It was hard to say Thursday who was more thrilled – the teachers or the students – with Addelita Cancryn Junior High School’s new cafeteria/auditorium, which has been in the works for the past eight years.
This is a major improvement for the school, which has desperately needed physical improvements since Hurricane Marilyn’s devastation in 1995.
Principal Yvonne Pilgrim’s spirits were as bright as the yellow outfit she wore to welcome the 650 students for their first day of school. "It has been a long time, eight years," she said.
She singled out Sen. Carlton Dowe for special praise. "He helped get the funding started years ago," she said, "and he always visits the school. He has never missed a year."
The new structure is twice the size of the former building, with an addition to the southern side of the building enlarging the cafeteria and providing an auditorium. Pilgrim said the school now has space for an assembly with all the students, rather than having to call 10 different meetings, as well as a performance space. It also has a new roofing system, extra security windows and new bathrooms.
The building, which will hold 600 students, bursts with its own energy, seeming to revel in its new status, with bright with orange and yellow paint, a sparkling new cafeteria and new furniture.
The students were vocal in their approval of the new addition. A table of eighth-graders talking over one another, almost shouted their pleasure. "Now, we won’t have to wait in long lines to eat, and we have the covered walkway, so we won’t get wet in the rain," said one. "And it’s pretty; I’m so proud," offered another.
Pilgrim acknowledged there’s still a lot to do. "We need to get more fans for the classrooms, and install air conditioning when we can. The rooms are way too hot. When they painted the school, they replaced the latticework near the ceiling with solid boards so no air gets in."
The school now has six new bathrooms but still needs renovation on the other seven, Pilgrim said. "It’s a work in progress," she said. Also, she needs four teachers, one in social science, math, physical education and language arts.
Longtime geography teacher Wendy Diaz echoed the student’s observation. "The school looks like a school now," she said. "It makes the students want to come to school, with the new outside paint, the cafeteria, and the paving outside the front gate," she said.
"It was really depressing to see the school so dilapidated," Diaz said.
A Day for Dads at Muller
Down the road, the 467 assembled kiddies at the Ulla Muller Elementary School Thursday morning listened attentively, then repeated the words of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers ABC’s of love lyrics, tiny voices singing: "A, I’ll always want you / B, because my heart is true."
After their songfest, they clapped for special education teacher Jai Anderson, who led them heartily in song. Then they were sorted into their respective grades and marched off to their first day of class.
It was not only the first day for the tots; principal Symra Brown and assistant principal Daphne Thomas were also getting their feet wet. Brown said she has been assistant principal for five years, and Thomas moved into Muller from the Dept. of Education administrative staff.
Both seemed as happy as the little ones on their first day’s experience. "We’ve had orientation, and next the parents come to school," Brown said.
Today was special in another way. Lots of fathers were on campus. "It’s a district initiative," Brown said, "for fathers to bring their children to school on the first day. We had lots of dads today."
As for the after-effects of Hurricane Earl, Brown said the only storm damage they suffered was the loss of a ficus tree. "It was so huge and so beautiful," she lamented.
