Students erupt with joy at a ceremony marking the completion of the middle school's first gymnasium.
By LOGAN MABE
Published April 4, 2004
TOWN 'N COUNTRY - For 35 years, students have passed through the halls of Webb Middle School never knowing the pulse of a packed-house assembly or the thrilling finish of a basketball game on their home floor.
That's because throughout their existence, the Webb Spiders have never really had a home floor. All that changed Friday when about 1,000 Webb students and faculty christened their new gymnasium with a wall of sound that threatened to bring down the newly dedicated walls.
"What do you think about our brand new gym?" Webb principal Carmen Aguero yelled into the microphone.
The response was like a thunderclap that never faded.
For an hour, the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders clapped and stomped and cheered their appreciation for the Spiders' new home.
Egging the kids on, Aguero led the cheers to see which grade could create the most noise. Then, the student body united in raucous peals as a group of teachers took the floor as cheerleaders, dressed in sparkly wigs and balloon bosoms.
Capping the celebration was an abbreviated basketball game pitting the students against the faculty. The teachers, most of them years beyond their playing weight, won 20-12. But that just gave the young crowd the chance to bless their new arena with boos, too.
"They're so excited," Aguero said during a quasiquiet moment. "When you've got a gym, it brings a lot of school spirit."
- Logan D. Mabe can be reached at 269-5304 or at mabe@sptimes.com
