By Brittany Anderson
BUDA — Hundreds of families gathered inside Hays CISD’s brand new elementary school to celebrate its opening and finally get to take a look into the campus they now call home.
Sunfield Elementary, the district’s 15th elementary school, held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Aug. 11. The ceremony was followed by meet the teacher, allowing parents and students to walk through the halls, meet educators and peers and get a glimpse of all of the amenities the school has to offer.
Sunfield Elementary was approved by voters following the May 2021 bond election, with construction on the school beginning the following month. Located within the Sunfield subdivision in Buda, the 117,611 square-foot campus can house up to 900 students grades kindergarten through fifth grade. The campus also features the district’s next generation prototype of elementary campus design and uniquely offers a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) program.
During the ceremony, remarks were made by Principal David MacRoberts, HCISD Superintendent Eric Wright and HCISD School Board President Vanessa Petrea, and were later joined by other members of the district to cut the ceremonial ribbon.
Hays County Pct. 2 Commissioner Mark Jones, on behalf of the Capital Area Housing Finance Corporation, also awarded a $5,000 check to Sunfield PTA.
Petrea noted that the Sunfield Elementary community gets to experience the “growing pains” of opening a school following a global pandemic, unprecedented supply chain issues and labor shortages, and that despite these challenges, it is “really nothing short of a miracle that we are in this building.”
“You get to be the first to do all of the things,” Petrea said. “You get to set the culture and climate of this campus. You get to dream up all those events that the community is going to come to. You get to come up with all the slogans and hashtags that everyone’s going to use. You get to start traditions that will continue for decades… I want you to remember this feeling that you have right now; the feeling of excitement and anticipation, the smell of fresh paint. It will wear off, and when the newness wears off and the rhythm has set in, I want you to remember how you feel right now and be a positive voice. Continue to stay engaged.”
While Sunfield was still getting its finishing touches, it was ready for its first day of school on Aug. 16.
