Dad and mom dancing to in style songs on the basketball courtroom. A pupil mariachi group strumming guitars and singing whereas greeting classmates and guests within the lobby. Dad and mom of student-athletes taking images with their youngsters.
It was a festive scene Thursday night as a crowd gathered to open Highlands Excessive Faculty’s new fitness center — dubbed the Owls’ Nest — which replaces a 66-year-old fitness center on the Southeast Aspect campus.
“This was a very long time coming,” Principal Penny Pruitt advised an viewers gathered for a grand opening pep rally, which included temporary performances by the college band and spirit squads, salutes to numerous athletic groups and a mini–tailgate get together.
For the reason that opening of the unique campus fitness center in 1958, Highlands Excessive Faculty athletes performed in the identical primary competitors fitness center that had undergone few modifications over the a long time.
The Thursday occasion marked a milestone within the largest portion of San Antonio ISD’s bond 2020 program at Highlands, a $49.6 million bond mission that funded the renovation of 31,000 sq. ft of present campus house and offered a 43,000-square-foot athletic addition.
The brand new fitness center complicated contains a secondary fitness center, with weight, locker, seminar and coaching rooms, and coaches’ workplaces. Work on some areas across the fitness center constructing won’t be completed till spring 2025, SAISD officers mentioned.
District 3 Trustee Leticia Ozuna mentioned the $1.3 billion bond has been an opportunity for SAISD officers to improve growing older amenities districtwide.
“One of many nice issues about an SAISD training is that we consider the entire pupil. Their means to do sports activities and tremendous arts is as essential as their educational capabilities. And the way in which that we show it to our college students, neighborhood and employees is to put money into buildings like this,” she mentioned.
Ozuna and Pruitt mentioned most of the purposeful options — reminiscent of mechanical bleachers and a mat room for wrestlers — at Highlands’ new fitness center ought to show enticing to college students.
The ceiling above inside hallways bears a whole lot of metallic cutouts of owl faces emblematic of the college mascot.
The brand new fitness center is linked to the principle campus constructing, giving college students a way of safety and security from issues such because the climate or potential exterior threats, Pruitt mentioned.
“I feel that it brings an amazing quantity of delight to the neighborhood and to Highlands. We’ve got a number of delight in being Owls,” Pruitt mentioned. “It means a lot to the scholars. They’re so excited. And I’m excited for the coaches who work so laborious and put in so many hours.”
Pruitt mentioned participating college students, employees, coaches and neighborhood members was integral in designing and constructing a brand new fitness center. That manner, she added, folks positioned extra belief within the bond-funded mission.
“Group enter was extraordinarily essential,” Pruitt mentioned. “We took the designs to the coaches, the youngsters and the neighborhood. They obtained to place little dots on what they preferred and what they didn’t like. Then we went again to the drafting board.”
Scholar-athletes reminiscent of senior ladies basketball participant Savannah Gaskin mentioned the contrasts between the outdated and new gyms at Highlands are hanging.
“The brand new fitness center is admittedly nice. It’s very huge, has air-con and the courtroom flooring has an important grip,” Gaskin mentioned. “I like our locker room, too. There’s a lot house in there, and I’m simply very completely satisfied to be part of this.”
Tracy Guadarrama, ladies’ athletic coordinator, graduated from Highlands in 1997. She recalled the outdated fitness center having neither air-con nor particular person bathe stalls with curtains.
Guadarrama additionally mentioned the outdated competitors gyms have been disconnected from different student-athlete areas and assets. The brand new fitness center, she added, is a significant enhance for present and future college students.
“We have been in development for a yr and a half with very restricted amenities. So, when the youngsters walked into the brand new amenities for the primary time, there have been a number of precise ‘wows’ popping out of their mouths. They usually have been like, ‘Oh, we’re a wealthy campus now,’” Guadarrama mentioned with fun.
“However with issues like that, you can really feel and listen to that the delight was resonating with them.”
