During the summer break, nearly 60 renovation projects took place at the school to modernize the buildings and replace old equipment. Among the improvements include upgrades to the MILL, a revamped Computer Science room, new gym wall padding, new wall vinyls and modernized bathrooms.
Out of all the renovations, Director of Operations Jim Heynderickx said the largest project was the overhaul of the yellow tower, the area surrounding the yellow staircase including the performing arts and middle school language departments.
“By far the biggest project of the summer was renovating the heating, cooling and air circulation of the yellow tower,” Heynderickx said. “We still have quite a bit of equipment in the building that is from 1970, or 1971, when the building first opened, and we’re working on replacing that.”
Furthermore, Heynderickx said environmental sustainability remains one of the “top priorities” for school renovation projects, and this year’s renovations continue to uphold that commitment.
“The new system [in the yellow tower] is like 30% more efficient than the current system,” Heynderickx said. “So compared to the 1971 equipment, it uses much less electricity and natural gas.”
Noah Fernihough (’24) said the school should be “as environmentally sustainable as possible” when renovating, and said he is happy that the school is taking an environmental approach.
Moreover, Heynderickx said the renovations in the yellow tower also focused on improving the music rooms.
“On the bottom floor, we took out all of the ceilings so the music practice rooms have more airspace,” Heynderickx said. “We renovated the air circulation system and made it quieter so that when students are rehearsing their music and so forth, they don’t have to compete with the noise of the air handling system so much.”
Fernihough, a member of the orchestra, said the renovations to the music department enhance the room’s acoustics.
“The [orchestra] room was like small before with the low ceilings and now it feels really open,” Fernihough said. “I think it also sounds better playing in there.”
Dasha Rahman (’25) said she likes the new look of the school.
“I think it was like a good update to the school, especially the gyms,” Rahman said. “They look a lot better now than how I remember them to be.”
In general, Heynderickx said the school “has a pretty good long-term plan for replacing things,” and renovations will continue to be made in the future.
