New Summerfield 6th, 7th, 8th graders start year in new digs

New Summerfield Independent School District officially cut the ribbon and opened its new junior high school – just in time for the start of the new school year.

NSISD sixth, seventh and eighth graders, along with faculty and staff, administrators and board members, and lots of parents and other community members participated in the campus’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, then checked out the new building during the district’s annual Meet the Teacher event held Tuesday, Aug. 14.

“I’m pretty excited about getting to go to eighth grade in a new school,” NSISD eighth grader Juliana Medellin said after helping cut the ribbon for the new junior high. “I’m glad they got it finished in time for me to go here.”

New Summerfield Superintendent Dr. Brian Nichols opened the ceremony and thanked everyone for attending.

“We want to thank our school board members for helping us continue to improve our district and their commitment to providing the best for our students,” Nichols said. “We’re all very excited and looking forward to a great school year here.”

NSJH Principal Joe Brannen added, “Being able to start school in a brand-new facility really helps get the kids excited about coming to school This is something our community can really be proud of. It’s a beautiful building and it’ll definitely be nice to have us all in one location. Before moving into this building, my office wasn’t even located in the same building as my students.”

The new 22,000 square-foot building boasts eight state-of-the-art classrooms and science lab; a cafeteria; nurse’s office; administration offices; and a special education classroom that students in six through 12th grades will use.

“I think this is second new building the district has built in the last 50 years,” seventh and eighth grade science teacher Reagan Sewell said. “It’s really nice, especially the lab – there’s so much more room to do things. I’m looking forward to using it.”

Special education teacher Suzanne Walters agreed.

“I’ve been teaching here for 11 years and this is Heaven,” she said. “We’re so appreciative to our school board members, our district administrators, and especially our community members for working together on this and getting the project done. We wouldn’t have something so nice without all their hard work and support.”

The district broke ground on the new junior high building in September 2016, after New Summerfield voters approved a $9 million bond issue in an election held in May 2015.

“That bond issue included the new junior high and the new coliseum, which we anticipate will be finished by the first part of October,” Nichols said.

NSISD Board of Trustees are President Michael Davis, VP Missy Tennison, Secretary Glenna Weaver, Loleta Davis, Lori Lawson, JB Neeley and Joe Taylor.