New Year, New School

A classroom under construction.Golden Bear Boulevard, the central hallway, as seen from the third-floor walkway.Student Innovation Team members tour the blackbox theater.Potts explains the new Learning Stairs, a collaborative space within the Learning Center.Learning Center as seen from the second floor. Golden Bear Boulevard from the ground floor.Staircases and classrooms under construction.The new pool, which will have 11 total lanes.Exterior of the new building.

Behind the first student tour of the new high school.

BY MATTHEW DORON, ‘23. PHOTOS BY BEN UNDERWOOD, ‘21 AND MATTHEW DORON, ‘23.

On Dec. 22, the Student Innovation Team took part of the first student tour of the new high school. Led by the district’s Chief Operating Officer Chris Potts and Principal Andrew Theado, the students were led through the various areas of the building while being briefed on the final plans for the building. According to the administration, there will be around 300 total lockers, a significant decrease compared to the current school. However, both the pool and the varsity gym will increase in size, as the varsity gym will have 800 additional seats and the pool will have five new lanes.

The building was also designed to group the classrooms according to subject and use. This idea was also implemented through the creation of the small group rooms, of which there will be 25 throughout the school. These rooms will be offshoots of the main collaborative space in the center of classrooms. Senior and member of the Student Innovation Team Abby Vitali said she believes that these small group spaces will be beneficial for productivity and organization. Vitali also had positive reviews of the building at large. “Everything was built with a purpose in mind,” she said. “I could tell there was a lot of thought put into where each room was.”

Construction is scheduled to be completed by the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year.