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����Ӱҵ High School addition opens for students

The theme song from “Weclome Back Kotter” played throughout the halls of ����Ӱҵ High School this morning as students returned from winter break.

But it wasn’t just a welcome back. It was also a welcome for the first time to the “Cube.”

The “Cube” is officially open.

����Ӱҵ High’s huge addition – dubbed the “Cube” by principal Stacie Humbles – opened to students today after years of planning and construction.

Ninth grader Lucas Martin could barely believe his eyes as he checked out the new band hall.

“I got used to the old building and it being so small,” he said. “And now it’s huge. It’s like twice the size and I haven’t even seen all of it. There’s still way more I haven’t seen. I’m at a loss for words. It’s so cool, dude. I’m a person who likes architecture, so this is extremely impressive for me.”

The Cube, funded by the 2019 Bond, includes a new front entrance, classrooms, library, band hall, orchestra room, dance studio, art rooms, gallery space, black box theater and more. It also provides accessible passage between the school’s two existing gyms.

“It’s great to see smiling faces in the hallways,” said ����Ӱҵ ISD superintendent Dr. Matt Smith as he welcomed ����Ӱҵ High students to school this morning. “That’s why we do these things – it’s for kids. To see kids and their reactions as they walked in and to see the learning opportunities they will have in the building is pretty special.”

����Ӱҵ High assistant principal Jesse Pineda also greeted students as they entered the building this morning and enjoyed seeing their reactions to the new spaces.

“This is a one-of-a-kind experience for our kids,” Pineda said. “The experiences that we’ll be able to provide for them – it’s going to take it up to another level … The facilities they’re going to be able to use are going to help them not only enjoy that traditional high school experience but also enhance whatever they’ll continue in beyond high school.”

As excited as everyone is, Humbles admits she has some mixed emotions. The last four years of construction have been a big challenge for her and the entire staff and student body. They had to be constantly flexible and make countless adjustments to accommodate the work. But they all rose to occasion.

“But now, it is the end, and even though this whole building is extremely amazing and exciting, there is a bit of sadness to it. Moving out of my classroom to an actual office, moving the band from the auditorium to their new band hall, moving cheerleaders from the fieldhouse to their new locker rooms … it’s all been long awaited, but that time spent in the trenches was truly a gift. We are a family, and I tell my staff that the hardest times on a family will either bring them together or tear them apart. And these past four years have definitely brought us together. 

“So, we’ll all move into the Cube or other new spaces, and the kids will get to enjoy not only an amazing facility, but also a staff that is stronger, smarter and closer to one another and to ����Ӱҵ High School than ever before. This is truly the best place to be.”

of the Cube.