Elementary school dedications
Riverview Elementary, 250 Knightsbridge Drive, Hamilton, 7 p.m. Nov. 4
Brookwood Elementary, 1325 Stahlheber Road, Hamilton, 7 p.m. Nov. 15
Crawford Woods Elementary, 2200 Hensley Ave., Hamilton, 7 p.m. Nov. 17
HAMILTON — “It’s been a little over three years since we first started talking about ‘what-ifs,’ ” Principal Rex Bucheit said Tuesday night during the formal dedication of Highland Elementary School. “So it’s been a long way to get to ‘what is.’ ”
The ceremony was the first formal ribbon-cutting of the Hamilton City School District’s four elementary schools that opened their doors this year.
Following Bucheit’s introduction and the Pledge of Allegiance — led by fifth-graders Noelle Bates, Gabriel Cochran and Timmy Fannin — Superintendent Janet Baker addressed the parents, teachers and school administrators attending the event.
“As I walked through the door tonight, I took myself back over 25 years ago, when I first came into Fillmore Elementary bringing my youngest son to kindergarten,” she said. “Fillmore was known for its dedicated principals, great teachers and really involved parents. That’s the same rich tradition that we bring forward tonight with Highland Elementary School.”
Much has changed, however, in the ensuing years, she said. The classrooms at Highland and the district’s other new elementary schools are designed for different styles of learning in a way that has excited the teachers and students.
“In a building like this, we can nurture (students’) creativity, build their character and build 20th-century skills,” she said. “And they can go anywhere in the world and succeed.”
George Jonson, president of the Hamilton Board of Education, one-upped the superintendent by saying, “Seventy years ago, when I first walked into Fillmore ... It’s changed quite a bit.
“We are so blessed in this community to accomplish what we have, which has been a benefit to the entire city,” he said. With the recently finished and ongoing school construction projects, he said, “We’re changing the face of Hamilton.”
Hamilton Mayor Pat Moeller presented Bucheit with a city flag and said, “With these new schools, our city will reach new heights of success.”
The evening ended with two songs by the fourth-grade chorus, whose students joined the school board and other dignitaries in the official ribbon-cutting.
“We declare Highland Elementary officially dedicated,” Baker said, and invited the audience to tour the building.
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