On March 26, 2019, the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the new school, hosted by Principal Michael McDonough, was held on the freshly dug construction site. The event commenced with an introductory speech by Principal McDonough, followed by a couple of words from School Board Trustee and Assitant Secretary Sue Deigaard, Interim Superintendent Dr. Grenita Lathan, and city of Bellaire Mayor Andrew Friedberg. After the faculty and staff and the sponsors of the construction were thanked, McDonough went on to talk about three interesting stories submitted through “Story Behind the Shovel” concerning three alumni of the school: Tiffany Williams, Courtney Tronosik, and Caroll Sylvester.

The first story, submitted by Tiffany Williams, class of 2001, concerned her personal life while she attended Bellaire. Her freshman year, she had a crush on a boy who played on the basketball team. She had acquired the position of manager for the basketball team to get closer to the boy she liked, even though they never got together. By becoming manager of the basketball team, Williams fell in love with the sport. She was honored by the head coach at the sports banquet, had her name put up on the wall of fame in the gym and became the first woman in University of Houston history to hold the position of Head Manager of the boy’s varsity basketball team.

The second story, submitted by Courtney Tronosik, class of 1995, focused on her experience with relationships at Bellaire. She had met her future husband in Mrs. Bagley’s English class, but the two liked each other at different times. They both went off to college but still kept in touch with some mutual friends. Their junior year of college they finally dated and have now been married for 18 years.

The third and final story, submitted by Caroll Sylvester, class of 1958, described both his experience and the history of Bellaire. Sylvester attended Bellaire when the doors first opened in 1955 as a 10th grader and was one of the first students to play for the Bellaire baseball team and the football team. He hit the first home run in the history of the baseball program in ‘55. As of today, 2 of his children are alumni and 3 of his 4 grandchildren are alumni as well. His youngest is currently an 11th grader on campus.