'Moving On' celebration marks closure of Mannheim schools
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“Moving On” was the theme of a celebration Thursday marking the closure of two schools in the Mannheim (Germany) military community as students, faculty, alumni and family gathered to say goodbye.
Mannheim High School will close its doors to students forever on Friday, bringing its 55-year history to an end. Like its students, the middle school is a little younger at 36, but it didn’t make its closing any easier.
Heidelberg District superintendent Frank Roehl, once a middle school administrator, stripped off his coat, tie and shirt to reveal an MMS T-shirt, and lead the crowd in a final Mustang cheer.
A tearful Sheila Smith, the high school principal, ended her remarks on the school’s closing with the third chapter of Ecclesiastes and its familiar “To everything there is a season” verses, slightly modified to reflect the end of the school’s history.
The Middle/High School band brought the ceremony to an end with its rendition of “Celebration.”
