At Central, our main campus is split into two buildings. We’re still living in a construction zone, and everyone is wondering, “When will it end?” Students and staff alike have a thing or two to say about this waiting game we’re in.

Our principal, Kim Case, recently met with the construction teams for the first time and gave us the closest thing to a definitive answer to that looming question. Fall break is when teachers in the old building are expected to be relocated and moved to what will be called the J wing (yet another new letter). 

Walking around in the old building – where she used to teach– and seeing its new look for the first time, Case said, made her “so very sad.” 

Sophomore Olivia Ingram has an exciting perspective, being that it is her first year on the main campus. She has three classes in the old building and admits that she “hates having to go back and forth between buildings multiple times a day.”

Junior Annie Lin agrees with this sentiment, admitting that going back and forth makes it more difficult and stressful for her to get to class on time. She adds that the old building’s environment is dirty and gross. 

Like many other students, Ingram and Lin are frustrated by the cold temperatures. Regarding this issue, Ingram jokingly states that “Antarctica can be crossed off the bucket list for sure!”

Teachers, it seems, are all more mindful of the old building’s less-than-ideal effect on students’ days than their own, however. 

Yearbook adviser Rosalie Batistoni says that, more than anything, the issue for her involves functionality of the space. 

“Having 34 students in a room that can only hold 34 desks is more challenging than the fact that it’s not a pretty room.” 

Batistoni keeps an open mind in saying that teaching in the old building is “fine in the short term and not significantly negative.” Luckily, the short term is truly sooner than later.  The space to teach as she wants to, without being hindered, is what she’s most looking forward to when it’s time to move to her new room.

Sophomore English teacher Carissa Argueta said that she felt the need to unpack her things, even though they’d be moving soon, for the sake of the students. She’s seeking to make it as homey as possible for the time being. Argueta lovingly calls the arrangement “industrial chic.” 

Industrial may be a generous term, though. Argueta teaches in the upstairs portion of the old building and says the biggest problem upstairs is, “there’s stuff dripping from the ceiling onto the floor. There are puddles. We don’t know what it is. It’s slimy.” 

What makes Argueta most excited, though, is one thing: windows! She loves the idea of having some natural light. She’ll get to enjoy that. 

Case also voiced the wisdom that would be beneficial to hold on to: “Progress is painful sometimes, but the ultimate good that comes is worth it.”