The CHS community has long awaited its new additions to the school. Since ground was broken early last school year, students and teachers alike have watched as the new science/technology wing has risen from the bare foundation to the iron scaffolding and partial walls that can be glimpsed today. Slated to be finished in fall of 2011, the school community will have a bit more to wait until the biggest addition is finalized. However, the new wing isn’t the only construction project going on at CHS, nor will it be the first to finish.

Recently completed, the new athletic offices and locker rooms are a much appreciated improvement to the CHS athletic department. Two new sets of team locker rooms have been installed in the same locations as the older men’s locker rooms, and the old women’s locker room has been converted to a new training room for athletes. In addition, new offices for coaches and health teachers alike have been carved into a space off the main hallway to Stuber gym.

The renovations were called for after problems had arisen with the previous placement of some of the athletic facilities.

“The reason we began talking about moving the offices was because the old athletic offices blocked the hallway, so that you couldn’t get to the boys’ bathroom,” Bob Bone, the CHS Athletic Director, said. “In addition, the training room was tucked away behind the old team locker rooms and some of the coaches’ offices, and that just wasn’t working for our athletes. The new locations are much more accessible.”

While the construction was going on, the athletic department was forced to make do with whatever facilities they could find. Many started using the Clayton Center for the locker room facilities for the gym classes.

“The people at the Center were very helpful,” Bone said. “They understood that we were in a tough spot, what with all the construction, and they helped us figure out a way for the students to use their facilities.”

As with any ongoing construction project, the new additions had their share of problems. Miscommunication and a general crunch for time delayed the opening by a few weeks.

“We wanted to have the locker rooms ready for the fall sports season which, as you know, didn’t exactly happen on time,” CHS Principal Louise Losos said. “The construction had its share of minor problems: pipes in the wrong places, showers with drains that didn’t function, etc. Overall, however, I feel that the construction went pretty well.”

Now that the offices are complete, the hope is that it will foster a new sense of community within the department. As both the coaches’ and the health teachers’ offices are finally situated in the same space, the department can function as a more cohesive unit.

“One of the real benefits of these new spaces is the connectedness that the department now has,” Bone said. “Before, we were all kind of scattered all over the place. Now, we’re all together in one, centralized location, and that will really help us work together better.”

Another added benefit of the new space is that it serves as learning point for the aesthetic development of the new science/technology wing, which is still in progress.

“The great thing about the new spaces is that we can use it as a sort of trial run for the science wing, for what kind of furnishings will work in the space,” Losos said. “For example, I know that a lot of people, particularly Bob Bone, weren’t very happy with the new carpet that was placed in the Athletics Office. So, we probably won’t use that in the science wing.”

However, despite the new locations, the old spaces of the offices will not go to waste either.

“We are going to expand the snack bar that is already in that area, and the rest of it will be knocked down and converted into storage space,” Bone said. “So, no, the area won’t go to waste.”

All in all, the reactions to the new space has been positive, another step in the process of renovating CHS.

“People are very pleased with the new spaces,” Losos said. “The Athletic Offices are much nicer, especially when compared to the previous ones. They also don’t smell like locker room, which is an added plus. The locker rooms are great new spaces, and our athletes will be very happy in them. And the training room is now about three times its original size, and in a more centralized location. I think the community is very happy with the new additions. It was definitely needed.”