As a thank you to the Fennimore community, the Fennimore Community School District will be hosting open houses at the elementary school and middle/high school on Thursday, Nov. 13 from 1:30 until 7 p.m.

The open houses will coincide with parent/teacher conferences.

Community members will have a chance to tour the newly completed facilities and see all the improvements/addition projects made possible thanks to $17 million referendum.

Those projects include a new career and technical education (CTE) center, updated playground, new roofs, improved classrooms, enhanced co-curricular, ADA accessibility improvements and other needed repairs to the two buildings.

Fennimore Community School District Administrator Jane Wonderling stated, “Your (Fennimore community) in our schools demonstrates the strong partnership between the district and community. I am deeply appreciative of your trust, generosity, and commitment to education in Fennimore. Together we are shaping a brighter future for our students.”

During the open house at the middle/high school, tours will be lead by student ambassadors every 30 minutes. Tours will go throughout the entire building, while highlighting the completed building projects.

Attendees are welcome to tour the building on their own, as brochures and maps will be available at the front of the building.

Tours at the elementary school will be self guided with brochures and directions to renovations and playground being provided. Fennimore Elementary School Principal Hillary Day will be available to answer any questions and provide tours upon request.

A project video will continuously run in both the elementary school cafeteria and middle/high school commons.

The evening before, Nov. 12, there will a special ribbon cutting and thank you to the “key players” in the successful passing on the referendum including current and past school board members and administration, members of the referendum focus group which included Larry Albrecht, Lisa Evans, Carrie Friederick, Joe Grimme, Jessica Helms, Peter James, Steve Lendosky, Gary Northouse, Ted Novinska, Sally Rosemeyer, Katie Volz Oyen, Ben Wood, JoAnn Wiederholt, and Alicia Wienkes, and also Carol Jozefowicz, public relations, John Linden, photography and “drone guy,” Jay Millin, building and grounds, and  Nate Myhre, IT.

A tour of the buildings will also be conducted to those invited  that evening by PSI, the general contractor  for throughout the referendum project.