With Thanksgiving break right around the corner, so is the end of parts of construction at Park. Since the summer of 2023, Park’s been under construction. Not only has the building changed, school has also changed for students and staff.
According to junior Erkihun Bogucki, construction has caused constant commotion and interruptions, and thus has affected his performance in school.
“Because of the construction, there’s a lot of noise going around,” Bogucki said. “When we have tests in certain classrooms that are closer to the construction site It’s harder to focus.”
Junior Declan Gaines said navigating the school with construction has been tough, which has led to him being late to classes.
“It’s causing a big problem when it comes to getting to class on time and being able to get to class,” Gaines said.
Principal LaNisha Paddock said the timeline for the construction has more or less been on track.
“They’ll (construction workers) say ‘oh, we didn’t get a shipment of whatever and we have to change the timeline,’ but we are on track to have most spaces beautified and ready to go by next fall, which is super exciting,” Paddock said.
During the 2023-2024 school year, Park students have been eating cold lunches due to the cafeteria under construction. Bogucki said he’s waiting for the return of hot lunches.
“I’m looking forward to our cafeteria being done, and I’m looking forward to having hot lunch again,” Bogucki said.
Gaines said the end of construction would mean getting to class on time, which he is looking forward to.
“Definitely (looking forward to) having a lot more hallways to get to class, speed up time and just have less traffic in between classes,” Gaines said.
Paddock said that with a smooth ending, construction of the track is projected to finish by the end of Nov.
“They’re still working on it but we’re days away from it being finished,” Paddock said. “It’s supposed to be finished by the end of November.”
