Q: What do you think of your new room?

Jodi Mello: So far, I like it a lot. The rooms are really nice now that the temperature is back to normal[…] The room is nice and clean, and the big windows really help.

Denise Thornton: I really like it. I think it’s great that we have windows because the business classes didn’t have windows before. I like that we’re really close to the learning stairs, because sometimes the choir sings and you can hear them.

Kelsey Stark: I like it. I’ve been in some random weird rooms the last couple of years, so it’s nice to be in a regular classroom in the main part of the building. I like the natural light. Lots of windows.

Nicole Barker: It’s gorgeous. Once you’ve been in the oldest part of the building [for some time] you don’t know what you don’t know until you move and you’re like, “Oh my gosh, natural light!” It’s really lovely and I really like that it’s shaking up[…] who you’re [teaching] next to. It’s been really fun to be able to quickly interact with different staff members that I wasn’t able to before. The physical space is just lovely.

Kaiti Hubley: I think it’s beautiful. I was a little apprehensive coming into it because there were a few quirks with the HVAC and technology but now that we’re a couple months in, I love it. It’s beautiful, it’s laid out nicely, it’s quiet, and it’s modern.

Kelli Lafferty: I think it’s a unique space but I’m excited about it. I especially enjoy the view; it’s a good way to start every day when it’s not pouring rain out there. Seeing the sun hit the stadium in the morning [is great]. I really love the windows. And I have more space [overall] but I have less space as far as walking in between the rows of kids because of the way they planted the power poles. I wish I had a little more space between the tables, but beggars can’t be choosers.

James Swindle: I don’t think there’s anything I don’t like. I like all of it; it’s really hard to pick one thing I like the most[…] the construction class kids are super eager. We’re on our third project and the kids are doing great and loving that class. It’s really nice to work in a space where if I need something, I can just build it.

Q: How did construction impact your class last year and this year?

Mello: Last year I shared a room so I rolled my little cart back and forth. I was in two different rooms and I’ve moved several times so having a place to settle has been really nice for me this year.

Thornton: It hasn’t impacted me at all, other than the fact that sometimes you have to stop for the dump truck to drive through in the morning. It hasn’t impacted class at all.

Stark: I was out in the courtyard with an art room the first year and then I got moved to the CE2 building so I’ve been moving a lot. It’s nice to have a spot back with everyone else. They were putting some stuff up in here during class. That was a little noisy, but [it hasn’t impacted me] a huge amount.

Barker: I think it’s actually going to be really strange to have a year of quote-and-quote “peace and normal.” I think we’ve all probably become so acclimated to the hard hats and vests and ladders and noise and whatnot around us all the time that we don’t even notice it anymore. I think once all the dust settles and we’re in a space where it’s like it was [a couple] years ago, we’ll be like, “Oh, this is so weird!” Last year, my classroom faced out into the old courtyard so we had a front-row seat to the build of the south wing. During finals, we had men on scaffolding and people with cranes and flamethrowers and jackhammers during peer-teacher conferences.

Hubley: Last year, it was very impactful. We called it “math in action” because we could look out the window and see it all. It was crazy to see them building right outside our room. Sometimes it was loud and distracting, but most of the time it was really cool.

Lafferty: No real impact except for having to move out [of my old room] at the end of the year.

Swindle: No difficulties at all. [The workers] are in and out of the room all the time fixing stuff and doing their punch list, but they try and schedule it when I don’t have a class so it hasn’t really impacted the teaching at all.

Q: What do you think of the new rooms?

Lily Naganuma (12): The new rooms are very gucci. I don’t get reception in the new building, which is unfortunate what with the Wi-Fi gone. But I think it looks really cool. It does feel like I’m in a different school though.

Lucas Nicholson (12): The rooms are super fancy, and definitely a lot more comfortable than they used to be. There’s a lot more room for everything and a lot more technology. I think maybe there should be some easier walkways in the school to get places but that’s not a priority.

Andrew Boylan (11): I personally don’t like how bright and white everything is, but they’re pretty spicy. I’ll give them that. Looks nice, hurts my eyes a little but it looks nice.

Sid Gover-Smith (10): They smell weird. Kinda smells like if you just took paint, mixed it with sawdust, and threw it on a wall. But other than that, they’re pretty decent. I like the old rooms better though; they were much cozier. These [new rooms] feel too industrial.

Kani Korok (10): I think it looks great. I like the learning stairs but I think the stairs are a little too steep. I think all the business classes being next to each other is real convenient and easy to find.