Nipher Middle School

Please excuse our dust!

I recently took a trip to the local Walmart with a long, diverse list of items I absolutely could not live without.  Even entering the parking lot, you could tell the store was under construction, in the process of becoming a Super Walmart.  Wow, one stop shopping for everything one could ever want!

But in the mean time, there were a few inconveniences to be dealt with.  First, there are fewer parking spaces, which means I had to walk farther.  Nothing was where it used to be, or even where it made sense to be.  Cotton balls were not with antiseptics and band-aids, but with nail polish.  And my hairspray was not with shampoo, but next to bath bubbles.   Honestly, does anybody still buy bath bubbles?  And where is the potting soil?  Nowhere to be found!  Ok, I get the dust, the parking situation, bath bubbles have to go somewhere, but seriously, no potting soil?

Well, you will no doubt notice a little dust when you return to Nipher this August.  We are in the very exciting process of adding a new science wing on the southeast side of our building.  Ok, so there is more than a little dust right now.  And, a few classrooms are not where they were last year.  Until the new space is completed, we may have a few less parking places.  And our track…well, it’s kind of like the potting soil. 

What we need to remember is that most of these inconveniences are temporary.  When our construction is completed, we will regain our playground, a new track, parking, plus extra spaces.  We will be able to facilitate safer student pick up and drop off.  And, most exciting for all of us, we will have six brand new, state of the art science classrooms.  The addition of these rooms will open needed space for other programs that continue to grow, like music and physical fitness.

What will not be compromised during our transition is the high quality instruction we provide for our students.  Our teachers have been working over the summer, taking classes and researching materials so that we will have everything our children need to learn and grow and young adults.  We will be working hard to ensure that we meet the academic, social-emotional and safety needs of every child that enters Nipher this year.  No excuses!

So, if you return to school and things seem to have been moved, please ask for help.  We have hired excellent new teachers, added an eighth grade team, moved a few classrooms.  I assure you that the temporary inconveniences of construction will be well worth our patience!

Sincerely,

Michele M. Condon, Ed.D.