As the new school year begins, students return from a refreshing summer break, ready to pursue their goals for the year ahead. Along with the students' renewed focus, the giant construction site and the new temporary science building on Wilson Field have also made their debut. 9th grader Sylvia Yao recalled her experience visiting Stevenson: “When we were doing tours and interviews, people have [already] mentioned building the [new science building].”
Walking up the stairs in Talbot, the view of the construction site covered nearly half of the academic side of the campus. It is hard to imagine how this giant hole filled with dust and dirt will turn into a building the size of Rosen. Focusing on its current impact as a construction site, it has indeed brought changes to the Pebble Beach campus.
For the incoming 9th graders, navigating the campus has been challenging, especially within the first few days of school. With the construction blocking off the primary pathway to the art building, this task became much more complicated; even some Senior Forum leaders needed clarification about the path to the ceramics classroom when preparing for freshmen orientation: “For some freshmen, if they have ceramics or art, [it can be] quite hard to navigate them on their own” (Sylvia Yao 28’).
As for returning students, some felt the construction brought advantages when navigating buildings other than the art department: “I think [the construction] does make it easier to go to classes in Talbot because now we can use the Learning Commons...the backdoor used to be always closed” (Michelle Henaku 25’). Boarding students who live in the dorms reflected similar opinions when discussing the navigation of the temporary science building on Wilson Field.
Though navigation issues for the new students can be easily solved after a few days of school, Talbot teachers were also concerned about the construction noises before school started. Shinobu Nagashima, whose classroom is on the first floor of Talbot, closest to the construction site, shared her potential strategy: “Mr. Buller and I were thinking about purchasing noise-canceling headsets for students while we can talk with the microphone. But after a few classes now, I don't think it's even necessary.”
Brianna Hunt, a new English teacher who teaches in T202, reflected, “I feel like when the windows and doors are shut, [the noise] isn't too bad, but it gets hot. It looks like you're choosing a hot, closed-up classroom or having construction noise. I think it's much worse on one side of the building than on the other.” Affirming Hunt’s prediction, Karen Hiles and David Schmittgens, who teach on the other side of Talbot, both highlighted that they “don't recall [the noise] being disruptive in any way.”
When speaking about changes, the ones most impacted on this campus must be the science department teachers. Charles Henrikson, who has been teaching at Stevenson for more than two decades, expressed nostalgia for the Lindsey Science Center: “I'll miss a little bit of the old science building, and I loved my classroom. My old classroom in the science building had very high ceilings, and I would shoot things up in the air.” Moving from the Lindsey Science Center to the temporary science building on the Wilson field with only a few days to unpack, Ian Haight thinks this process was “a little daunting.” The current “hike” to the temporary engineering classroom is simply too draining. Haight also mentions that in just two more years, when everyone “finally starts to feel settled,” the science department needs to move again to the new science center.
Although the change of location can be stressful, Henrikson had some positive comments towards the temporary classrooms as well: “I like that all the rooms are large, length and width wise. The uniformity is also nice because if I move from one classroom to another, the shape is very similar, and I feel comfortable that way.”
Fast-forward two years, and when the new science building finally opens, what can students expect or look forward to? The new science building will not only be a space designed for science classes. Engineering, math, and science courses will be taught in the same building, bringing convenience to engineering students. Additional classrooms will also make this building more spacious and open than the Lindsey Science Center.
Science department teachers reflected various opinions regarding the change from a science building to a STEM building. Henrikson highlighted that “it might decentralize the science department itself a little bit because it's one of the things that made it strong. I feel like this cohesiveness came just from the geographic location together.” Haight offered comments regarding the bond between the science department faculties; however, he also believes that having all faculty members in one office can help build positive relationships with students as well: “We hope that [the office] will also become a comfortable space for students to meet with teachers.”
Students have always used the science building as a space to hang out with friends in between classes or eat lunch on the benches just outside the science building. When designing the new building, science teachers also considered how students can use it as a socializing area: “There will be a big central stairwell like the front of Rosen, with larger seating steps. That's meant to be a space where kids get to work while waiting between classes. I think there will also be a large screen that can come down to host movies and large meetings, replacing what the S9 classroom used to do” Haight comments.
Taking a sneak peek at some of the new features in the new science building, Haight and Henrikson looked forward to the new equipment and furniture: “Having whole new tools will be exciting. It'll take a lot of effort to adapt these new equipments to our curriculum, but I look forward to it.” Henrikson, though he still misses the high ceilings in his old classroom, has found features in the design that he enjoys: “I like having the high balconies [in the new science building] to drop things off for teaching aerodynamics.”
It will be thrilling to witness the completion of the construction in 2027, not only for the resources it offers, but also its potential to become another highlight of the school tour, much like the exquisite architecture of Rosen: “I look forward to being proud of the space I'm working in, having it be modern and nice to show somebody else, to show prospective parents.”
The idea of the new science building construction may still feel new to the students, but it has been an ongoing discussion within the faculty for decades. Henrikson recalled his journey as a science teacher at Stevenson: “I've been working here for 24 years, but the conversation was already alive when I got here. People have been talking about how York got a new science building a few years back, ten years ago or more.”
Since the start of Dan Griffiths's presidency at Stevenson, this topic has become the center of attention again: “I think it is partly thanks to Dr. Griffiths, who was a science teacher. It’s rare to have an administrator who's actually a science teacher, so I think that really helped get the ball rolling.”
For the juniors and seniors on campus, there is a sense of bittersweetness in not getting to witness the opening of the new science building. While two years may feel like a significant span in the context of a high school career, when compared to the 24 years of debate and planning leading up to the decision to launch such an ambitious project, Haight concludes that, "two years is impressive."
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