RRSpin - Students, dignitaries join in Manning groundbreaking

Wednesday, 27 July 2016 12:38

Students, dignitaries join in Manning groundbreaking

Written by Lance Martin

Rate this item

(0 votes)

Students shovel dirt this morning.

Children spoke and shoveled dirt with dignitaries this morning as ground was officially broken on the new Manning Elementary School.

“I’m glad we are getting a new school for Manning,” said Kemari Macklin, a rising fifth-grader, against the backdrop of ceremonial shovels and actual construction equipment in the distance. “We appreciate getting a new school because teachers will have bigger rooms and we will have a gym for PE instead of a trailer.”
Gabriel Roberts, one of Macklin’s classmates, said, “I … am thrilled for the new school because it will be a safer environment for the students to learn and play. It makes me happy that the new school will be much larger because the teachers will have bigger classrooms and better technology.”
Roberts said, “The new school design looks extremely impressive and will be a wonderful addition to our city.”
Roanoke Rapids Graded Schools Superintendent Dain Butler also addressed the audience outside before the shoveling of the dirt. “I’m blessed to be here. We have a wonderful board and nothing but support. It’s a great community. Kids are our customers.”
The new Manning school, Butler said, “ … Is a community effort to do what’s right for our kids.”

View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://rrspin.com/archives/item/12842-students-dignitaries-join-in-manning-groundbreaking.html#sigProId6db64fbe4a

Inside at the school’s media center, school board Chair Jay Carlisle, said, “This has been a long time coming. We’re making great progress.”
Total completion is expected by July of 2018 with a move-in date of January that year.
Halifax County Board of Commissioners Chairman Vernon Bryant told the audience inside, “It’s a great day for Halifax County and the Roanoke Rapids Graded School District. Manning school needed to be replaced. It’s a day we’ve been waiting for for a long time. We’ve done the very best with what we’ve had to work with.”
State Representative Michael Wray said, “This has been coming to fruition a long time. We’ve took a lot of beating through the process. Public education is the most important thing for our young people. This is a great thing for our young people. This is about the children.”
Ed Gordon, of the architectural firm Smith Sinnett, told the audience, the children as well as teachers and staff were consulted and interviewed about the project.
Carol Cowen, a member of Roanoke Rapids City Council, said after the ceremony she was once principal of the school and the need for a new facility dated back to her tenure. “I think it’s wonderful. I’m glad they’re doing it for the good of our children.”

Read 3321 times