RAPID CITY, S.D. (KELO) –It’s a new school year in a new building for students attending Rapid City’s South Middle School.
Over 600 students stepped outside to join the school board, mayor, and interim superintendent for a ribbon cutting at the new building Tuesday.
“It’s a great feeling when you walk into a building that is welcoming and so spacious and new, it smells new. The energy is just high and we’ve been waiting for this day and we have this day now,” South Middle School Principal Darren Schmidt said.
“In our old building, we had 10 different entrances that they would come in, so we wouldn’t get to see the students everyday. So we’ll be in the main entrance every single day greeting kids and they’ll get a warm welcome to middle school,” Assistant Principal Jeanne Deming said.
Student bodies have been increasing the past few years making larger schools a high demand.
“Continue to look at projects and where the next schools are going and ensure that we’re building into the future so that we don’t bump into capacity problems. Obviously, we want quality schools, we want our staff and our students to feel good about the buildings they’re in and we need to design around that so it’s extremely important,” Chief Financial Operations Officer Coy Sasse said.
This middle school will have a larger gym, air conditioning, and added areas for group learning.
“We have state of the art with every classroom. And storage for our teachers, we don’t have to have plastic boxes on the ground, level floors. So we’re very excited,” Deming said.
“We’re giving tours, we’re helping with lockers, because it is all new for students and staff. So we’re just going through the day and enjoying the building, celebrating the new building and getting used to the building. Tomorrow we’ll start with the regular classes and continue to help them,” Schmidt said.
Final construction of an additional parking lot as well as the new track is expected to be finished by November.
South Middle School will host an open house for the public this Saturday, August 24th.
