JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Ribault High School administrators and alumni are recapping the bittersweet moment Friday night as the school’s boys basketball team played their last game in the Austin-Wilkes gymnasium.
That’s at least until the school is rebuilt by 2025.
Dr. Gregory Bostic, the principal, says they’ve made a lot of memories in the old building.
The school is scheduled to be demolished this summer, making way for a state of the art new facility for students.
“The feeling was kind of bittersweet because a lot of individuals when they attended Jean Ribault High School, they played in that gym and it was a bittersweet moment so they’re looking forward to going into a brand new gym in 2025,” said Dr. Bostic.
As a new structure is built and the school steps into new beginnings, alumni and students say they’ll keep the memories close.
I would have to agree that it is a bittersweet moment but I’m always open to new opportunities and changes because with the change, there’s growth and I would say that it’s a bittersweet moment only because our memories in this building will no longer be here but we will always cherish those in our heart,” said Darrin Evans II, former student and teacher.
The new school will go in the same spot on Winton Drive and is expected to be ready by 2025.
This summer, the school will move operations to Ribault Middle School where it will remain until the new doors open.