Now that staff have left the old administrative office, administration is starting to think about what this space could be. They held a meeting with students during academic advisory on March 7 to get some ideas and opinions.
The school has had plans for the office since 2019, when its renovation was included in phase 2 of the bond proposal, but the COVID-19 pandemic paused those plans..
“We have that office as the administrative offices from when the high school opened,” Christine Harris, administrative assistant to the principal, said. “Mrs. Galligan, the front desk secretary and Mr. Kane, our assistant principal, were the first people to move out into the new offices, approximately two years ago. The construction timeline was interrupted by COVID, just like everything else with the school shutting down and construction supplies.”.
Before the pandemic, they completed the first stage and began the second one, which included improving the athletic office and facilities and constructing a new journalism lab, since the previous one was turned into the mechatronics lab. The athletic office and facilities aredone, but the journalism lab is probably not happening.
“In June of 2022, they were supposed to start renovating the old administrative offices, and they were going to turn them into classroom space.Then some plans changed and some ideas changed.” Harris said.
The design meeting happened in the office so students could see and analyze what could be transformed there. Stewart Reich, the project manager, talked with the students, asking for opinions about this “blank space.”
Student suggestions at the meeting included:
- A place for people who are overwhelmed to breath and relax
- A game room with air hockey and foosball tables
- A space for clubs to have meetings
- A spot to charge phones and notebooks
Studentsalso mentioned wanting more natural light and doors connecting the atrium with the area so it’s“not a prison.” According to Reich, all new architect projects for the NCSD are trying to bring more naturalness to the school environment.
“Currently it’s kind of a timeline. Our goal would be to try to start the project as early as possible in the summer with the hopes that we would be able to get it done within a timely fashion, ideally, before the start of the school year,” principal Nicole Carter said. “Sometimes projects take a little bit longer so we’re very understanding and empathetic to that.”
