Beginning with this fall semester, Belterra sixth through eighth grade students will attend a brand-new middle school just minutes away from the community. Dripping Springs ISD, known as one of the state’s top performing school districts, will open its first new school in 10 years with Sycamore Springs Middle School located at the sprawling new campus on Sawyer Ranch Road south of Belterra Drive. The campus also includes an adjoining elementary school (not tracked by Belterra students) and sports facilities for football, track and field, soccer, tennis and more.
Sycamore Springs is the second middle school to open in the district. It will educate 850 students with the capacity to expand to 1,200 students as Dripping Springs and Belterra continue to draw more and more families to the area.
In addition to traditional electives, special services and extracurricular activities such as athletics, music, cheerleading, dance, student council, theater, UIL and pre-AP classes, new electives offered for the 2017-2018 school year include an Entrepreneur Workshop, Small Engine Mechanics and MythSolvers, where students will learn how to use real world applications and creativity to prove or disprove myths.
Principal Dan Diehl is looking forward to leading the Sycamore Springs maroon and gold Tigers in a progressive direction. In his blog, Fresh Eyes, he stresses that educators can’t continue operating under traditional procedures and need to shift to a more creative, innovative and modern learning approach.
“’That’s the way we’ve always done it’ is no longer a valid excuse,” said Diehl. “We know better, and if we do know a way to help kids, why on earth would we continue to do what doesn’t work? Let’s reinvent how we do school. Let’s prepare our kids for their future in a way that we never have before. Let’s do this Sycamore Springs! We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to start from scratch and create a school like no other.”
Classes begin Wednesday, August 23. For more information about the new middle school, visit the school’s website.