New K-8 Southside Campus Holds Community Event
Fun Day Included Tours, Lunch & Naming of Courtyard
DENHAM SPRINGS, La. – Livingston Parish school officials held a community celebration on Saturday, Oct. 15, to commemorate the opening of the new Southside Campus, which houses the K-5 Southside Elementary and 6-8 Southside Junior High School.
The day’s activities began at 10 a.m. and included presentations by school and elected officials, a tour of the campus, and lunch for participants.
Superintendent Joe Murphy emceed the event, offering opportunities to many persons to speak and reminisce about their time spent at the previous Southside Elementary or Southside Junior High campuses as educators and school administrators. Speakers included U.S. Congressman Garret Graves, former district superintendents, and former school principals.
“These two campuses hold special memories for so many people in our community, including myself,” Murphy said, noting that he worked nearly 20 years at Southside Junior High School as a teacher, coach, and school administrator. “Today’s celebration is the culmination of a long, hard-fought battle to recover from the 2016 flood; but I am happy to say today, that we have overcome the challenges and our two school are back stronger than ever. This campus is a showpiece for learning in our parish.”
Murphy also took time to announce the unveiling of the name of the courtyard, which was named in honor of State Sen. J. Rogers Pope.
Pope has been a life-long educator in the Livingston Parish Public School System, including the first principal of Southside Junior High School when it opened in 1976. He has served as a teacher, coach, principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent in the system. He was selected the Louisiana Superintendent of the Year in 2000 and became the elected president of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents in 2001. Pope is currently serving his 15th year as a state legislator.
Students escorted campus guests throughout the two-story building, pointing out details on the school’s glass-walled classrooms, its “double decker” library, large gym and cafeteria set up. The school currently has two food service areas – one for the elementary and the other for the junior high school.
The district’s Child Nutrition Program and Livingston Parish Assessor Jeff Taylor provided hamburger lunch plates for campus visitors.
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Community members, parents, students, and school employees gathered in the Southside Campus Courtyard on Oct. 15 to celebrate the opening of the new school and tour the campus facilities. Superintendent Joe Murphy emceed the event, which include several dignitaries and former school staff and district leaders.
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Superintendent Joe Murphy, pictured far left, was joined by five of his predecessors for the Oct. 15 community event at the Southside Campus. Pictured with Murphy, from left to right, are former Livingston Parish School Superintendents Rick Wentzel, Bill Spear, J. Rogers Pope, Warren Curtis, and John Watson.
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Denham Springs School Board Member Bradley Harris speaks during the Southside Campus Community Event on Saturday, Oct. 15. |