Carbon School District Press Release
The school year at Helper Middle School began with construction in front of the building (new bus lanes), and it will end with construction as well. And now as the new year approaches, that is still on many people’s minds as the preliminary steps to start the remodel and the new addition have been taking place over the last few weeks.
“The portable classrooms behind the school are gone,” said Principal Robert Bradley, referring to the buildings that stood behind the school for so long that almost no one can remember when they weren’t there. “That is the beginning. Now, they are going to bring in a crane to lift two new heating and cooling units up onto the gymnasium. This will dovetail well with the coming construction. There was a lot of engineering done to make this work.”
The old unit that heated that area went out last year and, for the time being, the boilers in the building have been able to keep the gym warm. However, Bradley said that without the new units, when things really get to the deep freeze phase, it will not be able to keep up, so the new units are being installed. Then, sometime after the first of the year, actual work will begin on the building addition. That, along with a remodel on other parts of the complex, will change the look of the school completely.
As for the school activities this year, Bradley said they have begun what they call Friday Funday.
“On Fridays, we have eight periods instead of seven and we have included some fun things for the students to do on those days,” Bradley stated. “Some teachers are doing crafts and other things the kids can sign up for, including a chess class taught by me. Because of the situation, there have been a lot of things we haven’t been able to do this year and there is a lot of stress that has come with that. This has given teachers and students something enjoyable to do apart from the rigors of academia”
Before Christmas, the school hosted its annual dodgeball event, although it was toned down a bit because of social distancing and other factors. The school also had a float in the Helper Light Parade earlier in the month, as they have every other year.
Athletics have changed this year due to the pandemic, but the schedule continues for wrestling and will go on after the first of the year for basketball as well. Bradley said they are following the Utah High School Athletic Association rules and limitations for games.
“One of the limitations includes having only two parents at the game for each player. Some of what going on is difficult and so different from the norm, but it still lets the kids compete and I think that is important.” he concluded.