PIERCETON – Ceremonies for the new Pierceton Elementary School and the renovated South Whitley Elementary School were held Saturday. Members of the community attending the afternoon dedication and open house of the new Pierceton Elementary School took in the spacious lobby situated past the office and before the new gymnasium. The space features display cases with memorabilia from the old school days, and high-definition video monitors and modern lighting modules against stark white walls and flooring. Inside the gym, guests got an inkling that Pierceton’s color theme is red because of the red bleacher seats and red ventilation system covers high on the ceiling. The color is carried out in the new cafeteria and learning commons area. There are three classes each for kindergarten and grades one through three on the north side of the building, with two classes each for fourth and fifth grades on the south side of the building, along with storage spaces, meeting rooms and a new office and administration area. Guests were ushered into the gymnasium where recently hired Principal Mike McCain addressed the audience. “There’s a lot to be proud of in the old school,” he said. “It was built in 1870, then rebuilt in 1923 after a fire consumed the original building. The gym was ahead of its time and other schools sent their leaders here to check out the school in general, the gym and gym floor.” McCain stood in the middle of another unique gym floor, this one of parquet squares with rows of light-colored wood. “I would imagine that this trend will continue. As you see in the gym now, and as you will see as you explore the building later, there is much to be proud of in the new school as well.” The new school also features artwork made of the old gym’s maple flooring installed above the gym doors. Pierceton alumni raised money to display the old school’s carved limestone features from the 1923 high school in a brick memorial at the fork of the school’s driveway. Whitko Superintendent Steve Clason thanked the community for its support of the building project. “This is the community’s project,” he said. “This is your building.” He reminded everyone that the new building really began with a committee of community members who studied the district’s facilities, starting in October 2011. He recognized that committee, along with current and former school board members, the architects and building contractors. He praised the custodians who helped keep everything organized while teachers, students and classrooms were relocated during construction. “The reason we’re here today is because Whitko cares about kids. A huge team came together to make this possible,” he said. “Pierceton has had an illustrious past and will have a glorious future.” Clason also recognized former long-time PES principal Ruth Jones in the audience. The third speaker was Lisa Dercach, Indiana Department of Education’s region 7 outreach coordinator. She said the mission of the IDOE is to provide all students with a quality education. “This means access to excellent educators, access to abundant resources such as Project Lead the Way, technology and to modern and updated facilities,” she said. Investment in the new building is an investment in children, she said. Students come into the school needing food, clothing and differentiated learning environments. She said a community’s involvement is essential to the student’s success. Pastor Glenn Hall, of Harvest Community Church, gave the invocation at Pierceton and Father Chuck Herman, of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, delivered the benediction. A highlight at both dedications was the merger of the elementary school choirs with the high school gospel choir, led by Dawn Hinthorn and Nate Haywood at Pierceton and by Hinthorn and Katey Till at South Whitley. The choir sang the “Star Spangled Banner” and the “Thank You” song at both events. Visitors to the renovated South Whitley Elementary School ceremonies weren’t greeted with vast changes in their building, but it still looked brand spanking new. A spacious entrance and office has been added on the east side. To the west a secondary entrance, art and music room, storage rooms and restrooms complete the addition. Staff, students and visitors to the school had experienced renovations by the spring semester. Much of the South Whitley building’s upgrade came in the form of plumbing, heating and electrical improvements. Over the summer, though, long-covered cafeteria windows were unblocked to once again allow natural light into the space made larger when the stage was removed. The former library is now a science, technology, engineering and mathematics multi-purpose room and the new media center is just beyond the office. In both schools old school square desks were replaced with hexagonal-shaped desks paired with regular, four-legged chairs and core stability chairs with round seats and rounded bottoms that tilt just a little when someone takes a seat. Both schools now have huge video screens placed throughout the building. On Saturday, welcome messages featuring school activities were shown on the monitors. At the 10 a.m. SWES event, Principal Donna Wiktorowski welcomed the community. “There’s something special about people gathering together in a new building,” she said. “Today we’re bringing together people who are invested in the community as a whole.” She acknowledged the parents and grandparents in the audience who attended South Whitley Elementary School. “I love the idea of restoration; of taking something that already was and making it better. There’s real value in taking the time to say, ‘We did this.’” She asked everyone to notice the display case in the hallway with the label “South Whitley, small town, big world impact” featuring local businesses with international contracts. Superintendent Clason recognized the facilities planning commission members, school board members, the architects, contractors and the staff who moved so often during the school year. Dercach also addressed the audience. Pastor David Wagner, of Collamer Christian Church, gave the invocation and benediction.
