By Madi Andrada & Zoie Osborne
Have you ever walked past the fenced off area by the gym and wondered what it was? This area used to be home to the R-buildings.
The R-buildings were used as classrooms and later storage for the Band Program and athletics. Within the last year the R-buildings have been removed.
We talked to Principal Kleinschmidt to get some insight on why the buildings were removed. She said, “The portables that used to be the R-wing were very old and in really bad condition. They were being used for storage only – storage for band and athletics. We had two other portables (called the Z-wing by the tennis courts) that are much newer and in better condition, so we emptied those and are installing new walls, floors, and ceilings, along with new paint on the outside, and we will use those for Band storage.”
We then asked are these buildings going to be replaced, and if not what’s the plan? Mrs. Kleinschmidt said, “We will not be putting portables or buildings in that space. Instead, we are paving the entire area and making it another student area on campus. ASB (Student Leadership) purchased 4 outdoor ping pong tables and we will install them there, along with moving some picnic tables over as well. This will become an additional student space for lunchtime and after school.”
The Band Program used these buildings the most. We interviewed the band director, Mrs. Crismond-Hanna, about the use of the R-buildings. We asked about what kinds of things were stored there, she said, “We had all of the uniforms supplies, all of the uniforms, all of the items we used for all of the events and fundraisers, extra instruments, drum line and winter guard props and paint, basically everything the program uses.”
Due to the removal of the R-buildings the band program had to move all of their stuff to empty classrooms in the M-wing. We asked about her opinion on the move. She stated, “I thought it was going to affect the band more than it has; we were able to move to the M-building. It’s not great going up and down the elevator for band reviews, but it hasn’t been as big of an issue as I thought.”
The removal has proven to be an exciting opportunity, as we see the new additions to the campus for future years!
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