To the editor:

Watching South Junior High School’s demolition has been harder than I had expected. I’ve been a neighbor for over 30 years and our three children attended the school. I supported the bond issue and realize that the new SJHS will be a wonderful building once all the classrooms, gymnasium, library and parking lot are completed. Students, staff, parents and neighbors at both SJHS and Broken Arrow School are to be commended for their positive attitudes during this time of change.

It’s time to show appreciation to the teachers, staff, students and parents who made SJHS a great school for almost 40 years in spite of the challenges (and sometimes because) of the physical plant. The circular shape, as I was reminded this spring when I attended the excellent play about SJHS’s history written by SJHS students, symbolized not only the wagon wheels of pioneers who settled this area but also the circular shape so significant in Native American culture.

The murals painted on the interior walls were meaningful gifts from SJHS students. Those of us who were/are Broken Arrow parents have many memories of carnivals with some activities held in the cafeteria. The magnificent cottonwood trees that once stood sentry on the north side of the track represented a natural past that is now gone, as is the large open playground area Broken Arrow enjoyed.

The new SJHS will provide many new and different opportunities to staff, students and the community. But let’s not forget that old SJHS was “school” to many generations of students, and many have fond memories of those years.

Harriet Shaffer,

Lawrence