Novelty of new school hasn’t worn off for West Valley highschoolers

By HANNAH SOUERS
WEST VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
Two months have passed since the new West Valley High School opened its doors, just in time for the start of the school year.
By now, students and staff alike have learned to find their way around the 240,338-square-foot building.
Getting around the new building is much easier than the old high school down Zier Road. In the new high school, more than 94,000 square feet — including the second-story skybridge overlooking the commons area — is earmarked for hallways and movement around the building, giving students a chance to experience a truly spacious school.
They seem to like it.

The commons of the new West Valley High School is an open, colorful area that greets students and guests at the entrance of the school. It is a space where students can gather and eat lunch.

Getting a new building “is the biggest deal of high school,” says 17-year-old Nashrah Mazhar. A senior, she’s a member of the first class — the Class of 2010 — that will graduate from the new West Valley High School.
“The best thing in the new high school is how we aren’t crammed into little classrooms, hallways and the cafeteria,” says 16-year-old Mikele Cluff, a junior. Plus, “All the students can park in the actual parking lot, not a dirt field.”
Students have a fresh start in keeping the school clean and preventing wear and tear on the shiny, new building. And most of the time students show remarkable amounts of respect — and pride — in their new $60 million school.
But there seems to be a certain laziness within the school’s commons area, which also serve as a cafeteria.
“There’s still a litter problem,” says 18-year-old senior Preston Wade, gesturing toward a Gatorade spill on the floor.
And, “In a few spots, there is already writing on the desks,” says another student, 17-year-old Marshall Kent, a junior.
Classrooms are starting to take on personal touches. For example, art teacher Debbie Sundlee has given her classroom walls a bit of color by covering almost every inch with students’ paintings, drawings and any other forms of art.

Seen from from the second floor of the new West Valley High School, the outdoor courtyard is located in the center of the school.

Sundlee says she likes the building’s natural light and center courtyard. Plus, she says, “I love the architect’s choice of color and texture.”
Most classrooms have a view of the courtyard, located in the middle of the building. Classrooms also feature increased technology, such as Smartboards, or interactive whiteboards with the enhancements of a computer.
Classrooms also have the capability of turning into computer labs and feature many more electrical outlets than the old school. And that’s not all.
“There is actually heating and air-conditioning,” says 16-year-old junior Ashley Packard. “The portables at the old high school were always freezing or roasting.”
There were a couple of quirks in the construction of the new high school. For example, many students don’t know that three weeks before the start of school there were no floors in the commons area. Apparently, the contractors were sent the wrong tiles, orange and cream rather than red and blue.
School started on time, but there were still some punch list items to complete.
“The school was opened because school had to start,” says assistant superintendent Tom Fleming, “not because it was finished.”
In fact, work is still being done on the grounds, including the baseball and softball fields. But that hasn’t stopped students from being excited to be going to school.
“I don’t think the novelty has worn off,” Packard says. “Because it’s so much bigger than the old high school, it probably won’t wear off for a while.”
Cluff compares the new school to something seen on the big screen. “Honestly, I feel like we are in ‘High School Musical,’ because that’s what it looks like,” she says. “I just want to break out dancing and singing.”
Wade also compares it to the movies: “It feels like the way the king in ‘The Lion King’ felt as his son was held up on the rock: Astronomical!
• Hannah Souers is a sophomore at West Valley High School and a member of the Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for students.