The new Poplar Bluff Junior High Activity Center will bring much-needed space and expanded opportunities for students and faculty later this fall.
The estimated $2.5 million building, originally scheduled to be ready for the first day of school Aug. 21, is now slated to open on Sept. 25, according to contractor CE Norton Construction.
“I know they’ve had some some setbacks,” said junior high Principal Candace Warren, “so we’ll continue as we did last year and move in when the building is ready.”
When the time comes, Warren said she is excited about what the building will provide for the school.
“We’re so excited about this,” she said. “I love my old building because of its character, but an old building is also challenging to maintain, so having a brand-new building is just super exciting.”
The activity center is the first new facility on the junior high campus since the Federal Emergency Management Agency building in 2016.
Before that, the last new construction was the new cafeteria in 1995.
The new building features two science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) classrooms, a band practice room, a large multi-purpose area and a weight room.
“We decided that would be a great place to put our STEM science classes, so there are going to be two rooms for Project Lead the Way,” Warren said.
One room is for modeling and design, a STEM-oriented class in which projects like 3D printing are taught.
The other science classroom is for Medical Detectives, a program that helps students experience what it’s like to be a medical professional.
The new band room will be a second facility to remove overcrowding from the original band room. Warren says the band is currently split between the existing room and taking other musicians to the cafeteria for rehearsals.
“The new building will give our band a whole extra space that they’re able to spread out through,” Warren said.
In the center of the building is a large multipurpose area that will be available for a wide variety of student activities.
“It’s a big activity space where you can have P.E. classes, wrestling practice or cheerleading practice,” Warren said.
“If a group of teachers wanted to take all their kids out there for an activity, there will now be space for that,” she said. “I’m really excited about that space.”
Finally, the school’s original weight room, which Warren described as “quite small,” will be replaced with a large, open area big enough to accommodate many students.
“I want it to have multiple purposes,” she said, “so not just for sports or athletics, and not just for classrooms, but we can all have a new space that everybody can use.”
The new building is being constructed in the same location that was known as the “old shop building,” which was constructed in 1956 but was in poor condition.
The new rooms planned for the activity center also free up space in the existing facilities, such as the lower gymnasium area, which is currently used as classroom space.
“My hope is that we can use that lower gym for some other things, too,” Warren said. “That gives us a big activity space that anyone can use.”
She says the faculty and staff are just as excited about the new center as she is.
“They just they love that the junior high is seeing some improvement and investment,” she said. “It’s wonderful that we have something new.”