Photo by Mary Shamer
Monroe Intermediate School in Green River held a rededication ceremony Tuesday night to celebrate the completion of 18 months’ worth of construction.
Sweetwater County School District #2 Assistant Superintendent Jamie Christensen said the rededication ceremony was a way to thank everyone for their patience and helped to bring closure to the construction project.
“I think it was more of a celebration, but there were a lot of folks who went to school in the building years ago and talked about the significant change to the building,” said Christensen.
The ceremony was attended by parents, teachers, staff, students, school board members, the mayor, state employees and others from the community.
The ceremony provided time for people to tour the new school, which features a more modernized building, open space, and more room for collaborative learning. The school also has new technology. For example, each classroom features a Mimio board, which is an interactive whiteboard.
The project, which Christensen said cost between $9 million and $10 million to complete, repurposed the space that was already available rather than building a new school.
The project filled in the old swimming pool and used that space for a larger cafeteria and a media center. Christensen said an expanded cafeteria was needed to accommodate the approximate 430 fifth and sixth grade students who attend the school. In addition, the new media center provides more opportunities for students to create mass media project such as videos.
What was once a stage area was also repurposed and now provides additional classroom space.
During the construction process, fifth and sixth grade classes were housed in different buildings. When school opened for the spring semester on January 4, 2016, both grades were able to attend school under one roof yet again.
“I think it really came out nice,” Christensen said about the school. “I think the students and teachers are really going to enjoy it.”