Looking around, students are all happy and grateful for our new school, but are there some things about it that are still worth discussing? Student opinions vary but what are they really saying?

With the new school, students and teachers were given new furniture that includes rolling chairs, tables with wheels, height-adjusting desks, and stools. 

When discussing the new furniture, most students said they loved the rolling chairs and the adjustable desks. Especially taller students who say they “fit better” into new furniture and desks compared to the old desks. Comfort is a huge part of the school day, and sitting in the old connected desks or the small broken chairs only made an already difficult school day way harder.

But how will this impact productivity? 

Senior Jack Fahey says; “For the most part it won’t have a huge impact, or if any it will be slightly positive.” 

Along with that, although there will be some kids racing, spinning around, and bumping into stuff in the desks, the amount of kids this will benefit is major. Students are free to have their own space, and will not be uncomfortable or forced to sit in a way that does not work for them. Because of that, they will be able to focus much better, positively affecting their behavior and grades. 

The Negative Impact

There has been an abundance of talk about the stools in the art and science rooms. Sophomore Eva Pappalardo, said, “I don’t like the stools, they’re very uncomfortable, and sitting  on them for an hour can start to hurt.” One of the first things all students discussed was the uncomfortableness of the stools in comparison to the comfort of other seating options that were  improved. 

Teacher’s perspective

Students certainly have a lot of opinions about this change of scenery, but what does staff think about it?

Mr. Casey, a 9th-grade English teacher, says he likes that it is easy to move the furniture. Saying that “everything is on wheels so it is easy to rearrange.” This is helpful for teachers because some days they may be doing a seminar or group work, or they may have a test and they need rows instead of groups. Either way, teachers are finding movable furniture to be very beneficial for their classroom environments. 

However, a downside to this modern furniture is the lack of teacher desks. Art, history, and science teachers for the most part all get desks and a few other teachers do as well, but the ones that do not, are not happy with it. Mr. Casey, who does not have a desk, talks about his issues with his larger classes and that when he is teaching those classes, “[he] has no desk and no where to be.” 

Casey also says “There is a lot of symbolic value in a teacher’s desk, it has meaning, so that is something I don’t like about the new furniture.” Also, there is not enough room for many teachers to grade their students’ work, or work on their lesson plans because there simply is not enough space on the tiny desks they are given.

Stairs, stairs, stairs

Woah! The school is three stories tall! And everything looks so clean and modern! Yes, all of that is true and it is loved and appreciated, but the time students got to transition was once 4 minutes and is now 3 minutes with the extra stairs added. “Trying to get from my class on the first floor by the gym to the third floor english hallway which is on the exact opposite side of the school is tiring and practically impossible, by the time I get to class I am out of breath and marked tardy,” an anonymous pentucket student said. 

Not only does this student have a journey across the school that is incredibly difficult, they are also doing it with an injury that makes it painful to go up the stairs. And yes, they could take the elevator but that takes too long to wait that they would be even later for a class they cannot be late for. Plus, the elevator is normally crowded by people so making extra stops on the way up, would counteract the point of speediness. 

Overall

Students are loving the new school and the new furniture but, like with all things, not everything is perfect. Either way, we are very thankful for the opportunities we are given and all the great things we have in our fantastic school!