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Show Volume XIV Issue XIV The Ogden Valley news Page 11 October 1, 2007 By Susan Ipaktchian, Standard Examiner Staff Wednesday, August 26, 1987 Mall-like School Elicits Enthusiasm While most of the 24,300 students in Weber School District moaned because today was the first day of school, the students and faculty at the new Snowcrest Junior High treated it more like Christmas morning. To them, the $5.1-million school is a dream come true. Instead of being scrunched in with grades kindergarten through six at Valley School in nearby Huntsville, the 260 junior high students now have spacious, stylish surroundings. “It looks like a mall,” said Mike Weston, an eighth-grader, after viewing the school’s commons area. It’s a reaction that most of the students and teachers share as they gazed at the tiled floor and the red, yellow and blue canopies above the display cases and office windows in the commons. “My mom wants to live here,” said David Erekson, an eighth-grader. John Hinds, the Junior High’s resource teacher, said most students and parents have reacted to the new school with awe. “They walk in and their eyes get really big,” he said. Jerry Peterson, an assistant superintendent for the Weber district, said it took three years to design the school. He said that gave teachers and Ogden Valley resi- dents time to share their ideas of what the school should include. What has emerged is an 81,000-squarefoot building that can easily be enlarged and adapted into a combination junior high/high school if the area grows when the Trappers Loop Highway, connecting Ogden and Weber canyons, is completed. Sharon Holmstrom, an English teacher at Snowcrest, said it’s a welcome change from the cramped quarters the junior high had at Valley School. “We’ve got a wonderful staff that’s been teaching out of a shoe box. They’ve just never had the facilities they’ve needed,” she said. “What we have here is a chance to teach a multitude of things. It’s neat to have something that was built specifically for our children,” she added. The building is also designed to serve as a community center for the Ogden Valley, giving residents a place to hold meetings and play basketball or volleyball. Principal Ed Morgan said most valley residents are proud of the new school. He said that for several years, they felt a little like second-class citizens because all of their students were crammed into the aging Valley School while new buildings were being added throughout the rest of Weber County. “They feel like now it’s time they got something that was really first-class,” he said. Of course, the first few weeks in a new school won’t be that easy. Snowcrest still hasn’t received all the desks, materials, and equipment it needs. Some students will have to sit on the floor for a few weeks, and the library shelves and books probably won’t be in place until October. “But everyone feels so lucky to have this school that the other stuff doesn’t matter as much,” Morgan said. Note: This article is being published courtesy of the Ogden Standard-Examiner. Historical Photo Snowcrest 7th Grade Home Room Reps/87-88: Adam Bushell, Josh Wangsgard, Amy Peterson, Misty Smith, Jake England. See more photos on page 15. Snowcrest Junior High School Dedication Program 1987 Compiled from original program. Weber County Board of Education Marlin K. Jensen, President Celia Archibald, Vice President Members: Mack Taft, Richard Sadler, Ted L. Parke Weber School District Administration Jay B. Taggart, Willam Reese, Superintendent Asst.Superintendent of Curriculum Jerry P. Peterson, Asst. Superintendent of Support Services Dale Schimmelpfennig, Clerk and Director of Finances Musical Number School Choir Scott Wood, Director Welcome and Introduction Jay B. Taggart Superintendent Pledge of Allegiance Matt Johansen Student Body President Invocation President Daurel Barnes Huntsville Utah Stake Response Barbara Hale Valley Resident Response Ruth Clark Teacher Response Edward R. Morgan Principal Musical Number Student Choir Scott Wood, Director Dedication by Marlin K. Jensen The Board of Education President of the Board Musical Number School Choir Scott Wood, Director Dave Anderson Science/Vocational Lyle Allen Science/Math Pam Wittmann Math/Computers Roger Bailey Math/Phys. Ed. Patrice Behunin History/Phys. Ed Scott Wood Music/Speech JoAnne Erickson Home Ec./Business Mary Ann O’Hara Language Arts/Spanish Ilene McGregor Art John Hinds Resource Daurel Barnes Release Time Maurine Stevens Head Cook Ruth Rowe Cook Sherri Clark Cashier/Cook Please tour the new facility at your leisure. Lisa Willard Cook Len Thompson Custodian Snowcrest Faculty and Staff Robbie Quist Custodian Edward R. Morgan Principal Jeff Rich Assistant Custodian Hubert Smith Counselor Marsha Norlander Secretary Historical Anecdote Betty Wilcox Attendance Secretary The fast-growing community of Sharon Beddes Teacher Aide Huntsville built a brand new log school Ruth Clark Language Arts house in the summer of 1862; the dimenSharon Holmstrom Language Arts sions being 16 feet by 20 feet and was Boyd Heslop Social Studies erected a little southeast of what is now the center of the public town park. In 1866 the Huntsville citizens decided that it was time for a bigger and better school building, so the cornerstone of the “Old Rock School” was laid; later to be torn down in May of 1929. A two-story brick building was erected in 1891 but was destroyed by fire just four years later. After being rebuilt it was completely destroyed by fire again in 1901. In their quest for education, the townspeople built a spacious, solid, fire proof, 8room brick building in April 1902. Crayons and slates were something of the past and the new principal passed out pencils, paper, and even textbooks. The Middleton children attended this new school by way of horse drawn wagon in spring and fall and by sleigh in the wintertime. A gymnasium and kitchen were added at the back of the Huntsville School in 1936. About this same time, Weber High School DEDICATION cont. on page 15 Celeste C. 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