As the school year started, students at Novi High School were able to experience the new lunch seating in the school’s atrium and dome spaces. The seating was paid for with funds from the 2019 bond.
Some of the new seating includes high tables and chairs that can fit both small and large groups of people. The old larger circle tables that had fixed stools to them were replaced with ones with chairs that are bigger and more comfortable for lunch. The newest arrangement is the booth seating in both the atrium and dome.
The booth seating consists of black or white enclosed seats that hold four people. The booths are lined with cushions making them a comfy and relaxing spot. Each booth has a color changing lamp above as well as charging ports and outlets for students to use. This gives students a great place to study at lunch without having to go to the media center.
The new seating is more flexible, providing different accommodations for student preferences at Novi High School.
“I really liked the taller seating with the stools and I think that the new seating now is more inclusive because you can have a lot of people and pull more chairs rather than the circle seats which are only restricted to six or seven people,” junior Meghna Routhu said.
The school was able to work with a local company last spring to find new tables and chairs and had students provide feedback before adding them to the school.
“Last year, we actually were able to bring in samples for students to try out different variations of the seating to get their input because I think it’s really important for students’ voices to be involved when making major decisions like that,” Principal Nicole Carter said.
As the new seats are becoming more popular among students it can be sometimes difficult for students to get a seat they prefer.
“I feel as though I have to choose between getting a seat at a table and getting lunch,” junior Veeksha Solmula said. “The lunch setup might be good for large groups but it feels unfair most days as the same people get the best seats at lunch, the booths.”
Since the school has not yet gotten all of the new seating, more is still to come. Once all of the new seating arrives, the school will be able to pass down extra furniture to other buildings and districts. The school is planning to keep some of the old tables for events to utilize in other spaces and sell the ones that are not needed anymore to bidding sites.
The new seating is just one of many projects made possible by the $185 million bond voters approved for improvements throughout the district, not only in the high school but Meadows Elementary as well.
“Each specific school had different needs,” Carter said. “When you look at all the construction that’s happening here at the high school, whether it be new seating in the cafeteria, new paint in the restrooms, new lighting in the restrooms, all the work that’s happening within the athletics realm, all of those major significant profound projects are a direct result of our supportive community supporting the bond.”
