Claypool Dedicates Renovated Elementary SchoolCLAYPOOL - Four of the six speakers for the Claypool Elementary School dedication ceremony Sunday were former Claypool or Silver Lake students.
Those included Claypool sixth-grade teacher John Shively, Warsaw Community Schools board member Gene England, Miss Basketball 1976 Judi Warren and Miss Indiana State Fair Queen and Miss Kosciusko DeNae Pyle. The other speakers included Claypool Principal Melissa Rees and WCS Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz.
In 2004, the Warsaw School Board decided to close Claypool, Silver Lake and Atwood. In 2008, the new board decided to reopen and renovate Claypool, build new Madison and Leesburg elementaries, and renovate and expand Jefferson Elementary. All four schools opened at the start of the current school year.
Rees welcomed the few hundred people to the dedication ceremony. Having family members who attended Claypool, she said the past year has been a very special experience for her.
"Every building has a story. If we were to talk to the many people who helped bring (this school) back to life, I'm sure we'd hear many different stories," Rees said.
From the architect and construction company to the school board and community, the school building they have today has been a truly collaborative effort, she said. Both the Silver Lake and Claypool communities have wrapped their hearts around the new school.
Shively attended Claypool until his sophomore year when consolidation sent all high school students to Warsaw.
He started at Claypool in 1956 as a first-grader. Through the 1950s and 1960s, he kept the score for the basketball games in the gym.
He reflected on when he started playing basketball in high school in 1964, and the good times he had in 1966 playing with guys like Charlie McKenzie. During the county tournament, he said he got his name in the newspaper, which didn't happen that often. Tom Miller was the coach and he kept the players in shape.
In 1978, Shively returned to Claypool as a teacher in the old building.
"In '84, we moved to the section down here," he said, and it was a great experience.
He got to coach his own daughters at Claypool.
"Just a lot of good memories, not just with sports," Shively said.
He had six good years at teaching at Eisenhower Elementary before moving back to Claypool with its reopening this year.
"I always thought we'd be back here someway. This building is just impressive. No matter what building we're in, it's the people that are here (that matter)," he said.
He said he was glad Rees was the principal and she is outstanding at her job. The teachers working at Claypool are teachers that want to be there. Many opportunities are available for people to help and volunteer at Claypool, he said.
"God put me here in 1978, but he hasn't told me to leave yet," Shively said.
Hintz said Claypool had an open house for its new school in June. The parking lot was full 45 minutes early, which he thought was significant.
With the four new schools, half of WCS's elementary schools are all brand new all at one time. The schools were planned and budgeted so well, Hintz said, that the $59 million bond issue for them more than covered what was needed.
Claypool is a three-section school, Hintz said, that can grow to 570 students.
"There's no reason it couldn't grow in the next five to seven years," he said, providing the economy turns around.
England graduated from Claypool High School in 1952.
"Our motto on the old gym was, 'If we rest, we rust.' I don't know where it came from, but it's true," England said.
He reflected on Claypool and Silver Lake petitioning to be a part of Warsaw Community Schools. When Warsaw approved it, England said he was glad. As a teacher, principal and board member, England has been a part of WCS for more than 35 years.
Warren grew up in Claypool. She was named Indiana's first Miss Basketball in 1976 and now teaches physical education in Carmel.
She said Rees called her about two months ago and asked her to speak at the dedication ceremony.
"I can't imagine being anywhere else than being in the gymnasium where it all started for me," Warren said.
Having so many fond memories at Claypool, she thanked Hintz and the school board for bring the school back to the community. Without the kids and school, it was a dying area. With the new school, sidewalks and streets, Claypool is a whole new community.
"It takes an entire community, an entire village to help these kids become the best they can be," Warren said.
As Miss Indiana State Fair Queen, Pyle said she traveled all across Indiana. She often was asked where she was from, and she had no hesitation in telling people she was from Silver Lake and Kosciusko County.
"Coming from a small town, you get so many opportunities you wouldn't have in the big city," she said.
She reflected on her Silver Lake school days and how all the love and support from the small town can't be replaced.
Music teacher Bob Dillon then led more than three dozen Claypool students in two songs.
In closing, Rees said the school building belongs to everyone. It will be here long after we're gone, she said, building the future.
