out as Vista High School, then became Lincoln Middle School until its student body moved to the new Rancho Minerva Middle School in January.Renovations of the Lincoln campus began in January, and “it's in great shape” now, Principal Jose Villarreal said.Vista Unified School District Superintendent Joyce Bales said yesterday that the work cost about $400,000.For now, the school primarily will use the 100 Building.That's enough to house the administration offices and classrooms for the first group of 200 sixth-graders in this magnet school, which will emphasize mathematics, science and technology. The school will grow each year to a goal of 600 sixth-, seventh-and eighth-graders.Legacies of the former high school include a cafeteria, gymnasium, swimming pool and extensive athletic fields. The pool and fields are shared with community groups.There are plans to convert wood and metal shops into an engineering center.Math teacher Jennifer Eckle said she was anxious about moving into such an old building, but when she saw the graceful arches and the common meeting area, she was hooked.

 The building includes a palm-framed courtyard with a stage for small-scale student events.There has been competition for the inviting campus across the street from City Hall.A vocational high school and the adult education program have eyed the buildings, but so far, only the city Engineering Department has been allotted space – in old portable buildings fenced off from the main campus.Besides math, science and technology, the youngsters also must study traditional subjects such as English, history, art and Spanish.In that sense, “we are a regular middle school,” Villarreal said. But neither he nor the dozen teachers assembled yesterday to prepare their classrooms thought of their school as “regular.”The reason these teachers were chosen for the new school, Villarreal said, “is they have a huge passion for kids and they are creative thinkers, as well.”The first students, from all over Vista, applied and were accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.Already this summer, the campus hosted 30 enthusiastic boys and girls for a weeklong engineering program where they built robotic cars.

Science teacher Jessie Estrada said a grant is being sought to establish an engineering club for girls.Most of the students and their parents have already visited the campus. The youngsters have chosen the school colors, maroon and gold, and the mascot, the viper.“It's a new name, a new mascot, a new school, a whole new program,” curriculum coordinator Laura Smith said. But the students' dress code hearkens back to a more conservative time before T-shirts with slogans and symbols became de rigueur.Students must wear shirts with collars and no baggy pants. Jeans are allowed, but not those with holes or that look worn, even if they were manufactured that way.Villarreal said only five parents have asked for exemptions from the code.Also, every student will wear a lanyard with an identification card.