# 7 New Kids on the Block: DSISD officially unveils new elementary school

The Dripping Springs Independent School District ushered in the 2021–2022 school year with not one but two new elementary school buildings.

Walnut Springs Elementary School moved down Hwy. 290 to sit adjacent to Dripping Springs Middle School; its new building is now located at 113 Tiger Lane. Meanwhile, Cypress Springs Elementary School is new altogether, established this year as DSISD’s first school in Driftwood and its fifth elementary school overall. Both campuses welcomed students for the first time on Tuesday, Aug. 18, and are being officially unveiled to the public in a short series of ribbon cuttings.

On Thursday, Sept. 2, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at Walnut Springs Elementary with remarks by DSISD Superintendent Dr. Holly Morris-Kuentz, Board President Dr. Mary Jane Hetrick and Walnut Springs Principal Melinda Gardner.

“Our vision for this school was about bringing the indoors in and taking the indoors out,” Gardner said. “We wanted a children’s museum-like feel with the warm environment of the old Walnut Springs. And I feel like we’ve been able to achieve our vision.”

The atmosphere of the new school campus fits perfectly with the Walnut Springs motto, “it’s our time to shine,” Gardner said.

“A school is so much more than a building or a piece of architecture… it’s ultimately a place for cultivating all of our futures — especially our kids,” Gardner continued. “Seeing children as they walked in for the first time with awe and wonderment, it was perfect timing at the end of a long, very tiresome year.”

The short program also included a musical performance by the Dripping Springs Middle School band and a recital of the school song by a group of Walnut Springs fifth graders.

Following the ceremony, visitors were invited to tour the building. Highlighted areas included the cafeteria, library, gym, and STEAM lab. (STEAM is the abbreviation for science, technology, engineering, art and math, used to signify an integrated approach to learning.)

The new buildings for Walnut Springs Elementary and Cypress Springs Elementary were both included in the 2018 bond program, with construction starting in early summer of 2020.

On Thursday, Sept. 9, another ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for Cypress Springs Elementary, located at 11091 Darden Hill Rd.