Renovations at Westerville South are moving faster than anticipated, with a new gym and classrooms almost done, the school year plans to take a turn in January 2021. 

As select teachers plan to move to the new wing after winter break, their current classrooms are temporary. English teacher Jen Baker said, “It feels like I’m crashing at a friend’s house right now; I’m welcome to stay, but it’s not my space.” 

Seeing that most of the other teachers in temporary classrooms feel the same, the new classrooms will be worth the wait with “all new furniture hand picked by the staff at south, new smart boards that will be almost floor to ceiling, and open areas between classrooms that will hold seating for flexible class time,” math teacher Reston Randall said. 

The new classrooms will be about one and a half times larger than the current classrooms at 900 square feet. Making the classrooms this much larger, South would lose 20 classrooms; this is why the auxiliary gym had to be converted into classrooms, to make up for the missing space.

In spite of new classrooms on the top of the wishlist, a new gym is anticipated by all athletes. Principal Mike Hinze explained on an instagram live video back in July, the gym will now have one big stand of bleachers, instead of balcony and floor seating. This will allow more room for fans and better views of the games.

Housed next door will be the athletic trainers office, which will be a lot more convenient for the trainers and athletes compared to being detached from the school outside. The new office will be bigger and able to hold more equipment for athletes.The gym is planned to be done by Jan. 1,  2021; but if things continue to run smoothly, the gym could potentially open before winter break. 

The next project on the list will be the art wing. “Art classrooms will be renovated and moved to the front of the hallway and the four back classrooms will be converted into a workshop for engineering students,” Hinze explained. 

The new room will have a workshop on one half and a more traditional classroom setting on the other with garage doors in the middle to separate into two rooms for maximum use of the workshop, he said.

In about a year or two, the cafeteria will be redesigned with “accommodated seating to fit everyone’s needs from long tables like we have now to tables of only four, and seats for one. More food and drink options will also be available in the Istudio with a cafe and eatery,” Hinze stated.

The renovation will take time, but in the end will be worth the while. Soon enough the renovations will be complete and staff and students will be able to start utilizing the new gym and classrooms. 

Cherie Stone, a student at South, explained, “The new gym will get people excited for games and lead to more support for athletics. I’m so excited to see how South will change once we are in the new space.”

Randall affirmed that he’s enthusiastic to move into the new building because the energy will be exciting, appealing and students will be eager to learn.