After the ribbon was cut and the applause was over, the doors were opened for everyone to enter into the new high school. With the snap of a finger, the crowd dispersed and in a flurry we were inside the front entrance and in the middle of 3 floors where a Reception was waiting. Right away we saw to the left the new administrative offices and reception area.  The wide hallway has curved ottoman type furniture, and to the right was the huge new Library and Media center already full of books. Past the offices on the corner was a see-through room called the Career Center with comfortable-looking cushioned chairs and a small table attached for laptops.

As we rounded the corner, the building opened up with a Welcome Reception where area businesses offered food samples, as well as, groups like the Parent/Teacher Organization looking for support from new students and their parents. To the left was a Food Court like set-up with round and long tables, even Bistro seating with the high tables and stools in place of a traditional cafeteria. A new concept will be Food Bars with all different types of things to eat such as a Southwest, Asian, and Vegetarian Bar, and Hungry Howie’s Pizza will also be on hand for the student’s lunches. It is very modern looking and students will have wireless access there as well.

As part of the celebration, current students offered tours for the crowd during this time and I took the opening as a chance to talk with some parents, one being Mrs. Priya Dass, whose son Amaal – a senior, was thrilled with the bigger facility. She stated that this gave more opportunities, but the teachers also have more responsibility, and wisely talked about, “how well they embrace this will determine how well the students will do because a teacher doesn’t just open books, they open minds”! How right she is. Another parent, Mrs. Amy Willis, whose daughter Cole, the Sophomore Class Student Body Vice-President, believes that the “new Laptops for each student will help bring more technological advancement”.

Moving on down past the cafeteria area, we toured the smaller gym, an elevator, and more of the 2^nd floor, including rooms that house Band, Chorus, and Drama. The new extensive Auditorium is there as well, seating over twice as many people as the old one.

In the shape of a “W”, the middle of the 2^nd floor wing extension is home to the new Cosmetology department. When we walked in, I was floored at the equipment that our students will have in their new learning environment. I met the teacher, Ms. Tanya Huyard, who spoke proudly about the opportunities this will give her students. She showed me areas for learning hair cutting techniques, hair drying and nail/manicure stations, and tables for massages, facials, and esthetics.

Continuing on our tour, the 3^rd floor houses mainly the academic classrooms with the Science Labs, Math, History, English, and Foreign Languages, etc. Mr. Russ Minatel, an English, Speech and Debate teacher allowed me to ask his thoughts on this upcoming year. He gladly spoke about how exciting his career as a teacher is, and that “with each student having a Laptop allows for equal footing of technology, not just for the affluent students, which helps to bring ownership to the school”. He spoke about the exciting capability of using Skype programs to talk with people all over the world in real time, and referred to training that he recently went through to help him learn about teaching the “YouTube” generation focusing on Media Literacy Education. This has become what he feels is one of his biggest responsibilities.

Completing our tour, we went to the 1^st floor, opting to take the new elevator, where there seemed to be a restroom everywhere we went…which is a good thing. In all, there are 32 restrooms throughout the vast building.

To me, the bottom floor is the most impressive as we saw rooms being readied for students. This floor holds the Arts room, where teacher Mr. Shelton Wilder was playing the Beatles and so enthusiastic about this upcoming year and what the future holds. He talked about how great the lighting was for optimal creativity to be expressed.

We moved on to other rooms and saw the new Construction, Welding, and Auto Shop classes. All I can say is “Wow”! We walked by one room and my daughter said, “Look Mom, they have dummies in these beds”. I looked and saw that it was the Health Occupations class. How cool is that for on-hands teaching!

Other rooms featured Sports Training with lots of weights and the Faculty Workout room with Treadmills and such. One of the last rooms that caught my attention was a room filled with Drafting tables and a Dell Computer box on each table. The teacher, Richard Sands, happened to be there and I asked what kind of class he taught. I recognized the Drafting tables from my Interior Design courses, but I wasn’t sure what all would be going on there. He told me that he teaches Engineering, Drafting, and Architecture and that each student would have a computer loaded with a CAD (Computer Aided Drafting) program on it to help teach them the technology that they need for college. He proceeded to tell me that students would not only get high school credit for his class, but that they would simultaneously receive credit for college as well. Amazing!

With that, our tour was complete within the school, and on our way out, we looked at the beautiful new Athletic fields – Baseball, Softball, Tennis Courts, and Football! They all are awesome, and the school itself is very impressive but somewhat intimidating as well. Did I mention that it is HUGE too!!! A friend made a humorous reference that the students will have to have a GPS just to find there way to class for the first week.

Reading about the new building gives somewhat of a mental picture, but when you get the chance, make sure to head on over and check out Watauga County’s newest addition! It is well worth taking it in for yourself..

This past Friday morning, July 30^th 2010, was filled with excitement and anti- cipation as my middle school twins and I approached the location with all of the hoopla going on. When we got closer you could hear the Watauga Community Band playing favorite tunes, and looking around the crowds of people, there were Policemen everywhere, Firemen with their Fire Truck, Rescue Squad workers, even Secret Servicemen. “Anybody who is anybody” in Watauga County was there taking in the pomp and circumstance for this special day!  It was the day our community had been waiting for…the Grand Opening of the new Watauga High School and Dedication and Ribbon-cutting ceremony.

A dream that began years ago, and now a reality, dignitaries and leaders from all over the High Country, with special keynote speaker, Governor Beverly Perdue, were there to participate in “opening a new door in history”. We were handed a Dedication Ceremony Program and while we waited for the Governor to arrive, I took the opportunity to look over the mass of people that had gathered for the event and chatted with a few. I spoke to Mr. Marshall Ashcraft, Community Relations Director for Watauga County Schools, and asked what he thought about the new school and what kind of impact this would make. Mr. Ashcraft stated that the new High School would “allow teachers and students to tap into their full potential”. He spoke about the “huge improvements” with this school like the students having laptops, wireless access throughout, and how much energy the school board has put into this. The pride for this accomplishment was evident in his face.

At that moment,Dr. Marty Hemric approached the podium and began with his welcoming remarks, followed by Mr. Lowell Younce, Chairman of the Board of Education, talking about the “journey from vision to reality”. The Chairman stated how the new school will improve student performance and better prepare students to enter the adult world upon graduation. Mr. Younce spoke about a recurrent theme throughout this process that “It’s Time to Choose” to move forward, followed by “This is History” being made in our county and community.

Next up to speak was Mr. Jim Deal, Chairman of the Watauga County Commissioners, who said that this was a “Glorious Day”! Mr. Deal described the benefits of the new school focusing on being “Green” and ecologically efficient. Some of the ways the new high school is “Green” consists of natural lighting through the massive windows and the positioning of the building, which features the shape of a “W”. Also, solar tubes were installed to help provide better use of that natural light, while geothermal wells capture heat and pump it through the area to maintain a constant temperature. Even the roof gets in on the action by using six 10,000-gallon cisterns to collect rainwater for various water conservation uses. Mr. Deal ended his speech with a Star Trek reference that, “Watauga County should boldly go where no county has gone before”!  

Several more speakers had good words to say and the Golden Leaf Foundation even presented a check to the new high school for $150,000 for “Global Learning and Community Transformation”.

Mr. Michael Wyant, the Principal, proceeded to welcome the teachers, staff, and students to their new school. Mr. Wyant made the comment that, “teachers have been hand-cuffed in preparing students for the real world by the old facility. Now they have access to the 21^st century at their fingertips, and are free from limitations that the former school brought on”. This access includes providing each student with a Laptop for use at home and school.

Continuing with the ceremony, at last it was time for the keynote speaker as Dr. Hemric introduced the Governor Beverly Perdue. So gracious was she, quickly putting everyone at ease. After congratulating our county and community, the Governor spoke about how she wanted to bring all schools into the 21^st century and has even initiated an online education system in order to become globally competitive. The Governor thanked our county stating that, “we just get it”! She talked about how we must educate our students in an advanced way with technology because “most students come to school with more technology in their backpacks or bookbags, and if we don’t help them learn, they don’t have the skills to compete”. Governor Perdue then proceeded to thank us for our investment in our children and our future.

As the crowd applauded, the former senior class president, Dylan Russell, and the current senior class president, Jesse Nash, sang the school anthem while the leaders gathered for the ribbon –cutting ceremony. In a flash, the Governor and class presidents cut the ribbon and the doors were opened.

Stay tuned for the 2^nd part of this series to hear all about our experiences and interviews once we entered the new high school..