Ribbon cutting held for new Lee Hunter

Hundreds turned out Tuesday, July 12, 2022, for the ribbon cutting ceremony and open house of Sikeston R-6 School DistrictÕs new Lee Hunter Elementary located at 315 Baker Lane, which is the same site as the previous Lee Hunter Elementary. Current and former district students, teachers, administrators, board members and community members were present for the occasion.

Leonna Heuring/Standard Democrat

SIKESTON — Hundreds of community members returned on Tuesday to 315 Baker Lane in Sikeston, where 13 months earlier, they said goodbye to the original Lee Hunter Elementary building and broke ground on a new building in the same exact location.

Community members gathered Tuesday as the project came full circle with a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house for the brand-new Lee Hunter Elementary.

Sikeston R-6 Superintendent Shannon Holifield welcomed the crowd comprised of current and former teachers, students, administrators, school board members and community members outside in front of the new Lee Hunter building. She also thanked them for attending.

“We are so excited for you to see, walk through and experience this beautiful building ,” Holifield said. “I’ve talked to several of you — as I look across this crowd and I see your eyes and the excitement. I hear stories of people who came here as first graders and now their grandchildren are going to start here this school year in this new building.”

The superintendent said she couldn’t explain the excitement felt for what a great icon the new school building is for the community and for it being constructed in the very same spot the original building was.

“I can’t tell you how thankful I am for such a wonderful community,” she said.

Holifield thanked every member of the community who voted during the June 2, 2020, election and who voted yes for bond issue to construct the new elementary school building because it will impact the future of Sikeston Public Schools, the Sikeston community and the city of Sikeston.

“When you voted yes, you didn’t just vote yes to build a building but to provide an environment of learning and to provide a message,” Holifield said. “You sent a message to the children of this community and you said we care. We care about this community. We want the city of Sikeston to continue to be a great community where our kids are going to go to school and where we’re going to raise our grandkids. I am very excited to say that I am the superintendent of Sikeston Public Schools.”

Following applause from the crowd, Holifield noted she’s not originally from Sikeston; she’s an Arkansas native.

“I bleed red and black,” Holifield said. “My kids graduated from here. I hope that my grandkids graduate from here. Sikeston is a great community. I have been involved in other school districts and communities, and what we have is unmatched in Sikeston. This city can be be anything it wants to be — and because of the people standing here today, I’m here to tell you: We are on the rise.”

Holifield went on to thank the community again along with the following who specifically helped with the project: “Better Schools, Better Communities” bond committee co-chairs Katie Merideth, Cooper, McKelvey and Felecia Blanton; current and former R-6 Board of Education members; the administrative teams at Lee Hunter and the district Central Office; Dr. Kimberley Blissett, assistant superintendent of elementary and special education; Tiffany Morgan, assistant superintendent of secondary education; Lorrie McClenton, R-6 director of building and grounds; R-6 maintenance staff; R-6 custodial staff, CPC; R-6 instructional technology department; Fleming Architects; Navigate Solutions; and SM Wilson.

“We did try to keep some history here,” Holifield said about the new building.

She noted the the letters of the school name on the outside of the building are the letters from the original Lee Hunter building.

Also, the American flag and flag pole at the new school are the same from the original Lee Hunter which was taken down before demolition and saved for the new building. The raising of the flag was done by local Girl Scouts.

“We have some great days ahead and will continue with the great work that has been done, and we’re going to improve and be the best school district in the state of Missouri,” Holifield said.

Attendees were dismissed to tour the 51,028-square-foot building, which includes a dedicated gymnasium with bleacher seating and stage, cafeteria with a FEMA-safe shelter, dedicated library, art room, space makers room and music room. The cost of project was $11.8 million.

Space sharing will not be necessary anymore at the new Lee Hunter, according to district officials. In the original building, Lee Hunter students and staff had to utilize the cafeteria space for physical education classes on rainy days, assemblies, plays and community events.

The gym includes a full-size basketball court, allowing for many types of physical exercise. It also features a full theatrical stage with lighting and sound. The building’s design also allows for the gym area, which has separate entrances and bathroom facilities, to be used for community events during non-school hours, according to district officials.

Also, the school’s previous art and music classes had to share spaces. In the new building, art and music have their own rooms.

The new Lee Hunter also includes a “maker space” classroom, which according to the district, is a collaborative work space created specifically for students to gather, create, invent, tinker, explore and discover by focusing healing on STEM-related activities and help to equip students with 21st century skills in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. The classroom is equipped with items such as a LEGO wall or more advanced items such as kits of building robots and coding, which help with critical thinking skills and boost student’s self-confidence, district officials said.

Also all Lee Hunter classrooms have a Promethean board, which is an interactive smart panel that allows for “immersive learning environments.” Students learn by seeing, hearing and interacting with the board through touch, and this technology brings the lesson alive because students interact with the learning material and each other and become engaged in the lesson, district officials said.

Lee Hunter Elementary Principal Crystal Hartzog and Lee Hunter Elementary Assistant Principal Elizabeth Martin were on hand to visit with those touring the new building. Hartzog called the building and “absolute labor of love.”

“Thank you to community members for passing the bond that allows us to have this beautiful new school for the future of Sikeston — our children — to flourish and grow for decades to come,” Hartzog said. “We’re all excited about this new chapter of Lee Hunter. We cherish the many memories of the previous building but are excited to make new memories of the new building at the same location under the same name.”

Katie Merideth, co-chair of the “Better Schools, Better Communities” bond committee, was also present Tuesday and toured the new building with her family.

“Tonight’s ribbon cutting and the opportunity to tour the new Lee Hunter was a much-anticipated, exciting night for the citizens of Sikeston,” Merideth said. “We should be proud of the state-of-the-art, safe and new beautiful building that will continue to serve our community for years to come. It shows that the people of Sikeston value the future of our town, which starts with our kids.”

Sikeston resident Dennis Ziegenhorn, who was in third grade when the original Lee Hunter Elementary opened, toured the school

“What I’ve seen so far is beautiful,” he said as his tour got underway. “I’m surprised the original building lasted this long. I’ve lasted longer than the original,” Ziegenhorn joked.

Lee Hunter Elementary teacher Andi Rowe,who is preparing for her 11th year as teacher, said she’s ready to decorate her new classroom.

“I’m just really excited to start a brand new school year in a brand new building,” Rowe said. “The bright, new colors make learning so fun. I love the built-in cubbies and colorful desks. Plus, the classrooms and building are very safe and secure.”

Sisters Makenzy Thompson, fourth grader, and Brooklynne Hall, third grader, attended the open house with their parents. They said they were excited about meeting their teachers and they liked the gymnasium.

Their mother, Mikaela Hawkins, said she was impressed with the new building.

“I’m excited for them to have new space to learn something that is more up-to-date for them and safer,” Hawkins said.

The open house concluded with the Lee Hunter Choir Club singing “A Million Dreams” by Pink on their new stage in front of an audience in the bleachers of their the new gym in an effort to thank the community for making their dream school a reality.

The choir club students sang: “I close my eyes and I can see; A world that’s waiting up for me; That I call my own; Through the dark, through the door; Through where no one’s been before; But it feels like home…

They continued: “’Cause every night, I lie in bed; The brightest colors fill my head; A million dreams are keeping me awake; I think of what the world could be; A vision of the one I see; A million dreams is all it’s gonna take; Oh, a million dreams for the world we’re gonna make.”

___

A ribbon cutting and open house for Bulldog Hall on the Sikeston High School campus will be from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 17.

The first day of the new school year for Sikeston R-6 students is Aug. 23.