New Waterloo High School Dedicated and Open for learning

by Ronald Hebel

On Sunday, August 16, 2009 the Waterloo School District No. 5 dedicated their new high school on a 62 acre site. The Waterloo community made a very wise decision when it approved a $35 million referendum a few years ago to build a new state-of-the-art high school. Now the community is gleaming from ear to ear with much pride in taking a dream to full reality.

Even though it was a hot, humid, windy day, the dedication was well attended with every seat taken and many more standing. The posting of the colors were presented by the Waterloo VFW Post 6504 and a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem was sang by the High School Chorus under the direction of Carrie Munsell. The invocation was given by Board Vice President Chuck Pittman followed by the introduction of board members by Superintendent James Helton. As you can imagine many individuals are responsible for the accomplishment of this new high school and board president Dwight Schaefer acknowledged them all, along with the many honored guest that were present for this very special day. Student Council President, senior Dana Biffar offered a charming speech of her gratification on behalf of the students of WHS for what has been accomplished. Being an outsider looking in, it would be impossible for me to name names of these individuals responsible for this new facility, so I will leave that for a future story. However, those individuals involved in this project can hold their heads extremely high for what they have accomplished for the students of Waterloo. One of the longest ribbon cutting ceremonies was witnessed this day with a good 30 to 40 people cutting a piece of the ribbon simultaneously. Board member Linda Pickett on behalf of board presented Superintendent Helton with a large picture frame of pictures of the school along with an inscription. Superintendent Helton gave the closing remarks followed by a musical selection performed by the High School Band under the direction of Mike Mullins.

As we all entered the school that consist overall of 227,000 square feet, you couldn’t help but be in awe of this building filled with awesome learning capabilities. As I wondered from room-to-room I couldn’t help thinking how nice it would be going back to school, even though it’s been over 30 years since doing so. The dedication brochure mentions that “there is something for everyone,” and I would have to happily agree. Some 68 classrooms offering general course studies along with agricultural studies, automotive shop, wood shop, fine arts, vocational and college prep, just to name a few. The dedication brochure explains the rest of the facility quite well, so I will just quote it, “Waterloo’s new high school includes a 462-seat auditorium for performing arts productions, school assemblies, and community events. The new school features a fitness center/weight room for athletic training, computer labs (as well as a wireless network), library, cafeteria to seat 600, music rooms and an engineering lab. An interior central courtyard, with a small pond, provides not only a safe gathering place for students, but will enhance the Ag curriculum. The facility’s design also incorporated a “common area” design for 1,800 students, allowing for future classroom expansion, without over-crowding the facility. In addition, a 20,040 square-foot gymnasium featuring multiple full-size athletic courts, will seat 2,000 spectators. Also the Athletic facilities incorporated into the design are six tennis courts, varsity softball and baseball fields, and an athletic complex housing track, soccer, and football, of which will seat 2,342 Bulldog fans.”

For families looking to relocate their residence this school will certainly be a huge draw in their decision. I was so impressed with what has been accomplished here today with the opening of this school that I believe it warrants several feature stories to do it justice. So enjoy the photos of the facility and come back later as we feature the school room-by-room throughout the school year.