Mortimer Jordan High School principal Barbara Snider, right, receives a surprise bouquet from other faculty members at the new high school campus’s ribbon cutting on Tuesday while students and officials applaud.

It’s been blessed, the students have settled in, and the first football games have been played at the new Mortimer Jordan High School campus in Kimberly. On Tuesday, officials from the school, local municipalities and even county and state government cut the ribbon for the school, making it officially part of the county educational system.

Students attended classes at the 232,000 square-foot campus for the first time at the beginning of this semester.

“We are honored to be the first senior class to graduate from the new campus. When we first stepped foot into Mortimer Jordan High School when we were freshmen, we were scared,” said Mortimer Jordan senior class president Merrit Mathis at the ribbon cutting ceremony. “It was there that we grew. It was our home. We are pleased to say that this is our new home. We are no longer afraid to say the best is yet to come.”

The new campus, located on Bone Dry Road, is equipped with 650-seat performing arts center, a 4,500-seat football stadium, numerous science and computer labs and an advanced culinary arts kitchen, complete with restaurant-like deep fryers and other food preparation equipment.

“We kind of joke that it reminds us of a college campus,” said Mortimer Jordan principal Barbara Snider.

The former campus is located in Morris; it is currently being renovated so that the William E. Burkett Center can relocate to it.

When Mortimer Jordan was first moving to Kimberly, the city’s mayor, Craig Harris, said he did some research into the school’s past. He discovered the school was originally opened in 1921 and had only eight rooms.

“It’s interesting to see where you come from, and to look at what’s coming up in the next 100 years,” said Harris. “A building’s never educated a single person, but it’s a great tool for the educators to have.”

The school was paid for by a 1-percent sales tax earmarked for new campuses. The school was designed by Davis Architects and built by Winter Construction, Inc.